Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 66
Śiva-stavarāja: Upamanyu’s Preface and Initiation of the Śarva-Nāma Enumeration
Anuśāsana-parva 17
मुख्यो<मुख्यश्न देहश्व॒ काहलि: सर्वकामद: । सर्वकालप्रसादश्न॒ सुबलो बलरूपधृक्
mukhyo ’mukhyaś ca dehaś ca kāhaliḥ sarvakāmadāḥ | sarvakālaprasādaś ca subalo balarūpadhṛk ||
Wika ni Vāyu-deva: “Siya ang pinakapanguna, at Siya rin ang lampas sa sinumang higit pa; Siya ang mismong anyo ng pag-iral na may katawan. Siya ang Kāhali (ang kaugnay ng instrumentong kāhali), ang tagapagkaloob ng lahat ng minimithing bunga. Laging mahabagin sa bawat panahon, Siya ang sukdulang malakas—ang salalayan at pagpapakita ng lakas at anyo.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a devotional and ethical orientation: the highest reality is portrayed as unsurpassed, embodied in all forms, and as the constant bestower of grace and fulfillment. The implied ethic is reliance on divine favor and recognition of a supreme source behind strength, form, and all attainments.
Vāyu-deva is speaking a hymn-like description, listing epithets that praise the deity’s supremacy, beneficence, and sustaining power. The verse functions as part of a stuti, building a portrait of the divine through successive attributes.