Shloka 42
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
गणकर्ता गणपतिर्दिग्वासा: काम एव च | मन्त्रवित् परमो मन्त्र: सर्वभावकरो हर:
gaṇakartā gaṇapatir digvāsāḥ kāma eva ca | mantravit paramo mantraḥ sarvabhāvakaro haraḥ ||
Vāyu-deva sprach: „Er ist der Ordner der Gaṇas, Gaṇapati, Herr der Gaṇas; der Himmelsbekleidete (digambara); und wahrlich ‚Kāma‘, der Begehrenswerte. Er ist der Kenner der Mantras und das höchste Mantra selbst; der Schöpfer aller Wesen und aller Daseinszustände; und Hara, der den Kummer fortnimmt.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a devotional-ethical vision of Śiva: he is both the cosmic source (creator of all states and beings) and the compassionate remover of suffering. It also elevates mantra as not merely a tool but as a manifestation of the divine—suggesting that disciplined sacred speech and devotion orient one toward dharma and inner purification.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instructional setting, Vāyudeva speaks in praise of Śiva through a chain of epithets. The passage functions like a litany (nāma-stuti), identifying Śiva’s roles—leader of his attendant hosts, ascetic digambara, embodiment and knower of mantra, creator of all conditions, and remover of sorrow.