Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1543
रुद्र-स्तवराजः (Rudra-Stavarāja) — Exempla of Śiva’s Boons and the Hymn’s Phalaśruti
स्तोतव्यमर्च्य वन्द्यं च कः स्तोष्यति जगत्पतिम् । श्रीकृष्ण! इस प्रकार बहुत-से नामोंमेंसे प्रधान-प्रधान नाम चुनकर मैंने उनके द्वारा भक्तिपूर्वक भगवान् शंकरका सावन किया। जिन्हें ब्रह्मा आदि देवता तथा ऋषि भी तत्त्वसे नहीं जानते। उन्हीं स्तवनके योग्य
stotavyam arcya vandyaṁ ca kaḥ stoṣyati jagatpatim | śrīkṛṣṇa! iti prakāraṁ bahu-śe nāmebhyaḥ pradhāna-pradhāna-nāmāni cayan kṛtvā taiḥ bhakti-pūrvakaṁ bhagavantaṁ śaṅkaraṁ stāvanaṁ mayā kṛtam | yaṁ brahmādayo devā ṛṣayaś ca tattvato na jānanti | tasya stavanārhasya arcanīyasya vandanīyasya jagatpateḥ śivasya kā stuṭiḥ kartum śakyā ||
讃嘆に値し、供養に値し、礼拝に値する――宇宙の主を、いったい誰が十分に讃え得ようか。おお、シュリー・クリシュナよ。数多の御名のうち最も勝れた名を選び、私は信愛をもってバガヴァーン・シャンカラに讃歌を捧げた。梵天をはじめ諸天、また聖仙たちでさえ、その本質において彼を真に知ることはない。かくも讃歌と供養と礼拝にただ一人ふさわしい世の主シヴァを、誰が相応しく讃え得ようか。
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches devotional humility: even exalted beings like Brahmā and the ṛṣis cannot fully grasp Śiva’s true essence, so human praise can only be an offering of devotion rather than a complete description of the divine.
Vāyudeva addresses Śrī Kṛṣṇa, explaining that he has offered a hymn to Śiva by selecting prominent divine names, and then emphasizes Śiva’s transcendence by asking rhetorically who could truly praise the Lord of the universe.