Shloka 33
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
कपर्दिनं देवदेवमुमापतिमनामयम्,“भगवान् शंकर तपस्या और पराक्रममें सब देवताओंसे बढ़कर हैं; अतः मैं उन्हीं रोग- शोकसे रहित, जटाजूटधारी, देवताओंके भी देवता, भगवती उमाके प्राणवल्लभ, कपाल- मालाधारी, भगनेत्र-विनाशक, पापहारी, त्रिशूलधारी एवं पर्वतपर शयन करनेवाले रुद्रदेवकी शरणमें जाता हूँ
sañjaya uvāca | kapardinaṃ devadevam umāpatim anāmayam | bhagavān śaṅkaraḥ tapasyāyāṃ parākrame ca sarvadevatābhyo 'dhikaḥ; ataḥ aham evaṃvidhaṃ roga-śoka-rahitaṃ jaṭājūṭa-dhāriṇaṃ devānām api devaṃ bhagavatyā umāyāḥ prāṇavallabhaṃ kapāla-mālā-dhāriṇaṃ bhaganetra-vināśakaṃ pāpahāriṇaṃ triśūla-dhāriṇaṃ parvata-śayanaṃ rudradevaṃ śaraṇaṃ gacchāmi ||
Sañjaya dit : «Je prends refuge en Kapardin—Śiva, le Dieu des dieux, le Seigneur sans tache, l’aimé d’Umā. Car Śaṅkara surpasse toutes les divinités par l’austérité et la vaillance. Aussi je cherche abri auprès de ce Rudra, exempt de maladie et de chagrin, aux mèches emmêlées, portant une guirlande de crânes, qui détruisit l’œil de Bhaga, qui efface le péché, qui brandit le trident et qui repose sur la montagne.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In the midst of catastrophic violence, the verse frames ethical and psychological refuge as turning to a higher principle: Śiva is praised as supreme in tapas (self-mastery) and parākrama (power), and as pāpahārin (sin-remover). The teaching emphasizes seeking purification, protection, and steadiness through devotion and surrender (śaraṇāgati), rather than relying only on human strength.
Sañjaya offers a devotional invocation to Śiva/Rudra, describing him through traditional epithets (matted locks, skull-garland, trident, mountain-dweller) and recalling mythic deeds (destroying Bhaga’s eye). This functions as a protective and legitimizing prayer within the tense Sauptika Parva setting, where fear, vengeance, and nocturnal violence dominate the atmosphere.