Shloka 55
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
त॑ रुद्रं रौद्रकर्माणं रौद्रै: कर्मभिरच्युतम् । अभिष्टत्य महात्मानमित्युवाच कृताञज्जलि:
taṁ rudraṁ raudrakarmāṇaṁ raudraiḥ karmabhir acyutam | abhiṣṭutya mahātmānam ity uvāca kṛtāñjalīḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having praised that great-souled Rudra—unyielding, whose deeds are fierce and whose actions are of a terrible, awe-inspiring kind—he then spoke with hands joined in reverence. The scene underscores how, amid the moral wreckage of night-war, the warrior turns to divine power with devotional submission, seeking sanction and strength from the very principle of destructive justice.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the turn toward divine authority in moments of extreme violence: the fierce, unshakable Rudra is praised as the embodiment of overwhelming power. Ethically, it frames how devotion can be invoked to legitimize or empower destructive action, raising questions about responsibility when violence is pursued under the banner of divine sanction.
Sañjaya narrates that a warrior (contextually, the agent of the night-raid) extols Rudra/Śiva—described as fierce in deeds—and then speaks with folded hands. It marks a devotional address to Rudra immediately before or during the grim events of the Sauptika episode.