Shloka 53
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
तेजो5पहारी बलहा मुदितो<र्थोडजितोडवर: । गम्भीरघोषो गम्भीरो गम्भीरबलवाहन:
Vāyudeva uvāca: tejopahārī balahā mudito 'rtho 'jito 'varaḥ | gambhīraghoṣo gambhīro gambhīrabalavāhanaḥ ||
वायुरुवाच— स तेजोपहारी बलहा मुदितोऽर्थस्वरूपकः। अजितोऽवरः, गम्भीरघोषो गम्भीरो गम्भीरबलवाहनः॥
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverence for the supreme divine principle embodied by Śiva: he humbles borrowed brilliance (pride), destroys demonic obstruction (Bala), and represents profound steadiness and invincibility—qualities to be cultivated ethically as depth, restraint, and reliance on dharma rather than mere display of power.
Vāyudeva is reciting a sequence of honorific names (nāma/guṇa-kīrtana) describing Śiva. Each epithet highlights a facet of Śiva’s power and character—his supremacy, his deep and awe-inspiring presence, and his role as destroyer of a demon—within a devotional praise passage in the Anuśāsana Parva.