Shloka 52

वीरभद्र–देवयुद्धवर्णनम्

Vīrabhadra and the Battle with the Devas

Devanagari script

वीरभद्रोद्धृतारातिः केसरीव वनद्विपान् । दिशो विलोकयामास कः कुत्रास्तीत्यनुक्षणम्

Transliteration

vīrabhadroddhṛtārātiḥ kesarīva vanadvipān | diśo vilokayāmāsa kaḥ kutrāstītyanukṣaṇam

Translation

วีรภัทรเมื่อจับและปราบศัตรูได้แล้ว ก็เหลียวมองทุกทิศซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า ดุจราชสีห์เสาะหาช้างป่า และถามทุกขณะว่า “ผู้ใดอยู่ที่ไหน?”

Word by Word

• वीरभद्र-उद्धृत-अरातिः: Vīrabhadra, uprooter of foes
• वीरभद्र-उद्धृत-अरातिः: कर्ता (कर्ता / Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीरभद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्धृत (उद्+हृ धातु + क्त) + अराति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समासः (यस्य अरातयः उद्धृताः सः) — ‘he whose enemies are uprooted’

• केसरी: a lion
• केसरी: उपमान (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केसरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; उपमानवाचक (simile base)

• इव: like
• इव: उपमा-सम्बन्ध (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक (comparative particle)

• वन-द्विपान्: wild elephants
• वन-द्विपान्: कर्म (कर्म / Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक) + द्विप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (वने द्विपाः)

• दिशः: the directions
• दिशः: कर्म (कर्म / Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन (वैकल्पिकं: प्रथमा बहुवचन); अत्र कर्मरूपेण

• विलोकयामास: looked around
• विलोकयामास: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+लोक् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-परिप्रयोग (आमास-योगः), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; ‘looked around’

• कः: who?
• कः: कर्ता (Interrogative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• कुत्र: where?
• कुत्र: अधिकरण (Locative interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नवाचक देशवाचक (where?)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्य-सम्बन्ध (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक (quotative particle)

• अनुक्षणम्: every moment
• अनुक्षणम्: कालाधिकरण (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनुक्षणम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः (अनु + क्षणम्); क्रियाविशेषण (repeatedly/at every moment)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Vīrabhadra

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Episode belongs to Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅga: Vīrabhadra manifests from Śiva’s wrath/grief after Satī’s insult and disrupts Dakṣa’s sacrifice; not a Jyotirliṅga origin per se.

Significance: Didactic: warns against aparādha to Śiva and devotees; underscores that ritual without bhakti and humility collapses.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

• Vīrabhadra
• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It portrays Shiva’s shakti acting through Vīrabhadra to uproot adharma and pride; the relentless searching symbolizes the inescapability of divine justice when ego-driven hostility rises against dharma and devotion.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Vīrabhadra represents Saguna Shiva’s active, protective governance of the cosmos—reminding devotees that the Linga is not merely a symbol but the living presence of Pati who safeguards bhakti and corrects transgression.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Shiva as the inner witness who ‘searches’ the heart: chant the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with repentance and humility, and adopt Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder to burn ego and align with dharma.