Shloka 60

Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration

Anuśāsana-parva 17

Devanagari script

विमोचन: सुसरणो हिरण्यकवचोद्धव: । मेढ्रजो बलचारी च महीचारी ख्रुतस्तथा

Transliteration

vimocanaḥ susaraṇo hiraṇyakavacoddhavaḥ | meḍhrajo balacārī ca mahīcārī khrutastathā ||

Translation

Vāyu-deva dit : «(Il est) Vimocana, le Libérateur ; Susaraṇa, le refuge excellent ; Hiraṇyakavacoddhava, la source d’où surgit le principe “cuirassé d’or” ; Meḍhraja ; Balacārī, celui qui met en mouvement et distribue la force ; Mahīcārī, celui qui parcourt toute la terre ; et Khruta, l’Omniprésent.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vimocanaḥ', 'definition': '‘Liberator’

• one who releases (from bondage, especially saṃsāra or constraints).'}, {'term': 'susaraṇaḥ', 'definition': '‘Excellent refuge/shelter’

• a supreme resort or protector.'}, {'term': 'hiraṇya-kavaca-uddhavaḥ', 'definition': '‘From whom the golden armour arises’

• an epithet suggesting a cosmic source/origin (uddhava/udbhava = origin).'}, {'term': 'meḍhrajaḥ', 'definition': 'A name/epithet

• literally ‘born of/connected with meḍhra (generative organ)’, often implying generative potency or vital force (exact nuance depends on tradition).'}, {'term': 'balacārī', 'definition': '‘Mover/agent of strength’

• one who circulates, impels, or conveys bala (strength, vigor).'}, {'term': 'mahīcārī', 'definition': '‘Earth-roamer’

• one who moves throughout the earth/world.'}, {'term': 'khrutaḥ', 'definition': 'An epithet glossed in the provided note as ‘present everywhere / all-reaching’ (sarvatra pahũce hue).'}]

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches devotion through recognizing the divine as (1) the liberator from bondage, (2) the supreme refuge, and (3) the cosmic power that sustains vitality and pervades the world—encouraging ethical steadiness grounded in reliance on that higher support.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva is speaking and reciting a sequence of honorific names/epithets. The passage functions like a litany, praising the deity’s liberating, protective, world-pervading, and strength-bestowing aspects.