Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 167

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

जनन्यास्तद्‌ वच: श्रुत्वा तदाप्रभृति शत्रुहन्‌ । मम भक्तिर्महादेवे नैप्ठेकी समपद्यत

Transliteration

jananyās tad vacaḥ śrutvā tadāprabhṛti śatruhan | mama bhaktir mahādeve naiṣṭhikī samapadyata ||

Translation

婆苏提婆说道：“听了我母亲的那番话，噢，诛敌者啊，从那时起，我对大天（摩诃提婆）的虔敬便坚定不移，再无动摇。”

Word by Word

• जनन्याः: of (his/my) mother
• जनन्याः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जननी
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वचः: speech/words
• वचः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral), Non-finite

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• प्रभृति: from (that time) onward
• प्रभृति: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रभृति

• शत्रुहन्: O slayer of enemies
• शत्रुहन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रुहन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• मम: my
• मम: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• भक्तिः: devotion
• भक्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महादेवे: in/unto Mahadeva (Shiva)
• महादेवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• नैष्ठिकी: steadfast/constant
• नैष्ठिकी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैष्ठिकी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• समपद्यत: became/turned into
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + पद् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), Past, Third, Singular, Ātmanepada

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• jananī (mother of Vāsudeva)
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• śatruhan (epithet of the addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steadfast devotion (naiṣṭhikī bhakti) is portrayed as arising from heeding wise counsel—here, a mother’s words—showing that ethical attentiveness and reverence can crystallize into lifelong spiritual commitment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva recounts that after hearing his mother’s statement, from that point onward his devotion to Mahādeva (Śiva) became firm and unwavering; he addresses the listener with the epithet “slayer of foes.”