Shloka 30

Devanagari script

याम्यायाव्यक्तकेशाय सद्वृत्ते शड्कराय च | काम्याय हरिनेत्राय स्थाणवे पुरुषाय च,जो यमके अनुकूल रहनेवाले काल हैं, अव्यक्त स्वरूप आकाश ही जिनका केश है, जो सदाचारसम्पन्न, सबका कल्याण करनेवाले, कमनीय, पिंगलनेत्र, सदा स्थित रहनेवाले और अन्तर्यामी पुरुष हैं, जिनके केश भूरे एवं पिंगलवर्णके हैं, जिनका मस्तक मुण्डित है, जो दुबले-पतले और भवसागरसे पार उतारनेवाले हैं, जो सूर्यस्वरूप, उत्तम तीर्थ और अत्यन्त वेगशाली हैं, उन देवाधिदेव महादेवको नमस्कार है

Transliteration

yāmyāyāvyaktakeśāya sadvṛtte śaṅkarāya ca | kāmyāya harinetrāya sthāṇave puruṣāya ca ||

Translation

Vyāsa sprach: Verehrung dem höchsten Herrn—der selbst Kāla, die Zeit, ist, Yama gewogen; dessen „Haar“ das Unmanifestierte (avyakta) ist, die feine Weite gleich dem Äther; der in rechter Lebensführung gegründet ist und als Śaṅkara allen Wesen Wohlergehen schenkt; begehrenswert und gnadenvoll; mit falben Augen; Sthāṇu, der Unbewegte—der innere Purusha (antar-yāmin), der in allen Wesen wohnt.

Word by Word

याम्यायto Yāmya (related to Yama/southern quarter)

अव्यक्तकेशायto him whose hair is unmanifest

सद्वृत्तेto the well-conducted/virtuous one

शङ्करायto Śaṅkara

चand

काम्यायto the desirable/pleasing one

हरिनेत्रायto him with tawny/greenish eyes

स्थाणवेto Sthāṇu (the immovable one; Śiva)

पुरुषायto the Puruṣa (supreme person)

चand

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Śaṅkara (Śiva/Mahādeva)

Yama

Kāla (Time)

Puruṣa (the indwelling Person)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Śiva as the cosmic governor of time and death (Kāla aligned with Yama) and as the indwelling, steady Puruṣa. Ethically, it suggests that even amid war’s chaos, events unfold within a higher dharmic-cosmic order overseen by a beneficent divine principle (Śaṅkara).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa delivers a hymn-like salutation to Mahādeva, listing epithets that describe his cosmic and inner nature. This devotional interlude elevates the narrative tone, invoking divine authority and stability before or amid descriptions of intense conflict in the Droṇa Parva.