वैशंपायन उवाच
बभूव ब्राह्मणः कश् चिन् माण्डव्य इति विश्रुतः ॥
धृतिमान् सर्वधर्मज्ञः सत्ये तपसि च स्थितः ॥
स आश्रमपदद्वारि वृक्षमूले महातपाः ॥
ऊर्ध्वबाहुर् महायोगी तस्थौ मौनव्रतान्वितः ॥
तस्य कालेन महता तस्मिंस् तपसि तिष्ठतः ॥
तम् आश्रमपदं प्राप्ता दस्यवो लोप्त्रहारिणः ॥
अनुसार्यमाणा बहुभी रक्षिभिर् भरतर्षभ ॥
ते तस्यावसथे लोप्त्रं निदधुः कुरुसत्तम ॥
निधाय च भयाल् लीनास् तत्रैवान्वागते बले ॥
तेषु लीनेष्व् अथो शीघ्रं ततस् तद् रक्षिणां बलम् ॥
आजगाम ततो ऽपश्यंस् तम् ऋषिं तस्करानुगाः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
babhūva brāhmaṇaḥ kaś cin māṇḍavya iti viśrutaḥ ||
dhṛtimān sarvadharmajñaḥ satye tapasi ca sthitaḥ ||
sa āśramapadadvāri vṛkṣamūle mahātapāḥ ||
ūrdhvabāhur mahāyogī tasthau maunavratānvitaḥ ||
tasya kālena mahatā tasmiṃs tapasi tiṣṭhataḥ ||
tam āśramapadaṃ prāptā dasyavo loptrahāriṇaḥ ||
anusāryamāṇā bahubhī rakṣibhir bharatarṣabha ||
te tasyāvasathe loptraṃ nidadhuḥ kurusattama ||
nidhāya ca bhayāl līnās tatraivānvāgate bale ||
teṣu līneṣv atho śīghraṃ tatas tad rakṣiṇāṃ balam ||
ājagāma tato 'paśyaṃs tam ṛṣiṃ taskarānugāḥ ||
Vaishampayana said: "There was a certain brahmin renowned under the name Mandavya -- steadfast, knowing all the laws, established in truth and austerity. He, a great ascetic, a great yogin, stood at the gate of the hermitage at the root of a tree, arms raised, keeping a vow of silence. When, after a long time had passed, he was dwelling in that austerity, robbers carrying away plunder came to his hermitage, pursued by many guards, O bull of the Bharata race. They hid the plunder in his dwelling, O best of the Kurus, and having hidden it, out of fear lay concealed there when the army came following after. Scarcely had they concealed themselves when that army of guards swiftly arrived; and the pursuers of the thieves saw that sage."
0a5c71d5331f · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
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Here the drama of the righteous Mandavya begins to unfold. It is significant how the ascetic is presented: silent, arms raised, beneath a tree, immersed in tapas -- the image of a perfect ascetic established in truth (satya) and austerity (tapas). It is precisely to such a one, utterly blameless, that another's guilt attaches itself: robbers hide their loot in his hermitage and conceal themselves beside him. Thus a saint is often drawn into another's sin through no will of his own: the place of his austerity is defiled by intruding evil, and the shadow of another's crime falls upon the innocent. Mandavya's silence, too, is significant: keeping his vow, he will not speak even in his own defense -- and this fidelity to his vow becomes the knot of his suffering. Thus the scripture prepares us for the great trial of the righteous one, in which the subtle law of karma will be laid bare: suffering comes to the saint from a cause hidden in the distant past, not from any present guilt.