Shloka 61
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
तमूर्ध्वबाहुं निश्चेष्टं दृष्टया हविरुपस्थितम् । अब्रवीद् भगवान् साक्षान्महादेवो हसन्निव,उसे हविष्यरूपसे दोनों बाँहें ऊपर उठाये निश्चेष्ट भावसे बैठे देख साक्षात् भगवान् महादेवने हँसते हुए-से कहा--
tam ūrdhvabāhuṁ niśceṣṭaṁ dṛṣṭvā havir upasthitam | abravīd bhagavān sākṣān mahādevo hasann iva ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing him seated like an offering—both arms raised upward and utterly motionless—the Blessed Lord Mahādeva, present there in person, spoke as though with a faint smile. The scene underscores how ritual-like surrender and helplessness can draw a divine response, even amid the moral wreckage of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames helpless surrender in ritual terms: a person becomes like an oblation (havis), and the divine responds directly. It hints that even in the aftermath of violent, ethically fraught actions, humility and recognition of one’s powerlessness can open the way for guidance—though it does not erase prior wrongdoing.
Sañjaya narrates that Mahādeva (Śiva) sees a figure seated motionless with raised arms, resembling an offering presented in sacrifice, and Śiva then addresses him, appearing to smile as he speaks.