Mahabharata 7.204.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 204, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम उन्हीं वरदायक भुवनेश्वर, उमा वल्लभ, त्रिनेत्रधारी, दक्षयज्ञविनाशक, प्रजापति, व्यग्रतारहित और अविनाशी भगवान्‌ भूतनाथकी शरणमें जाओ ।।

Transliteration

Kuntīnandana! tvaṁ tān eva varadāyakaṁ bhuvaneśvaraṁ umāvallabhaṁ trinetradhāriṇaṁ dakṣayajñavināśakaṁ prajāpatiṁ vyagratārahitaṁ avināśinaṁ bhagavantaṁ bhūtanāthaṁ śaraṇaṁ gaccha. Kapardinaṁ vṛṣāvartaṁ vṛṣanābhaṁ vṛṣadhvajam | vṛṣadarpaṁ vṛṣapatiṁ vṛṣaśṛṅgaṁ vṛṣarṣabham ||

Translation

اے کُنتی نندن! اسی ور دینے والے بھونیشور—اُما کے محبوب، سہ چشم، دکش کے یَجْن کو نیست کرنے والے، پرجاپتی، بے اضطراب اور لازوال بھوت ناتھ—کی پناہ اختیار کرو۔ میں کَپَردِن (جٹا جوٹ والے)، وِرشاورت (بلند ترین سیرت و گامزن)، وِرشَنابھ (روشن ناف والے)، وِرشَدھوج (جس کے پرچم پر بیل کا نشان ہے)، وِرشَدَर्प، وِرشَپَتی، وِرشَشِرِنگ اور وِرشَرْشَبھ—دھرم کے مجسم اور دھرمیشور—اسی پروردگار کی پناہ لیتا ہوں۔

Word by Word

• कपर्दिनम्: the matted-haired one (Śiva)
• कपर्दिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपर्दिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषावर्तम्: he whose course/turning is like a bull (epithet of Śiva)
• वृषावर्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषावर्त
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषनाभम्: bull-naveled / having an excellent navel (epithet)
• वृषनाभम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषनाभ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषध्वजम्: he whose banner bears a bull (Śiva)
• वृषध्वजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषदर्पम्: bull-like pride / mighty pride (epithet)
• वृषदर्पम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषदर्प
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषपतिम्: lord of the bull (Dharma) / bull-lord (Śiva)
• वृषपतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषपति
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषशृङ्गम्: bull-horned / having bull’s horns (epithet)
• वृषशृङ्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषशृङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषर्षभम्: the bull among bulls / best of the bull-like (epithet)
• वृषर्षभम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषर्षभ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kuntī
• Kuntīnandana (Arjuna)
• Śiva (Bhūtanātha, Kapardin, Trinetra, Vṛṣadhvaja)
• Umā (Pārvatī)
• Dakṣa
• Dakṣa-yajña (Dakṣa’s sacrifice)
• Bull emblem (vṛṣa; Nandin implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In the midst of crisis, the text frames ethical steadiness and protection as grounded in śaraṇāgati—taking refuge in the imperishable Lord who embodies and upholds dharma. The many epithets emphasize Śiva’s sovereignty, calmness, and dharma-nature, presenting devotion as a stabilizing moral resource during war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa addresses Kuntī’s son (Arjuna) and urges him to seek Śiva’s refuge. The verse functions as a devotional invocation (stuti), listing Śiva’s well-known mythic identifiers—three eyes, Umā’s consort, destroyer of Dakṣa’s sacrifice, bull-bannered—situating divine aid and dharmic authority within the unfolding events of the Droṇa Parva.