Ashtavakra Debates the Gatekeeper for Entry
Ashtavakra, a ten-year-old boy with a twisted body, arrives at King Janaka's great sacrifice but is stopped at the gate. The gatekeeper bars him, citing Bandi's order: no child brahmanas may enter. Ashtavakra does not plead. He argues — that age is measured by learning and vows, not by years or limbs — and demands entry to face Bandi in debate.
Ashtavakra arrived at King Janaka's sacrifice with his companions, but the gatekeeper stopped them before they could enter.
The gatekeeper explained: "We are bound by the commands of Bandi. No brahmanas who are children will be allowed entry. Only the old and the learned, the best of brahmanas, will be allowed to enter."
Ashtavakra looked at the gatekeeper. He was ten years old. His body was twisted in eight places — the result of a curse his father had pronounced while he was still in the womb. By every visible measure, he was a child.
He said: "If entry is allowed to the aged, then I have a right to enter. We are aged because we have observed vows. We have a right to enter because of our knowledge of the Vedas. We have served and are in control of our senses. We have faithfully trodden the path of knowledge. It is said that children should not be slighted. If touched, a young fire also burns."
The gatekeeper was not convinced. "If you know, recite the single-syllabled and many-formed verse invoking Sarasvati. Look at your limbs. You are a child. Do not boast. It is difficult to obtain success in debates."
Ashtavakra answered: "Age cannot be deduced from the growth of the body, just as the number of knots on a shalmali tree does not indicate its age. Whether it is short or small in form, it is aged because it is full of fruit. A tree without fruit has no traits of age."
The gatekeeper pressed further: "The young receive intelligence from the old, and in due course of time, become aged too. It is impossible to obtain learning in a short time. Therefore, despite being a child, why do you speak as if aged?"
Ashtavakra replied: "One does not become old because one's hair has turned white. The gods know that a child who is learned is old. The rishis have not decreed that the merit of dharma depends on years, grey hair, riches or relatives. One who has learning is great. I have come here to meet Bandi in the king's presence. Go and announce this now to the king who is garlanded with lotuses. O gatekeeper! Today, you will witness me engaged in a debate with the learned. I may become superior, or I may become inferior, when all the others become silent today."
The gatekeeper looked at the boy before him — twisted, young, speaking with the authority of a sage. He relented.
"You are only ten years old. How can you enter a sacrifice reserved for entry to the humble and the learned? I will have to devise a means for you to enter. But you must take due care." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 430