Shloka 193
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
यथा सर्वेषु देवेषु वरिष्ठो भगवान् शिव: । तथा स्तवो वरिष्ठो5यं स्तवानां ब्रह्मसम्मित:
yathā sarveṣu deveṣu variṣṭho bhagavān śivaḥ | tathā stavo variṣṭho 'yaṃ stavānāṃ brahmasammitaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Just as, among all the gods, the Blessed Lord Śiva is the foremost, so too this hymn is the foremost among hymns—esteemed as equal to Brahman itself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates devotion expressed through sacred praise: as Śiva is supreme among the gods, so a particular stuti is declared supreme among hymns, even ‘equal to Brahman’—implying that rightly directed praise can function as a highest spiritual means and embodiment of sacred truth.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and spiritual disciplines. Here he introduces or commends a specific hymn of praise to Śiva, asserting its unsurpassed status and sanctity.