Shloka 13
Dyūta-kathā-praśnaḥ — Inquiry into the Dice-Game Calamity
स्वप्रे द्रक्ष्यसि राजेन्द्र क्षपान्ते त्वं वृषध्वजम् | नीलकण्ठं भवं स्थाणुं कपालिं त्रिपुरान्तकम्,'राजेन्द्र! तुम रातके अन्तमें स्वप्नमें उन वृषभध्वज भगवान् शंकरका दर्शन करोगे, जो नीलकण्ठ, भव, स्थाणु, कपाली, त्रिपुरान्तक, उग्र, रुद्र, पशुपति, महादेव, उमापति, हर, शर्व, वृष, शूली, पिनाकी तथा कृत्तिवासा कहलाते हैं
svapne drakṣyasi rājendra kṣapānte tvaṁ vṛṣadhvajam | nīlakaṇṭhaṁ bhavaṁ sthāṇuṁ kapāliṁ tripurāntakam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O best of kings, at the end of the night you will behold in a dream the Bull-bannered Lord—Śiva—known as Nīlakaṇṭha, Bhava, Sthāṇu, Kapālin, and Tripurāntaka.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that divine communication and guidance may come through signs such as dreams, especially to rulers bearing heavy moral responsibility. The many epithets of Śiva highlight his multifaceted nature—ascetic and cosmic, terrifying and protective—suggesting that true authority is ultimately under a higher, dharmic order.
Vaiśampāyana foretells to the king that, toward the end of the night, he will receive a dream-vision of Śiva. The narration lists several of Śiva’s well-known names, framing the dream as a significant omen and a moment of divine encounter within the unfolding events of the Sabha Parva.