Mahabharata 7.204.142 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 204, Shloka 142
तैजसी महती दीप्ता देवेभ्यो5स्य शिवा तनु: । भास्वती मानुषेष्वस्य तनुर्घोराग्निरुच्यते
taijasī mahatī dīptā devebhyo ’sya śivā tanuḥ | bhāsvatī mānuṣeṣv asya tanur ghorāgnir ucyate ||
พระรูปอันเป็นมงคลของพระองค์สว่างไสวด้วยเดชอันยิ่งใหญ่ เป็นสำหรับเหล่าเทวะ; แต่ในหมู่มนุษย์ พระรูปอันรุ่งโรจน์และน่าเกรงขามของพระองค์ถูกกล่าวขานว่าเป็น ‘อัคนี’
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A single divine power can manifest in different modes according to the realm and the observer: among the gods it is experienced as an auspicious, intensely radiant form, while in the human sphere the same radiance is apprehended as the formidable power of Fire (Agni). This frames divinity as context-sensitive—both beneficent and terrifying—without contradiction.
Vyāsa is describing the nature of a being’s (or principle’s) manifested body/form: its ‘śiva’ (auspicious) blazing form pertains to the gods, whereas its radiant, dreadful form in the human world is identified as Agni. The narration functions as an explanatory aside, clarifying how the same essence is named and encountered differently across worlds.
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