Shloka 166
रुद्र-स्तवराजः (Rudra-Stavarāja) — Exempla of Śiva’s Boons and the Hymn’s Phalaśruti
एतद् देवेषु दुष्प्रापं मनुष्येषु न लभ्यते । निर्विघ्ना निश्चला रुद्रे भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी,रद्रदेवमें निश्चल एवं निर्विघ्नरूपसे अनन्य-भक्ति हो जाय--यह देवताओंके लिये भी दुर्लभ है। मनुष्योंमें तो प्रायः ऐसी भक्ति स्वतः नहीं उपलब्ध होती है
etad deveṣu duṣprāpaṁ manuṣyeṣu na labhyate | nirvighnā niścalā rudre bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī ||
രുദ്രനോടുള്ള നിർവിഘ്നവും നിശ്ചലവും അവ്യഭിചാരിണിയുമായ (ഏകാന്ത) ഭക്തി—ഇത് ദേവന്മാർക്കുപോലും ദുർലഭം; മനുഷ്യരിൽ അത്തരം ഭക്തി സ്വാഭാവികമായി ലഭ്യമല്ല.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that truly obstacle-free, unwavering, and exclusive devotion to Rudra (Śiva) is exceedingly rare—so rare that even the gods find it difficult to attain; therefore humans should not assume such devotion arises automatically, but should cultivate it through disciplined practice and steadfast intent.
Vāyu is speaking and emphasizing the exceptional difficulty of attaining pure, undistracted devotion to Rudra. The statement functions as instruction and valuation: it elevates steadfast bhakti as a high spiritual achievement and cautions that it is uncommon among humans without deliberate effort.