Shloka 3
Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)
नानौषधियुते रम्ये नानापुष्पसमाकुले । अप्सरोगणसंकीर्णे भूतसंघनिषेविते
nānauṣadhi-yute ramye nānā-puṣpa-samākule | apsarogaṇa-saṅkīrṇe bhūta-saṅgha-niṣevite ||
Nārada dit : «Ô Seigneur Bienheureux ! Sur cette montagne de l’Himalaya, souverainement sainte —où demeurent les Siddhas et les Cāraṇas, charmante par ses innombrables plantes médicinales et foisonnante de fleurs variées, encombrée de troupes d’Apsaras et fréquentée par des compagnies de Bhūtas— là, le juste Seigneur des dieux, Bhagavān Śaṅkara, était absorbé dans les austérités.»
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames tapas (austerity) and dharma as qualities even the highest divine being embodies, and it presents the Himalaya as a sanctified setting where purity, spiritual attainment (Siddhas), and disciplined practice converge—implying that ethical-spiritual excellence is cultivated through sustained restraint and sacred intent.
Nārada describes a wondrous, holy region of the Himalaya—rich in healing herbs and flowers and inhabited by celestial and spirit beings—and states that Bhagavān Śaṅkara, the lord of the gods and righteous in nature, is performing austerities there.