Санджая
तदवस्थः कृतस् तेन सोमदत्तो ऽथ मारिष ॥
प्रसादयन् महादेवम् अमर्षवशम् आस्थितः ॥
तस्य तुष्टो महादेवो वराणां वरदः प्रभुः ॥
वरेण छन्दयाम् आस स तु वव्रे वरं नृपः ॥
पुत्रम् इच्छामि भगवन् यो निहन्याच् छिनेः सुतम् ॥
मध्ये राजसहस्राणां पदा हन्याच् च संयुगे ॥
तस्य तद् वचनं श्रुत्वा सोमदत्तस्य पार्थिव ॥
एवम् अस्त्व् इति तत्रोक्त्वा स देवो ऽन्तरधीयत ॥
tadavasthaḥ kṛtas tena somadatto 'tha māriṣa ||
prasādayan mahādevam amarṣavaśam āsthitaḥ ||
tasya tuṣṭo mahādevo varāṇāṃ varadaḥ prabhuḥ ||
vareṇa chandayām āsa sa tu vavre varaṃ nṛpaḥ ||
putram icchāmi bhagavan yo nihanyāc chineḥ sutam ||
madhye rājasahasrāṇāṃ padā hanyāc ca saṃyuge ||
tasya tad vacanaṃ śrutvā somadattasya pārthiva ||
evam astv iti tatroktvā sa devo 'ntaradhīyata ||
"Brought by him into such a state, Somadatta then, o venerable one, propitiated Mahadeva, abiding in the grip of indignation. Pleased with him, Mahadeva, the lord, the bestower of boons, offered him the choice of a boon; and the king chose this boon: 'I desire a son, O Lord, who would slay the son of Shini and strike him with his foot in battle, in the midst of thousands of kings.' Having heard that speech of Somadatta, o sovereign, the god said there, 'so be it,' and vanished."
1b920d2d8c0d · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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Somadatta turns his austerity not toward liberation but toward revenge: the boon he asks of the god is meant to humiliate his enemy 'in kind' — with the foot, before thousands. It is telling that Shiva grants even such a boon: the Supreme does not curtail freedom of choice, even when that choice is weighed down by enmity. The verse teaches that even sacred effort can serve an unclean design; and a boon sought out of a thirst for revenge carries within it the seed of the same grief, for vengeance, once accomplished, does not fade but only passes on to the next turn.