Shloka 29
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
ध्वजं च वाहनं चैव तस्मात् स वृषभध्वज: । महादेवजी प्रसन्न हुए। उन्होंने वृषभको अपना वाहन बनाया और उसीकी आकृतिसे अपनी ध्वजाको चिह्नित किया, इसीलिये वे “वृषभध्वज” कहलाये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | dhvajaṃ ca vāhanaṃ caiva tasmāt sa vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | tato devair mahādevas tadā paśupatiḥ kṛtaḥ | īśvaraḥ sa gavāṃ madhye vṛṣabhāṅkaḥ prakīrtitaḥ |
Bhīṣma disse: “Por isso ele passou a ser conhecido como ‘Vṛṣabhadhvaja’—o Senhor cujo estandarte traz o touro—pois adotou o touro tanto como montaria quanto como emblema em sua bandeira. Depois, os deuses nomearam Mahādeva como Paśupati, o Senhor das criaturas; e entre o gado, esse mesmo Senhor Supremo foi celebrado pelo nome de ‘Vṛṣabhāṅka’, ‘aquele que traz a marca do touro’.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how divine names arise from attributes and symbols: Śiva’s relationship with the bull (as mount and banner-emblem) signifies sovereignty, protection, and lordship over living beings, hence titles like Vṛṣabhadhvaja and Paśupati.
Bhīṣma recounts that the gods honored Mahādeva by assigning him lordship over creatures (Paśupati) and by celebrating him with epithets connected to the bull, since the bull became both his vehicle and the emblem on his standard.