Shloka 165

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

जटिले दण्डिने नित्यं लम्बोदरशरीरिणे । कमण्डलुनिषज्जाय तस्मै ब्रह्मात्मने नम:

Transliteration

jaṭile daṇḍine nityaṁ lambodarśarīriṇe | kamaṇḍaluniṣajjāya tasmai brahmātmane namaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩恭敬顶礼湿婆大自在天，观其为梵（Brahman）之体：常披结发（jaṭā），手执苦行之杖；腹广大、身躯雄伟；以水罐（kamaṇḍalu）为恒常随侍之标识与象征。

Word by Word

• जटिले: to the matted-haired one
• जटिले: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जटिल
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• दण्डिने: to the staff-bearer
• दण्डिने: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• नित्यम्: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• लम्बोदर-शरीरिणे: to him whose belly and body are large/pendulous
• लम्बोदर-शरीरिणे: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लम्बोदरशरीरिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• कमण्डलु-निषज्जाय: to (him) for whom the kamandalu is the quiver/attachment
• कमण्डलु-निषज्जाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कमण्डलुनिषज्जा
• Form: Feminine, Dative, Singular

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• ब्रह्म-आत्मने: to the one whose self is Brahman / the Brahman-souled one
• ब्रह्म-आत्मने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• नमः: salutation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Shiva
• Brahman
• daṇḍa (ascetic staff)
• kamaṇḍalu (water-pot)
• jaṭā (matted hair)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches reverence toward the supreme ascetic principle—Shiva as Brahman—highlighting humility and devotion as supports of dharma, and presenting renunciation-symbols (jaṭā, daṇḍa, kamaṇḍalu) as marks of spiritual authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhishma speaks a hymn-like salutation, praising Shiva’s ascetic form and affirming him as brahman-svarūpa (of the nature of Brahman), thereby grounding ethical discourse in devotion to the highest reality.