Shloka 20
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
निमित्तमात्रं तावत्र सर्वप्राणिवरप्रदौ । कपर्दी जटिलो मुण्ड: श्मशानगृहसेवक:,समस्त प्राणियोंको वर देनेवाले वे दोनों देवता सृष्टि और प्रलयके निमित्तमात्र हैं। (वास्तवमें तो वह सब कुछ भगवान्की इच्छासे ही होता है।) इनमेंसे संहारकारी रुद्रके कपर्दी (जटाजूटधारी), जटिल, मुण्ड, श्मशानगृहका सेवन करनेवाले, उग्र व्रतका आचरण करनेवाले, रुद्र, योगी, परम दारुण, दक्षयज्ञ-विध्वंसक तथा भगनेत्रहारी आदि अनेक नाम हैं
nimittamātraṃ tāvatra sarvaprāṇivarapradau | kapardī jaṭilo muṇḍaḥ śmaśānagṛhasevakaḥ |
Arjuna said: “In this matter, those two deities—bestowers of boons upon all living beings—are only instrumental causes in creation and dissolution. Among them, the destructive Rudra is known by many epithets: the matted-haired (kapardī), the ascetic with tangled locks (jaṭila), the shaven-headed (muṇḍa), the dweller in cremation-grounds (śmaśānagṛha-sevaka), the observer of fierce vows, the yogin, the exceedingly terrible one, the destroyer of Dakṣa’s sacrifice, and the remover of Bhaga’s eye—indicating that cosmic events unfold under the supreme will, while even great gods function as instruments within that order.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even powerful deities who preside over creation and destruction can be understood as ‘nimitta-mātra’—instrumental agents—within a higher, overarching will and cosmic order; this frames divine power in terms of delegated function rather than ultimate autonomy.
Arjuna is describing the role and names of Rudra (Śiva), emphasizing Rudra’s fearsome ascetic attributes and mythic deeds (like destroying Dakṣa’s sacrifice and taking Bhaga’s eye) while asserting that such cosmic acts occur as part of a larger divine governance.