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Shloka 7

Upamanyu’s Tapas, Shiva’s Indra-Form Test, and the Bestowal of Kshiroda and Gaṇapatya

दुःखिता विललापार्ता स्मृत्वा नैर्धन्यमात्मनः स्मृत्वा स्मृत्वा पुनः क्षीरम् उपमन्युरपि द्विजाः देहि देहीति तामाह रोदमानो महाद्युतिः

duḥkhitā vilalāpārtā smṛtvā nairdhanyamātmanaḥ smṛtvā smṛtvā punaḥ kṣīram upamanyurapi dvijāḥ dehi dehīti tāmāha rodamāno mahādyutiḥ

Dalam dukacita, dia meratap penuh pilu, mengenang kemiskinan dirinya. Dan Upamanyu juga—anak dwija yang bercahaya—berulang kali teringat akan susu, lalu sambil menangis berkata kepadanya: “Berilah, berilah!”

दुःखिताafflicted with sorrow
दुःखिता:
विललापwailed/laments
विललाप:
आर्ताdistressed/tormented
आर्ता:
स्मृत्वाremembering
स्मृत्वा:
नैर्धन्यम्poverty/penury
नैर्धन्यम्:
आत्मनःof herself/of one’s own condition
आत्मनः:
स्मृत्वा स्मृत्वाremembering again and again
स्मृत्वा स्मृत्वा:
पुनःagain
पुनः:
क्षीरम्milk
क्षीरम्:
उपमन्युःUpamanyu
उपमन्युः:
अपिalso/indeed
अपि:
द्विजाःO twice-born (vocative)/O brahmins (address)
द्विजाः:
देहि देहि इति“give, give” thus
देहि देहि इति:
ताम्to her
ताम्:
आहsaid
आह:
रोदमानःcrying/weeping
रोदमानः:
महाद्युतिःgreatly radiant/illustrious
महाद्युतिः:

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya; internal scene describes Upamanyu speaking to his mother)

U
Upamanyu
M
Mother of Upamanyu
S
Shiva

FAQs

The verse frames milk (kṣīra) as an object of intense longing, setting up the later Shaiva movement from worldly craving to sanctified offering—where the same substance becomes meaningful when redirected toward Pati (Shiva) through worship.

Indirectly, it highlights the Pashu’s condition—need, grief, and dependency under Pāśa (bondage). Shiva-tattva is later revealed as the compassionate Pati who turns suffering and lack into a path of grace (anugraha) when devotion awakens.

It points to the preparatory ground for Pāśupata discipline: confronting desire and scarcity, cultivating endurance and dispassion, and ultimately converting ordinary wants into regulated devotion expressed through puja (e.g., milk-offering) rather than attachment.