Jabali Bound on the Banyan Tree and Nandayanti’s Appeal at Sri-Kantha on the Yamuna
यस्तरेत् सागरं दोर्भ्या पातयेद् भुवि भास्करम् मेरुमुत्पाटयेद् वापि स जयेच्छूलपाणिनम्
yastaret sāgaraṃ dorbhyā pātayed bhuvi bhāskaram merumutpāṭayed vāpi sa jayecchūlapāṇinam
جو اپنے بازوؤں کے زور سے سمندر پار کر لے، جو سورج کو زمین پر گرا دے، یا کوہِ مَیرو کو اکھاڑ دے—وہی شُول دھاری (شیو) کو فتح کر سکتا ہے۔
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This is a standard Purāṇic rhetorical device (atiśayokti) to mark absolute impossibility: if only someone capable of cosmic impossibilities could win, then in practical terms Śiva is unconquerable.
Meru and the Sāgara are cosmographic constants—symbols of the world’s structure. Invoking them elevates the claim from mere martial boasting to a statement about cosmic order resisting disruption.
In Śaiva usage, ‘śūla’ commonly denotes Śiva’s trident (triśūla), though it can generically mean a spear. ‘Śūlapāṇin’ is a well-established epithet for Śiva as the wielder of the triśūla.