Shloka 58
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
ततो5थ वरदो देवस्तान् सर्वानमरान् स्थितान् | अशरीरो बभाषेदं वाक्यं खस्थो महेश्वर:
tato ’tha varado devas tān sarvān amarān sthitān | aśarīro babhāṣedaṃ vākyaṃ khastho maheśvaraḥ ||
Then, when the allotment of the sacrificial shares had been firmly settled, the boon-giving Lord—Maheśvara—abiding in the sky, bodiless, addressed all those assembled immortals with these words:
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that dharmic order in ritual life—such as the proper settlement of sacrificial shares—rests on higher divine sanction, and that true authority is not limited by physical embodiment.
After the sacrificial portions have been determined, Maheśvara, remaining in the sky without a visible body, addresses the assembled gods, introducing a divine pronouncement that follows.