Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 198
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
हेतुवादैर्विनिर्मुक्ते सांख्ययोगार्थदं परम् यमुपासन्ति तत्त्वज्ञा वरं तस्माद् वृणीमहे
hetuvādair vinirmukte sāṅkhyayogārthadaṃ param | yam upāsanti tattvajñā varaṃ tasmād vṛṇīmahe ||
Freed from contentious disputation and mere logic-chopping, the Supreme One who grants to devotees the highest aim of Sāṅkhya and Yoga—final release from suffering and direct realization of Brahman—whom the knowers of truth continually worship: from that very Mahādeva we seek a boon.
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates Mahādeva as the supreme refuge beyond mere argumentative reasoning (hetuvāda), emphasizing that true liberation—the highest end of Sāṅkhya (discriminative knowledge) and Yoga (disciplined practice)—is attained through truth-knowledge and devoted worship rather than intellectual disputation alone.
Śakra (Indra), speaking in praise, identifies Mahādeva as the one revered by realized sages and as the bestower of the highest spiritual end; on that basis, he declares that he (and his side) will seek a boon from Mahādeva.