Shloka 96
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
रागी और विरागी-दोनों जिनके स्वरूप हैं, जो ध्यानपरायण, रुद्राक्षकी माला धारण करनेवाले, कारण-रूपसे सबमें व्याप्त और कार्यरूपसे पृथक्-पृथक् दिखायी देनेवाले हैं तथा जो सम्पूर्ण जगत्को छाया और धूप प्रदान करते हैं, उन भगवान् शंकरको नमस्कार है ।।
aghora-ghora-rūpāya ghora-ghoratārāya ca | namaḥ śivāya śāntāya namaḥ śāntatamāya ca ||
(rāgī ca virāgī ca—ubhayam yasya svarūpam; dhyāna-parāyaṇaḥ; rudrākṣa-mālā-dhārī; kāraṇa-rūpeṇa sarvatra vyāptaḥ, kārya-rūpeṇa pṛthak pṛthag iva dṛśyamānaḥ; sarva-jagatāṃ chāyā-tapaḥ-pradaḥ—taṃ bhagavantaṃ śaṅkaraṃ namāmi.)
Hommage répété au Seigneur Śaṅkara (Śiva) : celui dont la nature embrasse l’attachement et le détachement ; absorbé dans la méditation et portant le rosaire de rudrākṣa ; qui, comme cause, pénètre tous les êtres, et, comme effets, apparaît en formes distinctes ; et qui accorde au monde entier l’ombre et la chaleur. Salut à celui qui revêt des formes non terribles, terribles, et plus terribles encore que le terrible, tout en demeurant Śiva, le paisible, le souverainement tranquille : à lui je me prosterne sans cesse.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Divine (Shiva) transcends apparent opposites—fierce and gentle, attached and detached, many and one. He pervades all as the underlying cause, yet appears as diverse effects; therefore reverence is due to the One who contains and harmonizes all polarities while remaining supremely peaceful.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma offers a devotional salutation (stuti) to Shiva, praising his cosmic pervasiveness, ascetic symbolism (rudraksha, meditation), and paradoxical nature (aghora/ghora), before continuing the broader discourse on dharma and spiritual understanding.