Shloka 48
मातृणां पतये चैव गणानां पतये नमः । गवां च पतये नित्यं यज्ञानां पतये नम:,मातृकाओंके अधिपति और गणोंके पालक शिवको नमस्कार है। गोपति और यज्ञपति शंकरको नित्य नमस्कार है
mātṝṇāṃ pataye caiva gaṇānāṃ pataye namaḥ | gavāṃ ca pataye nityaṃ yajñānāṃ pataye namaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: Salutations to Śiva, the lord of the Mothers (the Mātṛkās) and the lord of the Gaṇas. Ever do I bow to Śaṅkara, the protector of cattle and the lord of sacrifices—invoking his guardianship and auspicious order amid the turmoil of war.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
In crisis, dharmic action is strengthened by remembrance of the divine: Śiva is praised as the lord who governs fierce powers (Mātṛkās and Gaṇas) and who upholds social-ritual order (cattle and sacrifice). The verse models devotion as a source of protection and steadiness.
Vyāsa utters a brief hymn of salutation to Śiva/Śaṅkara, invoking him through traditional epithets—lord of the Mātṛkās and Gaṇas, protector of cattle, and lord of sacrifice—framing the surrounding war narrative with a call for auspicious guardianship.