Shloka 13

Muñjavān on Himavat: Maheśvara’s abode, Śiva-stuti, and sacrificial gold

Chapter 8

Devanagari script

रुद्राय शितिकण्ठाय पुरुषाय सुवर्चसे । कपर्दिने करालाय हर्यक्ष्णे वरदाय च

Transliteration

rudrāya śitikaṇṭhāya puruṣāya suvarcase | kapardine karālāya haryakṣṇe varadāya ca

Translation

रुद्राय शितिकण्ठाय पुरुषाय सुवर्चसे । कपर्दिने करालाय हर्यक्ष्णे वरदाय च ॥

Word by Word

• रुद्राय: to Rudra
• रुद्राय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• शितिकण्ठाय: to the blue-throated one
• शितिकण्ठाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शितिकण्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• पुरुषाय: to the Person (Supreme Being)
• पुरुषाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• सुवर्चसे: to the radiant/glorious one
• सुवर्चसे: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुवर्चस्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• कपर्दिने: to the one with matted hair
• कपर्दिने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपर्दिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• करालाय: to the fearsome one
• करालाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कराल
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• हर्यक्ष्णे: to the tawny-eyed one
• हर्यक्ष्णे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर्यक्ष्ण
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• वरदाय: to the boon-giver
• वरदाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरद
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

संवर्त उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Saṃvarta
• Rudra (Śiva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches reverent devotion through naming the deity’s many aspects: Śiva is simultaneously ascetic (kapardin), awe-inspiring (karāla), and compassionate (varada). Ethically, it models humility—approaching power not with entitlement but with praise and surrender, trusting that the fearsome can also be benevolent.

What is happening in the narrative?

Saṃvarta is reciting a stuti (hymn of praise), invoking Rudra/Śiva by a sequence of honorific epithets. The passage functions as a devotional invocation within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s broader narrative setting, emphasizing divine support and blessing.