Shloka 18
ऐल उवाच कुतो रुद्र: कीदृशो वापि रुद्र: सत्त्वै: सत्त्वं दृश्यते वध्यमानम् । एतत् सर्व कश्यप मे प्रचक्ष्व कुतो रुद्रो जायते देव एष:,पुरूरवाने पूछा--कश्यपजी! ये रुद्रदेव कहाँसे आते हैं और कैसे हैं? इस जगत्में तो प्राणियोंद्वारा ही प्राणियोंका वध होता देखा जाता है; फिर ये रुद्रदेव किससे उत्पन्न होते हैं? ये सब बातें मुझे बताइये
aila uvāca: kuto rudraḥ? kīdṛśo vāpi rudraḥ? sattvaiḥ sattvaṃ dṛśyate vadhyamānam. etat sarvaṃ kaśyapa me pracakṣva—kuto rudro jāyate deva eṣaḥ?
Aila said: “From where does Rudra arise, and what is Rudra like? In this world one sees living beings killing other living beings. So from whom is this god Rudra born? O Kaśyapa, tell me all of this clearly.”
ऐल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry into divine causation: if worldly killing is seen as creature-against-creature, how can a transcendent deity associated with destruction (Rudra) be said to be ‘born’ and from what source? It invites a dharmic explanation that distinguishes ordinary violence from cosmic function and origin.
King Aila (Purūravas) questions the sage Kaśyapa about Rudra—his origin and nature—prompted by the observation that in the world beings kill beings, so he seeks to know how Rudra, a divine power linked with destruction, comes into existence and from whom.