Shloka 19
Purohita-Niyoga and the Brahma–Kṣatra Concord
Aila–Kaśyapa Saṃvāda
कश्यप उवाच आत्मा रुद्रो हृदये मानवानां स्व॑ं स्वं देहं परदेहं च हन्ति । वातोत्पातै: सदृशं रुद्रमाहु- देवैर्जीमूतैी: सदृशं रूपमस्य,कश्यपने कहा--राजन्! ये रुद्रदेव मनुष्योंके हृदयमें आत्मारूपसे निवास करते हैं और समय आनेपर अपने तथा दूसरेके शरीरोंका नाश करते हैं। विद्वान् पुरुष रुद्रको उत्पात-वायु (तूफानी हवा) के समान वेगवान् कहते हैं और उनका रूप बादलोंके समान बताते हैं
kaśyapa uvāca | ātmā rudro hṛdaye mānavānāṁ svaṁ svaṁ dehaṁ paradehaṁ ca hanti | vātotpātaiḥ sadṛśaṁ rudram āhur devair jīmūtaiḥ sadṛśaṁ rūpam asya |
Kaśyapa disse: “Ó rei, Rudra habita como o próprio Ser (Ātman) no coração dos homens. Quando chega o tempo determinado, ele ocasiona a destruição do próprio corpo e também do corpo de outrem. Os sábios descrevem Rudra como veloz e irresistível, como o vento de uma tempestade, e dizem que sua forma é como nuvens densamente ajuntadas.”
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death and destruction as part of a cosmic function: Rudra, present inwardly as the indwelling Self, brings beings to their end when time ripens. Ethically, it encourages sobriety and detachment—recognizing that life and death are governed by a larger order rather than mere personal will.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Kashyapa explains Rudra’s nature: he dwells within humans and, at the destined moment, causes the end of one’s own body and others’. To convey Rudra’s power, he uses vivid similes—Rudra’s force is like a violent storm-wind, and his appearance is like dense clouds.