Shloka 143
ब्रह्मचर्य चरत्येष शिवा यास्य तनुस्तया । यास्य घोरतरा मूर्ति: सर्वानित्ति तयेश्वर:,उनकी जो शिव मूर्ति है, वह जगत्की रक्षाके लिये ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करती है और उनकी जो घोरतर मूर्ति है, उसके द्वारा भगवान् शंकर सम्पूर्ण जगत्का संहार करते हैं
brahmacaryaṁ caratyeṣā śivā yāsya tanus tayā | yāsya ghoratarā mūrtiḥ sarvān atti tayā īśvaraḥ ||
Vyāsa said: That auspicious form of Śiva, by which he safeguards the world, abides in brahmacarya (disciplined continence). Yet there is also his more terrible form—through that dread manifestation the Lord Śaṅkara consumes (destroys) the entire world. The verse underscores Śiva’s twofold cosmic function: protection through restraint and dissolution through overwhelming power.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that divine power is ethically structured: restraint (brahmacarya) sustains and protects the world, while the same divinity also bears a fearsome aspect that dissolves creation when cosmic balance requires it. Protection and destruction are not contradictions but complementary functions within dharma and cosmic order.
Vyāsa explains Śiva’s dual manifestations—an auspicious, world-protecting form characterized by disciplined restraint, and a more terrible form through which Śaṅkara brings about total destruction. This frames Śiva as both guardian and dissolver, contextualizing events in the epic within a larger cosmic theology.