Shloka 51
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
जनयेयुर्भयं ये सम त्रैलोक्यस्यापि दर्शनात् | तान् प्रेक्षमाणो5पि व्यथां न चकार महाबल:
janayeyur bhayaṁ ye sama-trailokyasyāpi darśanāt | tān prekṣamāṇo 'pi vyathāṁ na cakāra mahābalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Those sights which, merely by being seen, could have generated fear even in all the three worlds—though he beheld them, the mighty one did not give way to distress. The verse underscores a warrior’s steadiness of mind amid terrifying omens and horrors, presenting fearlessness as a form of inner discipline in the midst of adharma-driven violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights inner firmness: even when confronted with visions so dreadful they could terrify the three worlds, the mighty warrior remains unshaken. Ethically, it points to the cultivated control of fear in crisis, while also hinting at the grim, fear-saturated atmosphere produced by unrighteous violence.
Sañjaya describes terrifying sights/omens present in the Sauptika episode. Despite witnessing phenomena that could inspire universal fear, a powerful figure (implied from context, though unnamed here) does not succumb to mental anguish, indicating resolute composure amid the horrors of the night’s events.