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अष्टावक्रीय (aSTAvakrIya)

 
Mahabharata
English
Ashṭāvakrīya(ṃ) (“episode relating to Ashṭāvakra”). --§ 51 (Parvasaṅgr.): I, 2, 449: A. atraiva vivādo yatra Bandinā, etc.--§ 412 (Tīrthay.): III, 132 ff.: Uddālaka gave his own daughter Sujātā in marriage, together with sacred learning (śrutaṃ), to his disciple the brahman Kahoda, who had served him long. The embryo in her womb had become versed in the Śāstras and the Vedas with the aṅgas, and blamed Kahoda, who had been reading the whole night. The great ṛshi Kahoda cursed him to become crooked on eight parts of his body, wherefore he, when born, was called Ashṭāvakra. In order to procure wealth for Sujātā, Kahoda went to king Janaka (son of Indradyumna, v. 133, 10624), where he was defeated in a controversy with the sūta (v. 10613, etc., sūtaputram v. 10671) Bandin and was immersed into water. Uddālaka prevailed upon Sujātā to keep it a secret from Ashṭāvakra, who regarded Uddālaka as his father and Śvetaketu, the son of Uddālaka, who was of the same age with himself, as his brother, until in his 12th year Śvetaketu in anger happened to disclose the matter to him. He and Śvetaketu then went to the sacrifice of Janaka, and on being driven from the entrance Ashṭāvakra met the king (III, 132), and in the course of a conversation with him and the doorkeeper he compared Janaka to Yayāti, and said that he had heard that Bandin caused those whom he had vanquished in disputation to be drowned in the sea by men sent by Janaka, and he declared that he had come to maintain the unity with Bráhman (Brahmādvaitam) and to defeat Bandin
then he answered several enigmatical questions (about the wheel of Time, the thunder and lightning, the fish, egg, stone, and river) and was admitted (III, 133). Here they disputed in such a way that Bandin enumerated things of which there is only 1 (fire, Sun, Indra, and Yama), Ashṭāvakra groups of 2 (Indra and Agni, 2 devarshis: Nārada and Parvata, 2 Aśvins, 2 wheels of a chariot
husband and wife), Baº of 3 (3 times the creatures are born, etc.
see Nīl.), Aº of 4 (4 are the āśramas of the brahmans
4 orders perform this sacrifice(!), etc.), Baº of 5 (5 fires, etc.), Aº of 6 (6 cows, it is asserted by some, are the dakshiṇā for establishing the sacred fire, “ādhāne, ” etc.), Baº of 7 (7 domesticated animals, 7 wild animals, etc.), Aº of 8 (8 śāṇas make a śatamāna, see BR., 8 are the legs of the śarabha, etc.), Baº of 9 (9 are the sāmidhenī verses for the Pitṛs, etc.), Aº of 10 (10 are the cardinal points, etc.), Baº of 11 (11 are the ekādaśinas of the creatures, see Nīl., 11 are there the yūpas, etc.), Aº of 12 (12 months, etc.). As Bandin had said the first half-śloka with 13 (the 13th tithi is deemed most auspicious, 13 are the islands of the earth), he stopped, and Ashṭāvakra fulfilled the śloka. Bandin was then deemed to be vanquished, and at the request of Ashṭāvakra he merged into the sea, after he had declared himself to be the son of Varuṇa and that he had caused the brahmans to be drowned in order that they might see the twelve years sattra of Varuṇa that was performed simultaneously with that of Janaka. They at once reappeared, and Kahoda let Ashṭāvakra bathe in the river Samaṅgā, and all his limbs were immediately made straight, and the Samaṅgā became a remover of sin. “Therefore you also should bathe there” (III, 134).
वाचस्पत्यम्
Sanskrit
अष्टावक्रीय
न०
 अष्टावक्रमधिकृत्य कृतः ग्रन्थः छ । भा०व० प० १३२ अध्यायमारंभ्य अध्यायत्रयात्मकग्रन्थभेदे यत्र वादेन वन्दिनं जित्वाऽष्टावक्रेण वन्दिपरा-जितं तेनैव जलेनिमज्जितं पितरम् कहोडनामानं मुनिं मो-चयामास तेन प्रसन्नेन पित्रा तस्याष्टवक्रतादूरीकरणेन सौम्या-कारता कृतेति वर्ण्णितम् ।