Shloka 41
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
दशबाहुस्त्वनिमिषो नीलकण्ठ उमापतिः । विश्वरूप: स्वयं श्रेष्ठी बलवीरोडबलो गण:,९१ दशबाहु:--दस भुजाओंसे युक्त, ९२ अनिमिष:--कभी पलक न गिरानेवाले, ९३ नीलकण्ठ:--जगत्की रक्षाके लिये हालाहल विषका पान करके उसके नील चिह्नको कष्टमें धारण करनेवाले, ९४ उमापति:--गिरिराजकुमारी उमाके पतिदेव, ९५ विश्वरूप: --जगत्स्वरूप, ९६ स्वयं श्रेष्ठ:--स्वतःसिद्ध श्रेष्ठतासे सम्पन्न, ९७ बलवीर:--बल के द्वारा वीरता प्रकट करनेवाले, ९८ अबलो गण:--निर्बल समुदायरूप
daśabāhus tv animiṣo nīlakaṇṭha umāpatiḥ | viśvarūpaḥ svayaṁ śreṣṭhī balavīro 'balo gaṇaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva said: “He is ten-armed and unblinking; the Blue-throated Lord, the consort of Umā. He is of universal form, self-established in supreme excellence—heroic through strength—yet also the ‘company of the powerless,’ the refuge and collective support of those who have no strength of their own.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises Śiva as simultaneously supremely powerful and deeply compassionate: he bears cosmic responsibility (nīlakaṇṭha, viśvarūpa) and becomes the refuge of those without power (abala-gaṇa). Ethical emphasis falls on strength being used for protection and support of the vulnerable.
Vāyu is describing and eulogizing Śiva by listing epithets that highlight his form, deeds, and role in the moral order—especially his world-protecting act associated with the halāhala poison and his function as a shelter for the weak.