Shloka 16
तस्य तुष्टो महादेवो वराणां वरद: प्रभु: । वरेण च्छन्दयामास स तु वच्रे वरं॑ नृप:,श्रेष्ठ देवताओंमें भी सर्वश्रेष्ठ वरदायक तथा सामर्थ्यशाली महादेवजीने संतुष्ट होकर उन्हें इच्छानुसार वर माँगनेके लिये कहा। तब राजा सोमदत्तने इस प्रकार वर माँगा --
tasya tuṣṭo mahādevo varāṇāṁ varadaḥ prabhuḥ | vareṇa cchandayāmāsa sa tu vacre varaṁ nṛpaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Pleased with him, Mahādeva—sovereign Lord and the supreme giver among boon-bestowers—invited him to choose a boon according to his desire. Then the king (Somadatta) asked for a boon in these words. The episode frames devotion as a force that draws divine grace, while also hinting that the ethical weight of a boon depends on how the recipient chooses to use it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that sincere devotion can win divine favor, but the moral outcome hinges on the chooser: a boon is power, and its dharmic value depends on the intention and use of the recipient.
Sañjaya narrates that Śiva (Mahādeva), pleased with the king Somadatta, grants him the opportunity to ask for any boon; Somadatta then begins to state his desired boon.