Shloka 21
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
अयं मुनिगण: सर्वस्तपस्तेप इति प्रभो | तपोवेषकरो लोके भ्रमते विविधाकृति:
ayaṁ munigaṇaḥ sarvas tapas tepa iti prabho | tapoveṣakaro loke bhramate vividhākṛtiḥ, prabho |
ナーラダは言った。「主よ、ここに集う賢仙の群れは、まことに苦行を修めてきた者たちです。苦行者の外相をまとい、さまざまな姿となって世を巡っております。主よ――この見者たちの共同体を、そして私をも喜ばせたいがゆえに――どうかこの疑いを解き明かしてください。」
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between inner spiritual discipline (tapas) and mere external markers (the ascetic’s dress). It frames a sincere inquiry: how to understand beings who appear as ascetics and move through the world in varied forms, urging discernment beyond appearances.
Nārada addresses the Lord (Śiva in this context), pointing to an assembled host of sages who have practiced austerity and now wander the world in diverse appearances. He requests that his doubt about them be clarified, asking for an explanation that will be pleasing to the sages and to himself.