Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 146

रुद्र-स्तवराजः (Rudra-Stavarāja) — Exempla of Śiva’s Boons and the Hymn’s Phalaśruti

Devanagari script

देवासुरगणाध्यक्षो देवासुरगणाग्रणी: । देवातिदेवो देवर्षिदेवासुरवरप्रद:

Transliteration

devāsuragaṇādhyakṣo devāsuragaṇāgraṇīḥ | devātidēvo devarṣir devāsuravarapradaḥ ||

Translation

Wika ni Vāyu: Siya ang namumunong panginoon sa mga pangkat ng deva at asura, ang pinakapangunang pinuno sa kanila; ang Diyos na higit pa sa mga diyos, isang banal na rishi sa Kanyang sarili, at ang tagapagkaloob ng mga biyaya maging sa mga deva at asura.

Word by Word

• {'deva': 'god, divine being', 'asura': 'asura

• often an anti-god or rival divine clan', 'gaṇa': 'group, host, troop', 'adhyakṣa': 'overseer, superintendent, presiding authority', 'agraṇī': 'leader, foremost guide', 'devātideva': 'God above the gods

• supreme deity', 'devarṣi': 'divine seer (a sage among the gods)', 'vara': 'boon, blessing', 'prada': 'giver, bestower'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• Devas
• Asuras
• Supreme deity (implied by epithets such as Devātideva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the highest divinity transcends partisan divisions (devas vs. asuras): supreme authority is shown through impartial lordship, spiritual wisdom (devarṣi), and the capacity to bestow grace (varaprada) even upon rivals.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu is praising a supreme divine figure through a chain of honorific epithets, emphasizing that this being leads and governs both divine factions and grants boons to all, thereby establishing the deity’s unmatched status.