Shloka 12

Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)

Devanagari script

इमां चेदापदं घोरां तराम्यद्य सुदुष्कराम्‌ । सर्वभूतोपहारेण यक्ष्येडहं शुचिना शुचिम्‌

Transliteration

imāṁ ced āpadaṁ ghorāṁ tarāmy adya suduṣkarām | sarvabhūtopahāreṇa yakṣye 'haṁ śucinā śucim ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “If today I can cross beyond this dreadful calamity—so exceedingly hard to overcome—then, with a pure heart, I shall worship the Most Pure Lord, offering a sanctified gift that embraces all beings.”

Word by Word

• {'imām': 'this (feminine accusative singular)', 'cet': 'if', 'āpadaṁ': 'calamity, crisis, misfortune', 'ghorām': 'terrible, dreadful', 'tarāmi': 'I cross over, I overcome', 'adya': 'today, now', 'suduṣkarām': 'very difficult to accomplish/overcome', 'sarvabhūta': 'all beings, all creatures', 'upahāreṇa': 'by/with an offering, gift, oblation', 'yakṣye': 'I shall worship/sacrifice (future of √yaj)', 'aham': 'I', 'śucinā': 'with purity

• by one who is pure (instrumental)', 'śucim': 'the Pure One

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• śuci (the Pure One; the supremely pure Lord)
• sarvabhūta (all beings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In the face of extreme danger, the speaker frames survival as a moral occasion for gratitude and purification: overcoming calamity should lead to a vow of worship performed with inner cleanliness and an offering oriented toward the welfare of all beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a resolve made amid a terrifying, nearly unsurvivable crisis: if he can get through the present peril, he will perform worship (yaj-like devotion) to the supremely pure Lord, presenting an offering described as connected with or inclusive of all creatures.