Shloka 20

Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

वरिष्ठो नाम भगवांश्षाक्षुषस्प मनो: सुतः । शतक्रतोरचिन्त्यस्य सत्रे वर्षमहस्त्रिके

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

variṣṭho nāma bhagavān cākṣuṣasya manoḥ sutaḥ |

śatakrator acintyasya satre varṣa-sahasrike ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：有一位受人敬仰者名为婆利湿吒（Variṣṭha），乃恰克舒沙·摩奴之子。此事发生在不可思议、威力无边的萨塔克拉图（因陀罗）所举行的千年萨特拉祭会之中。

Word by Word

• वरिष्ठः: Varishtha (name/person)
• वरिष्ठः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरिष्ठ (वरिष्ठ-)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नाम: by name / named
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन्

• भगवान्: venerable, blessed
• भगवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चाक्षुषस्य: of Cākṣuṣa
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाक्षुष (चाक्षुष-)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• मनॊः: of Manu
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सुतः: son
• सुतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शतक्रतोः: of Śatakratu (Indra)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतक्रतु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अचिन्त्यस्य: of the inconceivable
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचिन्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सत्रे: in the sacrificial session (sattra)
• सत्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वर्ष: year
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सहस्रिके: in the thousandfold / lasting a thousand (years)
• सहस्रिके: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्रिक
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Variṣṭha
• Cākṣuṣa Manu
• Manu
• Śatakratu (Indra)
• satra (long sacrificial session)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharmic setting where Vedic ritual authority and lineage matter: a revered figure (Variṣṭha), rooted in Manu’s line, appears in Indra’s great satra—preparing the ground for instruction on correct sacred performance and disciplined conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana introduces Variṣṭha, identified as the son of Cākṣuṣa Manu, and situates the episode at Indra’s extraordinary thousand-year sacrificial session (satra), signaling an ensuing exchange connected with ritual recitation and propriety.