Shloka 108

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

मयापि च यथा दृष्टो देवदेव: पुरा विभो

Transliteration

mayāpi ca yathā dṛṣṭo devadevaḥ purā vibho

Translation

Lạy Đấng Tối Thượng, chính ta cũng đã từng được thấy “Thần của các thần” đúng như cách vừa được thuật lại—thuở xa xưa.

Word by Word

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Tritiya, Ekavacana

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यथा: as/just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• दृष्टः: seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Pum, Prathama, Ekavacana

• देवदेवः: the god of gods
• देवदेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवदेव
• Form: Pum, Prathama, Ekavacana

• पुरा: formerly/once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• विभो: O mighty one
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु
• Form: Pum, Sambodhana, Ekavacana

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (speaker)
• Devadeva (the God of gods; supreme deity)
• Vibhu (addressed Lord)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the credibility and devotional weight of direct spiritual experience: Vāsudeva grounds the discussion in personal witness of the supreme deity, implying that true understanding of the divine is not merely theoretical but can be confirmed through realized vision.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva speaks and states that he himself, in earlier times, saw the ‘God of gods’ in the same way being referred to in the surrounding discourse—linking the present teaching or description to his own past encounter with the divine.