Shloka 17

Sati's Death & Virabhadra — Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो रौद्रं रुद्रः क्रोधाप्लुतो बभौ क्रुद्धस्य सर्वगात्रेभ्यो निश्चेरुः सहसार्चिषः

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca etacchrutvā vaco raudraṃ rudraḥ krodhāpluto babhau kruddhasya sarvagātrebhyo niśceruḥ sahasārciṣaḥ

Translation

Pulastya sprach: Als Rudra jene wilden Worte hörte, wurde er von Zorn überflutet. Aus allen Gliedern des Erzürnten brachen tausendfach Flammen hervor.

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), 'having heard'

• vacaḥ: speech/words
• vacaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• raudram: fierce/terrible
• raudram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; agrees with vacaḥ

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• krodha-āplutaḥ: overwhelmed by anger
• krodha-āplutaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krodha (प्रातिपदिक) + āpluta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक from ā-√plu)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'flooded/overwhelmed with anger'; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; qualifies rudraḥ

• babhau: became/appeared
• babhau: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• kruddhasya: of the enraged one
• kruddhasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √krudh (धातु) + kruddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; 'of the enraged (Rudra)'

• sarva-gātrebhyaḥ: from all (his) limbs
• sarva-gātrebhyaḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'from all limbs'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (gātra), पञ्चमी (5th), बहुवचन

• niśceruḥ: came forth
• niśceruḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nis-√car (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• sahasā-arcīṃṣi: flames in a sudden burst
• sahasā-arcīṃṣi: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय) + arcis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव: 'suddenly-flames' = 'flames in a sudden burst'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (arcīṃṣi)

Speakers

• Pulastya → Narada (standard Purāṇic dialogue frame; Narada not explicit in verse but implied by ‘Pulastya uvāca’)

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Divine wrath
• Ritual conflict (yajña-bhaṅga motif)
• Moral causality

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

When dharma is violated through arrogance and exclusion (a common Dakṣa-yajña theme), the cosmos responds: Rudra’s anger is not mere emotion but a moral force that corrects ritualized injustice.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Vamśānucarita/Carita: an instructive divine episode explaining the power dynamics of gods and the sanctity (and limits) of yajña when severed from humility and right relation.

What is the symbolic significance?

Flames from Rudra’s limbs symbolize tapas/tejas—spiritual heat becoming cosmic energy. It also encodes the idea that the divine body is the universe: disturbance in dharma manifests as elemental upheaval.