Shloka 125

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

नास्ति पुत्र पयो5रण्ये सुरभीगोत्रवर्जिते

Transliteration

nāsti putra payo 'raṇye surabhī-gotra-varjite |

Translation

ヴァースデーヴァは言った。「わが子よ、この森には乳がまったくない。スラビー（神牛）の系統がここにはなく、牛が一頭もいないからだ。ゆえに、川や洞窟、山々、さまざまな聖なる渡し場に住み、苦行と真言の誦持に励む我ら仙人にとって、至上の帰依処は他ならぬシャンカラ（シヴァ）神である。」

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अस्ति: there is
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Lat (present indicative), 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• पुत्र: O son
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• पयः: milk
• पयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• अरण्ये: in the forest
• अरण्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरण्य
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• सुरभी: of Surabhī (the divine cow)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरभी
• Form: feminine, genitive, singular

• गोत्र: by lineage/stock
• गोत्र: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्र
• Form: neuter, instrumental, singular

• वर्जिते: devoid of, lacking
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्जित
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Surabhī
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• forest (araṇya)
• rivers
• caves (kandarā)
• mountains (parvata)
• tīrthas (sacred places)
• ṛṣis and munis

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Material supports may be absent in austere settings, so one should rely on spiritual refuge—here, devotion to Śaṅkara—while maintaining disciplined practice (tapas and japa).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva addresses a ‘son’ and explains that the forest lacks cows and therefore milk; he then frames the sages’ life of austerity in wild sacred landscapes, emphasizing that their ultimate support is Lord Śaṅkara.