Shloka 7
यन्निर्दहति यत्तीक्ष्णो यदुग्रो यत् प्रतापवान् | मांसशोणितमज्जादो यत् ततो रुद्र उच्यते
yan nirdahati yat tīkṣṇo yad ugro yat pratāpavān | māṃsa-śoṇita-majjādo yat tato rudra ucyate ||
Vāyu said: “Because he burns all beings, because he is exceedingly sharp and fierce, because he is mighty in power, and because—like the fire of dissolution—he consumes even flesh, blood, and marrow, therefore he is called ‘Rudra.’”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains a traditional name-derivation: ‘Rudra’ is so called because of his overwhelming, destructive potency—burning, fierce, and all-consuming like the cosmic fire at dissolution. It frames divine terror not as cruelty but as a cosmic function of dissolution and transformation.
Vāyu is describing Rudra by listing defining attributes—burning power, sharpness, fierceness, and irresistible might—and concludes that these qualities are the reason for the epithet ‘Rudra.’ The passage functions as a theological characterization within Anuśāsana Parva’s discourse material.