Shloka 20

अध्याय १६ — शङ्कर-उमा-वरदानम् तथा तण्डि-स्तुतिः (Śaṅkara–Umā Boon-Granting and Taṇḍi’s Hymn)

Devanagari script

अनिच्छतस्तव विभो जन्ममृत्युरनेकत: । द्वारं तु स्वर्गमोक्षाणामाक्षेप्ता त्वं ददासि च

Transliteration

anicchatas tava vibho janma-mṛtyur anekataḥ | dvāraṁ tu svarga-mokṣāṇām ākṣeptā tvaṁ dadāsi ca, prabho ||

Translation

Vāyu sagt: „O allmächtiger Herr! Wenn du nicht willst, Gnade zu erweisen, durchläuft ein Wesen auf vielerlei Weise immer wieder Geburt und Tod. Du selbst bist das Tor zum Himmel und zur Befreiung; du kannst ihr Erlangen hemmen, und du allein verleihst beides, o Meister.“

Word by Word

• {'anicchataḥ': 'when (You) do not wish

• unwillingly (on Your part)', 'tava': 'of you

• your', 'vibho': 'O mighty one

• O all-pervading Lord', 'janma-mṛtyuḥ': 'birth and death (the cycle of saṁsāra)', 'anekataḥ': 'in many ways

• from many causes', 'dvāram': 'door

• means of access', 'svarga': 'heaven

• celestial attainment', 'mokṣāṇām': 'of liberations

• of mokṣa (release)', 'ākṣeptā': 'one who hinders/blocks

• obstructer', 'tvaṁ': 'you', 'dadāsi': 'you give

• you grant', 'ca': 'and

• also', 'prabho': 'O Lord

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• Prabhu/Vibhu (the Lord addressed)
• Svarga
• Mokṣa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberation and heavenly attainment ultimately depend on the Lord’s sanction: He is both the ‘door’ (means of access) and the one who may obstruct or grant the result. The verse stresses divine sovereignty alongside the reality of repeated birth and death when grace is not operative.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu is speaking in praise and theological clarification, addressing the supreme Lord and asserting that beings continue in saṁsāra without divine favor, while svarga and mokṣa are attained only through the Lord who controls both access and outcome.