Shloka 39
कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम उन्हीं वरदायक भुवनेश्वर, उमा वल्लभ, त्रिनेत्रधारी, दक्षयज्ञविनाशक, प्रजापति, व्यग्रतारहित और अविनाशी भगवान् भूतनाथकी शरणमें जाओ ।। कपर्दिन वृषावर्त वृषनाभं वृषध्वजम् | वृषदर्प वृषपतिं वृषशृड्रं वृषर्षभम्,जो जटाजूटवधारी हैं, जिनका घूमना परम श्रेष्ठ है, जो श्रेष्ठ नाभिसे सुशोभित, ध्वजापर वृषभका चिह्न धारण करनेवाले, वृषदर्प (प्रबल अहंकारवाले), वृषपति (धर्मस्वरूप वृषभके अधिपति), धर्मको ही उच्चतम माननेवाले तथा धर्मसे भी सर्वश्रेष्ठ हैं, जिनके ध्वजमें साँड़का चिह्न अंकित है, जो धर्मात्माओंमें उदार, धर्मस्वरूप, वृषभके समान विशाल नेत्रोंवाले, श्रेष्ठ आयुध और श्रेष्ठ बाणसे युक्त, धर्मविग्रह तथा धर्मके ईश्वर, उन भगवानकी मैं शरण ग्रहण करता हूँ
Kuntīnandana! tvaṁ tān eva varadāyakaṁ bhuvaneśvaraṁ umāvallabhaṁ trinetradhāriṇaṁ dakṣayajñavināśakaṁ prajāpatiṁ vyagratārahitaṁ avināśinaṁ bhagavantaṁ bhūtanāthaṁ śaraṇaṁ gaccha. Kapardinaṁ vṛṣāvartaṁ vṛṣanābhaṁ vṛṣadhvajam | vṛṣadarpaṁ vṛṣapatiṁ vṛṣaśṛṅgaṁ vṛṣarṣabham ||
O son of Kuntī, seek refuge in that imperishable Lord—bestower of boons, sovereign of the worlds, beloved of Umā, the three‑eyed one, destroyer of Dakṣa’s sacrifice, the primal progenitor, free from agitation, the Master of beings. I take shelter in Kapardin, whose matted locks are bound; in him whose course is supremely exalted; whose navel is splendid; whose banner bears the bull; who is mighty in power; the Lord of the Bull (Dharma); bull‑horned and bull‑like in majesty—Śiva, the very embodiment and guardian of dharma, invoked here as the highest refuge amid the calamity of war.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
In the midst of crisis, the text frames ethical steadiness and protection as grounded in śaraṇāgati—taking refuge in the imperishable Lord who embodies and upholds dharma. The many epithets emphasize Śiva’s sovereignty, calmness, and dharma-nature, presenting devotion as a stabilizing moral resource during war.
Vyāsa addresses Kuntī’s son (Arjuna) and urges him to seek Śiva’s refuge. The verse functions as a devotional invocation (stuti), listing Śiva’s well-known mythic identifiers—three eyes, Umā’s consort, destroyer of Dakṣa’s sacrifice, bull-bannered—situating divine aid and dharmic authority within the unfolding events of the Droṇa Parva.