Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 137

रुद्र-स्तवराजः (Rudra-Stavarāja) — Exempla of Śiva’s Boons and the Hymn’s Phalaśruti

Devanagari script

कर्णिकारमहास्रग्वी नीलमौलि: पिनाकधृत्‌ । उमापतिरुमाकान्तो जाह्नवीधृदुमाधव:

Transliteration

karṇikāra-mahāsragvī nīla-mauliḥ pināka-dhṛt | umāpatir umākānto jāhnavī-dhṛd umādhavaḥ ||

Translation

ਉਹ ਕਰ্ণਿਕਾਰ ਫੁੱਲਾਂ ਦੀ ਵੱਡੀ ਮਾਲਾ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ, ਨੀਲਮਣੀ-ਸ਼ਿਰੋਭੂਸ਼ਣ ਨਾਲ ਸ਼ੋਭਿਤ ਮਸਤਕ ਵਾਲਾ; ਪਿਨਾਕ ਧਨੁਸ਼ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੈ। ਉਹ ਉਮਾ ਦਾ ਪਤੀ, ਉਮਾ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਿਯ; ਜਾਹਨਵੀ (ਗੰਗਾ) ਨੂੰ ਸਿਰ ਉੱਤੇ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ; ਅਤੇ ਉਮਾਧਵ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• कर्णिकारमहास्रग्वी: he who wears a great garland of karnikāra flowers
• कर्णिकारमहास्रग्वी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्णिकार-महा-स्रग्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नीलमौलिः: blue-crested; having a blue diadem/topknot
• नीलमौलिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील-मौलि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पिनाकधृत्: bearer of the Pināka (bow)
• पिनाकधृत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिनाक-धृत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उमापतिः: lord/husband of Umā
• उमापतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा-पति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उमाकान्तः: beloved of Umā
• उमाकान्तः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा-कान्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• जाह्नवीधृत्: bearer of the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवीधृत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जाह्नवी-धृत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उमाधवः: husband of Umā
• उमाधवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा-धव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• Śiva (implied by epithets)
• Umā (Pārvatī)
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Pināka (bow)
• Karṇikāra (flower/garland)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models devotional recollection through a chain of epithets: by remembering the deity’s attributes—beauty (garland), sovereignty (crown), power (Pināka), and sanctity/ascetic mastery (bearing Gaṅgā)—one cultivates reverence and steadiness of mind.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu is speaking a stuti-like passage, identifying Śiva through characteristic titles and symbols. Rather than advancing plot, the verse functions as a devotional description that situates Śiva’s identity and greatness within the discourse of Anuśāsana Parva.