Shloka 9
अन्धक-प्रश्नः — Inquiry into Andhaka
Genealogy and Nature
व्यास उवाच । को ह्यंधको वै भगवन्मुनीश कस्यान्वये वीर्यवतः पृथिव्याम् । जातो महात्मा बलवान् प्रधानः किमात्मकः कस्य सुतोंऽधकश्च
vyāsa uvāca | ko hyaṃdhako vai bhagavanmunīśa kasyānvaye vīryavataḥ pṛthivyām | jāto mahātmā balavān pradhānaḥ kimātmakaḥ kasya sutoṃ'dhakaśca
Vyāsa said: “O blessed lord among sages, who indeed is this Andhaka? In whose lineage was this mighty one born upon the earth—this great soul, powerful and foremost? Of what nature is he, and whose son is Andhaka?”
Vyāsa
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
This verse frames a dharmic inquiry: true understanding begins by discerning a being’s origin (janma), nature (svabhāva), and causes (kāraṇa). In Shaiva thought, such inquiry prepares the listener to see how power without right orientation toward Pati (Shiva) becomes bondage (pāśa) rather than liberation.
By asking “who is Andhaka and of what nature,” the text sets up the contrast between asuric self-assertion and surrender to Saguna Shiva (the Lord approachable through Linga-worship). The coming narrative typically shows that strength and lineage do not replace devotion and humility before Shiva.
The practical takeaway is reflective inquiry (svādhyāya) paired with Shiva-smaraṇa: recite the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” while contemplating one’s own nature and impulses, so power and desire become disciplined by devotion rather than ego.