Shloka 113

Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration

Anuśāsana-parva 17

Devanagari script

६८२ प्रभावात्मा--उत्कृष्ट सत्तास्वरूप, ६८३ जगत्‌कालस्थाल:--प्रलयकालमें जगत्‌का संहार करनेवाले कालके स्थान, ६८४ लोकहित:--लोकहितैषी, ६८५ तरु:-- तारनेवाले, ६८६ सारजड्भ:--चातकस्वरूप, ६८७ नवचक्राड्र:--नूतन हंसरूप, ६८८ केतुमाली--ध्वजा-पताकाओंकी मालाओंसे अलंकृत, ६८९ सभावन:--धर्मस्थानकी रक्षा करनेवाले ।।

Transliteration

prabhāvātmā utkṛṣṭa-sattā-svarūpaḥ jagat-kāla-sthālaḥ pralaya-kāle jagataḥ saṃhārakālasya sthānam loka-hitaḥ lokahitaiṣī taruḥ tārayitā sārajaḍbhaḥ cātaka-svarūpaḥ navacakrāḍraḥ nūtana-haṃsa-svarūpaḥ ketumālī dhvajā-patākā-mālābhiḥ alaṅkṛtaḥ sabhāvanaḥ dharma-sthāna-rakṣakaḥ | bhūtālayaḥ bhūtapatiḥ ahorātram aninditaḥ |

Translation

Vāyu sprach: „Er ist von strahlender Wesenheit, die höchste Gestalt reinen Seins; der eigentliche Sitz der Zeit, die bei der Auflösung (Pralaya) die Welt zurücknimmt. Er ist Wohltäter aller Geschöpfe, ein Retter, der die Wesen hinüberführt. In glückverheißenden Formen erscheint er — wie der Cātaka-Vogel und wie ein frischer, edler Schwan — geschmückt mit Bannern und Wimpeln. Er schützt die Versammlung des Dharma. Er ist die Wohnstatt aller Wesen und der Herr aller Wesen; er ist Tag und Nacht selbst, und er ist jenseits allen Tadels.“

Word by Word

• भूतालयः: abode of beings; dwelling-place of all creatures
• भूतालयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतालय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूतपतिः: lord of beings; master of all creatures
• भूतपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतपति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अहोरात्रम्: day and night; continuously
• अहोरात्रम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहोरात्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनिन्दितः: blameless; irreproachable
• अनिन्दितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिन्दित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• Time (Kāla)
• Pralaya (cosmic dissolution)
• Dharma-sabhā / dharma-sthāna (assembly/seat of dharma)
• Cātaka bird
• Haṃsa (swan)
• Ketu (banner/standard)
• Bhūta (all beings/creatures)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents the divine as both transcendent (supreme pure being, beyond blame) and immanent (dwelling in all beings, manifest as day and night, governing cosmic Time). Ethically, it frames ultimate authority as inherently loka-hita—working for the welfare of all—and as the protector of dharma in communal life (the sabhā).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu is delivering a stuti (praise-description), listing epithets that identify the praised deity as the cosmic ground of existence and time, the benefactor and savior of beings, and the guardian of the dharma-assembly, using symbolic forms (cātaka, haṃsa) and royal insignia (banners).