Shloka 37
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
क्षेत्रीौषध्यो यज्ञवाहाश्छन्दांस्यृषिगणाध्वरा: । समुद्रा दक्षिणास्तोभा ऋक्षाणि पितरो ग्रहा:
kṣetrī auṣadhyo yajñavāhāś chandāṁsy ṛṣigaṇādhvarāḥ | samudrā dakṣiṇāstobhā ṛkṣāṇi pitaro grahāḥ ||
ക്ഷേത്രവും ഔഷധികളും, യജ്ഞവാഹകർ, ഛന്ദസ്സുകൾ, അധ്വരം നടത്തുന്ന ഋഷിഗണങ്ങൾ; സമുദ്രങ്ങൾ, ദക്ഷിണകൾ, സ്തോഭഗാനങ്ങൾ; നക്ഷത്രങ്ങൾ, പിതൃക്കൾ, ഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ—ഇവയൊക്കെയും (ആ ദിവ്യക്രമത്തിൽ) ഉൾപ്പെടുന്നു.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an all-encompassing vision of dharma: ritual elements (yajña, chandas, stobha, dakṣiṇā), natural supports (fields, herbs, oceans), and cosmic regulators (constellations, ancestors, planets) form a single integrated sacred order. Ethical life therefore includes reverence for tradition, gratitude through right giving, and responsible care for the natural and cosmic rhythms that sustain society.
Vāsudeva is enumerating categories of beings and principles to show the breadth of the divine/cosmic manifestation being discussed. By listing ritual agents, Vedic forms, natural features, and celestial/ancestral powers, he frames the teaching as universal—extending from sacrificial practice to the structure of the cosmos.