Shloka 13
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
स तु देवो बलेनासीतू सर्वेभ्यो बलवत्तर: । महादेव इति ख्यातस्ततः प्रभृति शड्कर:ः,वे देवबलके द्वारा उन सबकी अपेक्षा अधिक बलशाली हो गये। इसलिये उसी समयसे उन भगवान् शंकरका महादेव नाम विख्यात हो गया
sa tu devo balenāsīt sarvebhyo balavattaraḥ | mahādeva iti khyātas tataḥ prabhṛti śaṅkaraḥ ||
That god, by his might, became stronger than all the others. From that time onward he came to be renowned as “Mahādeva”—the Great God—thus establishing the fame of Śaṅkara.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates Śiva as supreme in strength among the gods, implying that true greatness (mahattva) is recognized through unmatched power and divine eminence; it also reflects how epithets like “Mahādeva” arise from acknowledged superiority.
Duryodhana, speaking within the war-time discourse of the Karṇa Parva, refers to Śiva’s surpassing might and explains that from that moment he became famed as “Mahādeva,” i.e., Śaṅkara’s renown as the Great God was established.