Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 130
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
मन्थानो बहुलो वायु: सकल: सर्वलोचन: । तलस्ताल: करस्थाली ऊर्ध्वसंहननो महान्
manthāno bahulo vāyuḥ sakalaḥ sarvalocanaḥ | talastālaḥ karasthālī ūrdhvasaṃhanano mahān ||
Wika ni Vāyu-deva: “Siya’y isang makapangyarihang hanging umiikot at gumigiling sa daigdig—ang dakilang hangin ng panahon ng pagkalipol; ganap sa lahat ng kapangyarihan, at nakakakita sa lahat ng dako. Pinananatili niya ang kumpas sa pagpalakpak ng sarili niyang palad, at ang kanyang mga kamay ang nagsisilbing sisidlan ng pagkain; matatag ang katawan, siksik at nakataas ang tindig; at tunay na dakila.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises a being (or ideal) marked by immense power coupled with self-sufficiency and discipline: all-seeing awareness, strength, and the ascetic simplicity of needing little (even using one’s own hands as a vessel). It suggests that true greatness includes both capability and restraint.
Vāyu-deva is speaking and describing a formidable figure through a string of epithets—depicting cosmic force (wind that churns), omniscience (all-seeing), and ascetic habits (hand as bowl), along with a strong, upright physique—thereby characterizing the subject’s nature and stature.