Shloka 31

श्वेतमुनिना कालस्य निग्रहः (मृत्युञ्जय-भक्ति-प्रसादः)

Devanagari script

केन वा तपसा देव यज्ञेनाप्यथ केन वा व्रतैर्वा भगवद्भक्ता भविष्यन्ति द्विजातयः

Transliteration

kena vā tapasā deva yajñenāpyatha kena vā vratairvā bhagavadbhaktā bhaviṣyanti dvijātayaḥ

Translation

हे देव! किस तप से, या किस यज्ञ से, अथवा किन व्रतों से द्विजाति जन भगवान् के भक्त बनेंगे—उस पाशुपति के, जो पाश में बँधे पशु-जीवों को मुक्त करने वाले पति हैं?

Word by Word

• केन (kena): by what/through what means

• वा (vā): or

• तपसा (tapasā): by austerity, ascetic heat

• देव (deva): O God/O Deva

• यज्ञेन (yajñena): by sacrifice, Vedic rite

• अपि (api): also/even

• अथ (atha): then/and

• केन (kena): by what

• वा (vā): or

• व्रतैः (vrataiḥ): by vows/observances

• वा (vā): or

• भगवद्-भक्ताः (bhagavad-bhaktāḥ): devotees of the Lord

• भविष्यन्ति (bhaviṣyanti): will become

• द्विजातयः (dvijātayaḥ): the twice-born (Brahmin/Kshatriya/Vaishya)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating an internal inquiry addressed to Deva/Shiva within the chapter’s dialogue)