Shloka 54
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
न्यग्रोधरूपो न्यग्रोधो वृक्षकर्णस्थितिर्वि भु: । सुतीक्ष्णदशनश्वैव महाकायो महानन:
nyagrodharūpo nyagrodho vṛkṣakarṇasthitir vibhuḥ | sutīkṣṇadaśanaś caiva mahākāyo mahānanaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva sprach: „Er erscheint in der Gestalt des Banyanbaums; er weilt beim Banyan; er ruht auf dem Blatt des Banyan; er ist der allgegenwärtige Herr. Seine Zähne sind überaus scharf; sein Leib ist gewaltig und sein Mund von ungeheurer Weite.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the Lord’s vibhutva—his capacity to pervade and appear in diverse forms. By describing him as banyan-formed, banyan-associated, and resting on a banyan leaf, it points to divine immanence in nature and mythic symbols, encouraging reverence and ethical orientation (dharma) grounded in recognizing the sacred beyond a single fixed form.
Vāyu-deva is describing a formidable, awe-inspiring divine being through a sequence of epithets: his association with the banyan and his immense, fearsome physical traits (sharp teeth, huge body, vast mouth). The description functions as identification through characteristic marks, aligning with traditional imagery (notably the child-form resting on a banyan leaf) while also conveying cosmic grandeur.