Shloka 98
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
एष तेषां विशुद्धानां फेनपानां तपोधने । धर्मचर्याकृतो मार्गो बालखिल्यगणै: शृणु
eṣa teṣāṃ viśuddhānāṃ phenapānāṃ tapodhane | dharmacaryākṛto mārgo bālakhilyagaṇaiḥ śṛṇu, tapodhane ||
తపోధన! ఇది విశుద్ధులైన ఫేనప మహాత్ముల కోసం స్థాపితమైన ధర్మాచరణ మార్గం. ఇక బాలఖిల్య ఋషిగణులు ఉపదేశించిన ధర్మమార్గాన్ని విను.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is presented as a disciplined ‘path’ (mārga) grounded in purified conduct (dharma-caryā). The verse frames ethical life as something established and transmitted by exemplary ascetic lineages—first the Phenapānas, then the Bālakhilyas—implying that righteous practice is learned through authoritative tradition and lived austerity.
Maheśvara addresses an ascetic (called ‘tapodhane’) and transitions from one authoritative model of dharma (the purified Phenapāna sages) to another (the Bālakhilya sages). It functions as a connective verse: having indicated one established path, the speaker now invites the listener to hear the next teaching ascribed to the Bālakhilya group.