Shloka 53

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

Anuśāsana-parva 17

Devanagari script

तेजो5पहारी बलहा मुदितो<र्थोडजितोडवर: । गम्भीरघोषो गम्भीरो गम्भीरबलवाहन:

Transliteration

Vāyudeva uvāca: tejopahārī balahā mudito 'rtho 'jito 'varaḥ | gambhīraghoṣo gambhīro gambhīrabalavāhanaḥ ||

Translation

Vāyu sprach: „Er ist es, der den Glanz anderer rauben kann; der Bezwinger des Dämons Bala; die Verkörperung von Freude und wahrer Bedeutung; unbesiegt, ohne einen Höheren. Sein Brüllen ist tief, sein Wesen ist grundlos, und sein Reittier trägt unermessliche Kraft.“

Word by Word

• तेजोपहारी: one who steals/withdraws others’ splendor
• तेजोपहारी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तेजस् + अपहारी (अप-हृ धातु से हरि/हारी)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बलहा: slayer of Bala
• बलहा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बल + ह (हन् धातु से -ह)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मुदितः: joyful; delighted
• मुदितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुदित (मुद् धातु से क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अर्थः: meaning; purpose; wealth (as the very ‘artha’)
• अर्थः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अजितः: unconquered; invincible
• अजितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अजित (जि धातु से क्त; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अवरः: unsurpassed; having none superior
• अवरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गम्भीरघोषः: one whose sound/roar is deep
• गम्भीरघोषः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम्भीर + घोष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गम्भीरः: deep; profound; grave
• गम्भीरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम्भीर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गम्भीरबलवाहनः: one whose mount/vehicle has immense strength (i.e., riding the mighty bull)
• गम्भीरबलवाहनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम्भीर + बल + वाहन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva
• Śiva
• Bala (daitya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches reverence for the supreme divine principle embodied by Śiva: he humbles borrowed brilliance (pride), destroys demonic obstruction (Bala), and represents profound steadiness and invincibility—qualities to be cultivated ethically as depth, restraint, and reliance on dharma rather than mere display of power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is reciting a sequence of honorific names (nāma/guṇa-kīrtana) describing Śiva. Each epithet highlights a facet of Śiva’s power and character—his supremacy, his deep and awe-inspiring presence, and his role as destroyer of a demon—within a devotional praise passage in the Anuśāsana Parva.