Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

उक्त: क्षणेन चाविष्टस्तेनाधर्मेण भारत । सो5हमीशानमनघममोघं शरणं गत:

Transliteration

uktaḥ kṣaṇena cāviṣṭas tenādharmeṇa bhārata | so 'ham īśānam anagham amoghaṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：“噢，婆罗多啊，那话方才出口，我便在刹那间被那不义之念攫住。于是我投奔于主——无垢而不失信者——以祂为我确凿的庇护。”

Word by Word

• उक्तः: spoken / said
• उक्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त: उक्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षणेन: in a moment / by a moment
• क्षणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आविष्टः: possessed / seized / entered
• आविष्टः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-विश् (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त: आविष्ट)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तेन: by that / by him
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• अधर्मेण: by unrighteousness / by adharma
• अधर्मेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधर्म
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सः: he / that (one)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• ईशानम्: the Lord / ruler
• ईशानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईशान
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अनघम्: sinless / faultless
• अनघम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनघ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अमोघम्: unfailing / infallible
• अमोघम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमोघ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शरणम्: refuge
• शरणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गतः: has gone / has resorted to
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त: गत)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bhārata
• Īśāna (the Lord)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a momentary surge of adharma can overtake a person; the ethical response is to recognize it quickly and take refuge in the stainless, unfailing Lord—turning the mind back toward dharma and protection from moral downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker reports that immediately after certain words were spoken, he was suddenly overwhelmed by an unrighteous impulse; in response, he turns to the Lord (Īśāna) as his reliable refuge, emphasizing divine shelter as a corrective to moral disturbance.