Shloka 38
Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections
ब्राह्मं रूपं ततः कृत्वा महादेवो महायशा:
brāhmaṃ rūpaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā mahādevo mahāyaśāḥ
Vaiśampāyana dit : Alors l’illustre Mahādeva prit une forme semblable à celle d’un brāhmaṇa—signe d’un passage de la puissance divine éclatante à une action accordée à l’autorité sacrée et à la retenue.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power is not always expressed through force; the divine (and by extension the wise) may adopt a form associated with learning and dharma to guide events through legitimate, restrained, and ethically resonant means.
The narrator states that Mahādeva changes his appearance into a Brahman-like form, preparing to act or speak in a way that carries the authority of sacred tradition within the unfolding war-time narrative.