Shloka 11
महादेवं महात्मानमीशानं जटिलं विभुम् । त्र्यक्षं महाभुजं रुद्रे शिखिनं चीरवाससम्,वे महान् देव हैं। उनका हृदय महान् है। वे सबपर शासन करनेवाले, सर्वव्यापी और जटाधारी हैं। उनके तीन नेत्र और विशाल भुजाएँ हैं, रुद्र उनकी संज्ञा है, उनके मस्तकपर शिखा तथा शरीरपर वल्कल वस्त्र शोभा देता है
mahādevaṁ mahātmānam īśānaṁ jaṭilaṁ vibhum | tryakṣaṁ mahābhujaṁ rudraṁ śikhinaṁ cīravāsasam ||
Vyāsa describes the Supreme Lord Śiva: the Great God, great-souled and sovereign over all, all-pervading and matted-haired. Three-eyed and mighty-armed, known as Rudra, he bears a topknot and is adorned with bark-garments—an ascetic form that embodies power restrained by self-control and devotion.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Śiva as both supremely powerful (all-pervading, three-eyed, mighty-armed) and profoundly disciplined (ascetic hair and bark-garments). Ethically, it highlights the ideal that true authority and strength are grounded in self-mastery and spiritual austerity.
Vyāsa is characterizing Mahādeva through a sequence of epithets and visual markers, establishing Śiva’s identity and majesty in an ascetic form. The description functions to evoke reverence and to frame subsequent events with divine presence and sanction.