Mandavya impaled; Dharma cursed to be born a Shudra

Classical

A sage's argument about children and sin changed the law and made a god a servant's son.

A learned ascetic, Mandavya, stands silent outside his hermitage while thieves hide loot there. The king's men find it, he does not answer them, and he is impaled but survives through tapas. Other sages visit him as birds. Mandavya confronts Dharma, who says the punishment was for harming insects as a boy. Mandavya argues children should not be punished for such acts and curses Dharma to be born a Shudra, which was fulfilled as Vidura. The trident tip left in his body gave him the name Ani-Mandavya.

Who: Mandavya, Dharma, Yama, Vidura

Bound to

Dharma, Yama, Vidura and Yudhishthira: one essence curse→payoff

Where this comes from

vulgate (Ganguli) · Ganguli translation of the Mahabharata (read via MahabharataOnline) Ganguli, Adi Parva, Section CVII (impalement); curse in the following section (page mahabharata_01109, heading not read)
commentary · Wikipedia: Mandavya Adi Parva

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