Shloka 44
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
मनोवाक्कर्मभिर्भक्तान् पाति पुत्रानिवौरसान् | पिबन्तो5सृग्वसाश्रान्ये क्रुद्धा ब्रह्मद्विषां सदा
manovākkarmabhir bhaktān pāti putrān ivaurasān | pibanto 'sṛgvasāśrāny eke kruddhā brahmadviṣāṁ sadā ||
संजय बोले—जो मन, वाणी और कर्म से भक्ति रखते थे, उन भक्तों का भगवान् शिव सदा औरस पुत्रों की भाँति पालन करते थे। उनके बहुत-से उग्र पार्षद रक्त और वसा पीकर रहते थे और ब्रह्मद्रोहियों पर सदा क्रोध प्रकट करते थे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two linked ideas: (1) steadfast devotion expressed through thought, speech, and action draws divine protection, and (2) hostility toward brahman—understood as the sacred/Vedic and Brahmin-protecting moral order—invites fierce opposition from Śiva’s retinue. Ethically, it frames devotion and reverence for dharmic order as protective, while sacrilege and anti-dharmic aggression provoke retribution.
Sañjaya describes Śiva’s relationship with his followers: he guards his devotees like his own sons. He also depicts the terrifying nature of some of Śiva’s attendants, who are portrayed as blood-and-fat drinkers, perpetually enraged at those deemed enemies of brahman—setting a grim, punitive atmosphere consistent with the Sauptika Parva’s night of slaughter and its supernatural overtones.