Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage
नान्यं देवादहं मन्ये रुद्रात्ू परतरं महत् । सुरासुरस्य जगतो गतिस्त्वमसि शूलधृत्
nānyaṁ devād ahaṁ manye rudrāt parataraṁ mahat | surāsurasya jagato gatis tvam asi śūladhṛt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “I recognize no deity greater than Rudra. O Lord who bears the trident, you are the supreme refuge and final course of the entire world—of gods and asuras alike.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse expresses exclusive reverence for Rudra/Śiva as the highest divine principle and portrays him as the ultimate refuge and destiny (gati) of all beings—gods and asuras alike—emphasizing surrender to a supreme protector beyond factional divisions.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker offers a devotional proclamation exalting Rudra, identifying him as the trident-bearing Mahādeva and the sustaining refuge of the entire cosmos, thereby framing the surrounding events within a theological affirmation of Śiva’s supremacy.