Shloka 21
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
उग्रव्रतचरो रुद्रो योगी परमदारुण: । दक्षक्रतुहरश्चैव भगनेत्रहरस्तथा
ugravratacaro rudro yogī paramadāruṇaḥ | dakṣakratuharaś caiva bhaganetraharas tathā ||
ରୁଦ୍ର ଉଗ୍ରବ୍ରତଚାରୀ, ଯୋଗୀ ଓ ପରମ ଦାରୁଣ; ସେ ଦକ୍ଷଯଜ୍ଞ-ବିଧ୍ୱଂସକ ଏବଂ ଭଗନେତ୍ରହାରୀ ବୋଲି ମଧ୍ୟ ପ୍ରସିଦ୍ଧ।
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights Rudra’s fearsome epithets to convey that divine power includes a corrective, punitive aspect: when sacred order (dharma) is violated—symbolized by the disruption of a sacrifice—divine intervention restores moral and cosmic balance.
Arjuna is describing Rudra (Śiva) through well-known mythic identifiers: his austere vows and yogic nature, his terrifying form, and his role in the episode of Dakṣa’s sacrifice where he destroys the rite and injures Bhaga (removing his eye).