Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 180
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
पशुपतिवचनाद् भवामि सद्य: कृमिरथवा तरुरप्यनेकशाख: । अपशुपतिवरप्रसादजा मे त्रिभुवनराज्यविभूतिरप्यनिष्टा
paśupativacanād bhavāmi sadyaḥ kṛmir athavā tarur apy anekaśākhaḥ | apaśupativarprasādajā me tribhuvanarājyavibhūtir apy aniṣṭā ||
Vāsudeva said: “At Lord Paśupati’s word I can at once, and gladly, become even a worm—or a tree with many branches. But if the splendor of sovereignty over the three worlds were to come to me by the boon and favor of anyone other than Paśupati (Śiva), even that would not be desirable to me.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
True devotion values the deity’s will and grace above worldly attainment: even the highest sovereignty is rejected if it is not aligned with, or granted by, the revered Lord (here, Paśupati/Śiva).
Vāsudeva declares his readiness to accept any form—lowly like a worm or inert like a tree—if it is by Śiva’s command, while refusing even cosmic kingship if it comes through the boon of anyone other than Śiva.