Shloka 78
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
न शव्यं द्रष्टमन्येन वर्जयित्वा पिनाकिनम् । सुदर्शनं भवत्येवं भवेनोक्तं तदा तु तत्
na śavyaṁ draṣṭam anyena varjayitvā pinākinam | sudarśanaṁ bhavaty evaṁ bhavenoktaṁ tadā tu tat ||
Vāsudeva said: “No one else could behold it, except the wielder of the Pināka (Śiva). At that time Bhava (Śiva) declared, ‘Let it become easy to behold—Sudarśana.’ From then on, that weapon came to be known in the world by the name Sudarśana.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes the overwhelming potency of divine weapons and the necessity of restraint and rightful authority: some powers are not meant for ordinary perception or handling, and their safe manifestation depends on divine sanction.
Vāsudeva recounts that the weapon was so formidable that none but Śiva (Pinākin) could behold it; Śiva then pronounced that it should become ‘Sudarśana’—easy/auspicious to see—thereby giving it the famous name by which it became known.