Shloka 97
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
एकपाद्वहुनेत्राय एकशीष्णें नमोस्तु ते । रुद्राय क्षुद्रलुब्धाय संविभागप्रियाय च,एक पाद, अनेक नेत्र और एक मस्तकवाले आपको प्रणाम है। भक्तोंकी दी हुई छोटी- से-छोटी वस्तुके लिये भी लालायित रहनेवाले और उसके बदलेमें उन्हें अपार धनराशि बाँट देनेकी रुचि रखनेवाले आप भगवान् रुद्रको नमस्कार है
ekapād-bahunetrāya ekaśīrṣṇe namo 'stu te | rudrāya kṣudralubdhāya saṃvibhāgapriyāya ca ||
Bhishma offers a reverential salutation to Rudra: the one-footed, many-eyed, one-headed Lord. He praises Rudra’s paradoxical grace—one who seems eager even for the smallest offering from devotees, yet delights in redistributing it back as abundant wealth and blessings.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a devotional ethic of reciprocity: even a small offering made with faith is valued by the deity, and divine grace responds with magnified generosity. It also frames Rudra as omniscient and transcendent, beyond ordinary physical categories.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma is instructing and also reciting praises; here he addresses Rudra directly with epithets and salutations, describing Rudra’s distinctive form and his delight in accepting offerings and bestowing abundant returns.