Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 17 Shloka 49 - Mahabharata | Sanskrit | Vedapath

Vyasa

←Previous VerseNext Verse→

Shloka 49

Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration

Anuśāsana-parva 17

Devanagari script

कालयोगी महानाद: सर्वकामश्नतुष्पथ: । निशाचर: प्रेतचारी भूतचारी महेश्वर:

Transliteration

kālayogī mahānādaḥ sarvakāmaśnatuṣpathaḥ | niśācaraḥ pretacārī bhūtacārī maheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

वायुरुवाच—कालयोगी महानादः सर्वकामक्षयः दुराराध्यपथः। निशाचरः प्रेतचारी भूतचारी महेश्वरः॥

Word by Word

कालयोगीone who is united with/masters Time (a yogin of Time)

महानादःthe great-sounding/one of mighty roar

सर्वकामश्नतुष्पथःhe whose path is to eat/consume all desires (i.e., destroyer of all desires)

निशाचरःnight-roamer

प्रेतचारीone who moves among/with the departed spirits (preta-roamer)

भूतचारीone who moves among/with beings/spirits (bhūta-roamer)

महेश्वरःthe great Lord

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva

Maheśvara (Śiva)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse exalts Maheśvara as a cosmic power beyond ordinary human measures: Time-bound yet Time-governing, insatiable in consuming all desires, and sovereign over liminal realms (night, spirits, the dead). Ethically, it points to the limits of desire and the supremacy of a higher order that transcends fearsome appearances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is describing Maheśvara through a chain of epithets, emphasizing his awe-inspiring, otherworldly sovereignty—especially his association with Time and with beings of the night and spirit-world—within a devotional or laudatory context.