Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 101
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
बन्धनो बन्धकर्ता च सुबन्धनविमोचन: । सयज्ञारि: सकामारिर्महादंष्टी महायुध:
bandhano bandhakartā ca subandhanavimocanaḥ | sayajñāriḥ sakāmārir mahādaṃṣṭī mahāyudhaḥ ||
Wika ni Vāyu-deva: “Siya mismo ang Pagkagapos, at Siya rin ang Tagapaglikha ng pagkagapos; gayunman, Siya ang Tagapagpalaya mula sa pinakamasisikip na tanikala. Siya’y nakikiisa sa mga sumasalungat sa yajña ni Dakṣa, at nakikiisa rin sa mga nagwagi na laban sa pagnanasa. Siya ang Dakilang May-Pangil, at ang Tagapagdala ng makapangyarihang mga sandata.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a deliberate paradox: the Supreme can be experienced as the force that binds beings into saṃsāra (through attachment and cosmic order) and also as the grace that frees them from even the strongest bonds. Ethically, it points to inner conquest of desire and reliance on divine liberation rather than mere external ritual.
Vāyu is reciting a litany of divine epithets, praising the deity’s complex roles—creator of worldly entanglement, yet savior from it; aligned with those who opposed the Dakṣa sacrifice; and supportive of yogins who have overcome kāma—depicting both fierce and protective aspects (great fangs, mighty weapons).