Shloka 82
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
आपके रूपकी कहीं भी समता नहीं है, इसलिये आप अप्रतिरूप हैं। विविध रूप धारण करनेके कारण आपका नाम विरूप है। आप ही परम कल्याणकारी शिव हैं। आप ही सूर्य हैं, आप ही सूर्यमण्डलके भीतर सुशोभित होते हैं। आप अपनी ध्वजा और पताकापर सूर्यका चिह्न धारण करते हैं। आपको नमस्कार है ।। नमः प्रमथनाथाय वृषस्कन्धाय धन्विने । शत्रुंदमाय दण्डाय पर्णचीरपटाय च
namaḥ pramathanāthāya vṛṣaskandhāya dhanvine | śatrudamāya daṇḍāya parṇacīrapaṭāya ca ||
Since none anywhere is equal to your form, you are Apratirūpa, the incomparable. Because you assume many forms, you are Virūpa. You are Śiva, the supreme auspicious one. You are the Sun, shining within the solar orb; upon your banner and pennant is borne the mark of the Sun. To you be salutation. Salutation to Pramathanātha, lord of the Pramathas—bull-shouldered and bow-bearing, subduer of enemies, the very power of chastisement, who also appears as an ascetic clad in bark-garments and leaf-cloth.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the divine upholder of welfare also upholds moral order through restraint and rightful punishment (daṇḍa). Shiva is praised as both powerful protector (bow-bearing, enemy-subduing) and austere renunciant (bark/leaf-clad), suggesting that ethical governance requires strength guided by inner discipline.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs and consoles after the war, often grounding dharma in theological praise. Here he recites a salutation to Shiva using epithets that highlight Shiva’s cosmic sovereignty, martial power, and ascetic purity, integrating devotion with lessons on righteous authority.