Shloka 37
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
क्षेत्रीौषध्यो यज्ञवाहाश्छन्दांस्यृषिगणाध्वरा: । समुद्रा दक्षिणास्तोभा ऋक्षाणि पितरो ग्रहा:
kṣetrī auṣadhyo yajñavāhāś chandāṁsy ṛṣigaṇādhvarāḥ | samudrā dakṣiṇāstobhā ṛkṣāṇi pitaro grahāḥ ||
Vāsudeva said: “The sacred field and the healing herbs; the bearers of the sacrifice; the Vedic metres and the companies of seers who conduct the rites; the oceans and the gifts given as sacrificial fees; the stobha-chants; the constellations, the ancestors, and the planets—these too are encompassed within the divine order I describe.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an all-encompassing vision of dharma: ritual elements (yajña, chandas, stobha, dakṣiṇā), natural supports (fields, herbs, oceans), and cosmic regulators (constellations, ancestors, planets) form a single integrated sacred order. Ethical life therefore includes reverence for tradition, gratitude through right giving, and responsible care for the natural and cosmic rhythms that sustain society.
Vāsudeva is enumerating categories of beings and principles to show the breadth of the divine/cosmic manifestation being discussed. By listing ritual agents, Vedic forms, natural features, and celestial/ancestral powers, he frames the teaching as universal—extending from sacrificial practice to the structure of the cosmos.