Shloka 71

Devanagari script

गन्धमादनविन्ध्यौ च कृत्वा वंशध्वजौ हर: । पृथ्वीं ससागरवनां रथं कृत्वा तु शड्कर:

Transliteration

Gandhamādana-vindhyau ca kṛtvā vaṁśa-dhvajau Haraḥ | Pṛthvīṁ sa-sāgara-vanāṁ rathaṁ kṛtvā tu Śaṅkaraḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: Hara (Śiva) fashioned Gandhamādana and the Vindhya as the two banner-poles of his chariot; and Śaṅkara made the earth—together with its oceans and forests—into his chariot itself.

Word by Word

गन्धमादनGandhamādana (mountain)

विन्ध्यौthe two Vindhya mountains / Vindhya (as a pair)

चand

कृत्वाhaving made

वंशध्वजौtwo bamboo-bannered standards (lit. bamboo-flagpoles)

हरःHara (Śiva)

पृथ्वीम्the earth

ससागरवनाम्together with oceans and forests

रथम्a chariot

कृत्वाhaving made

तुbut/indeed

शङ्करःŚaṅkara (Śiva)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Hara (Śiva)

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Gandhamādana

Vindhya

Earth (Pṛthvī)

Oceans (Sāgara)

Forests (Vana)

Chariot (Ratha)

Banner-poles/flagstaffs (Vaṁśa-dhvaja)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches humility before the divine: even mountains and the whole earth are portrayed as mere components of Śiva’s chariot, implying that worldly greatness is subordinate to cosmic order and should not become a basis for arrogance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa describes Śiva in grand, hyperbolic imagery—turning Gandhamādana and Vindhya into chariot flagpoles and the earth with its oceans and forests into the chariot—emphasizing the deity’s overwhelming, world-encompassing might.