Shloka 38

Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मं रूपं ततः कृत्वा महादेवो महायशा:

Transliteration

brāhmaṃ rūpaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā mahādevo mahāyaśāḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ മഹായശസ്സുള്ള മഹാദേവൻ ബ്രാഹ്മണരൂപം ധരിച്ചു—ദിവ്യശക്തിയെ വേദാധികാരത്തിന്റെയും സംയമത്തിന്റെയും മര്യാദയിൽ നിർത്തി പ്രവർത്തിക്കുവാൻ എന്നപോലെ.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मम्: Brahmanic, pertaining to Brahmā
• ब्राह्मम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• रूपम्: form, appearance
• रूपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)

• कृत्वा: having made, having assumed
• कृत्वा: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral)

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महायशाः: of great fame, illustrious
• महायशाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महायशस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• brāhma-rūpa (Brahman-like form)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power is not always expressed through force; the divine (and by extension the wise) may adopt a form associated with learning and dharma to guide events through legitimate, restrained, and ethically resonant means.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that Mahādeva changes his appearance into a Brahman-like form, preparing to act or speak in a way that carries the authority of sacred tradition within the unfolding war-time narrative.