Shloka 29
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
ध्वजं च वाहनं चैव तस्मात् स वृषभध्वज: । महादेवजी प्रसन्न हुए। उन्होंने वृषभको अपना वाहन बनाया और उसीकी आकृतिसे अपनी ध्वजाको चिह्नित किया, इसीलिये वे “वृषभध्वज” कहलाये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | dhvajaṃ ca vāhanaṃ caiva tasmāt sa vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | tato devair mahādevas tadā paśupatiḥ kṛtaḥ | īśvaraḥ sa gavāṃ madhye vṛṣabhāṅkaḥ prakīrtitaḥ |
ビーシュマは言った。「ゆえに彼は『ヴリシャバドヴァジャ（Vṛṣabhadhvaja）』—旗に牡牛を掲げる主—と呼ばれた。牡牛を乗り物（ヴァーハナ）とし、またその姿を軍旗の印として刻したからである。さらに諸天はマハーデーヴァを『パシュパティ（Paśupati）』—生きとし生けるものの主—に任じ、牛の群れの中では同じ至上主を『ヴリシャバーンカ（Vṛṣabhāṅka）』—牡牛の印を帯びる者—と称えて讃えた。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how divine names arise from attributes and symbols: Śiva’s relationship with the bull (as mount and banner-emblem) signifies sovereignty, protection, and lordship over living beings, hence titles like Vṛṣabhadhvaja and Paśupati.
Bhīṣma recounts that the gods honored Mahādeva by assigning him lordship over creatures (Paśupati) and by celebrating him with epithets connected to the bull, since the bull became both his vehicle and the emblem on his standard.