Shloka 18

Devanagari script

मृगव्याधाय महते धन्विनेडथ भवाय च | वराय सोमवक्त्राय सिद्धमन्त्राय चक्षुषे

Transliteration

mṛgavyādhāya mahate dhanvine ’tha bhavāya ca | varāya somavaktrāya siddhamantrāya cakṣuṣe ||

Translation

మహా మృగవ్యాధునికి, మహా ధనుర్ధరునికి, అలాగే భవుడు (శివుడు)కు నమస్కారం; సోముడు (చంద్రుడు) వంటి ముఖమున్న శ్రేష్ఠునికి; సిద్ధమైన మంత్రబలమున్నవానికి, సర్వదర్శి నేత్రస్వరూపునికి వందనం।

Word by Word

मृगव्याधायto the hunter (of deer)

महतेto the great (one)

धन्विनेto the archer

अथand/then

भवायto Bhava (Śiva)

चand

वरायto the excellent/boon-giving (one)

सोमवक्त्रायto him whose face is (like) the moon

सिद्धमन्त्रायto (him of) accomplished/effective mantras

चक्षुषेto the eye; to the seer

Speaker

संवर्त उवाच

Characters & Entities

Saṃvarta

Bhava (Śiva)

Soma (Moon)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dharmic speech: before asserting power or giving consequential counsel, one invokes the higher moral and spiritual authority symbolized by Śiva—great, disciplined, and all-seeing—implying that effective action must be guided by reverence, restraint, and accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Saṃvarta begins (or punctuates) his discourse with a devotional salutation, praising a divine figure through multiple epithets—Hunter, Archer, Bhava, moon-faced, possessor of perfected mantras, and the Eye—thereby framing the ensuing narrative or instruction within a sacred, legitimizing invocation.