Shloka 182
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
वाय्वम्बुभुजो5पि सतो नरस्य दुःखक्षय: कुतस्तस्य । भवति हि सुरासुरगुरौ यस्य न विश्वेश्वरे भक्ति:
vāyv-ambubhujo 'pi sato narasya duḥkha-kṣayaḥ kutaḥ tasya | bhavati hi surāsura-gurau yasya na viśveśvare bhaktiḥ ||
Vāsudeva said: “Even if a man lives on nothing but air and water, how could his sufferings ever come to an end if he has no devotion to Viśveśvara—the Lord who is the teacher of both gods and demons?”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
External austerities—such as living only on air and water—do not by themselves end suffering; the decisive cause of the cessation of sorrow is devotion (bhakti) to Viśveśvara, the supreme Lord.
Vāsudeva is instructing the listener by contrasting severe ascetic practice with inner devotion, asserting that without devotion to the Lord revered as the teacher of both suras and asuras, one cannot attain the destruction of suffering.