Shloka 39
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
महातपा घोरतपा अदीनो दीनसाधक: । संवत्सरकरो मन्त्र: प्रमाणं परमं तप:,७४ महातपा:--महान् तपस्वी, ७५ घोरतपा:--भयंकर तपस्या करनेवाले, ७६ अदीन:--उदार, ७७ दीनसाधक:--शरणमें आये हुए दीन-दुखियोंका मनोरथ सिद्ध करनेवाले, ७८ संवत्सरकर:--संवत्सरका निर्माता, ७९ मन्त्र:--प्रणव आदि मन्त्ररूप, ८० प्रमाणम्--प्रमाणस्वरूप, ८१ परमं तपः--उत्कृष्ट तप:स्वरूप
mahātapā ghoratapā adīno dīnasādhakaḥ | saṃvatsarakaro mantraḥ pramāṇaṃ paramaṃ tapaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva said: “He is a great ascetic, of awe-inspiring austerity—noble and never mean-spirited—one who fulfills the hopes of the distressed who seek refuge. He is the maker of the year, the very form of mantra (such as the sacred syllable Oṃ), the standard of true authority, and austerity itself in its highest perfection.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises an ideal of spiritual greatness: true tapas is not merely self-mortification but a noble power aligned with cosmic order, sacred truth (mantra and pramāṇa), and compassionate responsiveness to those who seek refuge.
Vāyu-deva is speaking in eulogy, describing a supremely exalted being through a chain of epithets—great in austerity, compassionate to the distressed, and identified with cosmic time and sacred authority—thereby establishing that being’s spiritual and moral supremacy.