Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 87
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
तथेति भगवानाह तस्य तद् वचन प्रभु: । स्वायम्भुव: क्रतुश्चापि पुत्रार्थम भवत् पुरा
tatheti bhagavān āha tasya tad vacana-prabhuḥ | svāyambhuvaḥ kratuś cāpi putrārtham abhavat purā ||
Wika ni Vāsudeva: Nang marinig ang kanyang mga salita, ang makapangyarihang Panginoon ay sumagot, “Tathāstu—mangyari nawa,” at ipinagkaloob ang hinihingi. Gayon din noong unang panahon, si Kratu—isa sa mga anak ni Svayambhū—na nagnanais ng mga anak, ay nagsanay ng yoga sa loob ng tatlong daang taon, na ang isip ay nakatuon kay Śiva; kaya’t si Śaṅkara ay nagkaloob din kay Kratu ng isang libong anak, gaya ng naipagkaloob noon.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that sustained discipline (yoga/tapas) and focused devotion can bear fruit, and that divine assent (“tathāstu”) is portrayed as responding to sincere, long-term spiritual effort—here directed toward a legitimate life-goal (progeny).
Vāsudeva recounts a precedent: just as a request was granted with the words “so be it,” Kratu, son of Svāyambhū, practiced concentrated yoga for three hundred years meditating on Śiva, and Śaṅkara rewarded him by granting a thousand sons.