Shloka 8
Uttanka’s Viśvarūpa Request and the ‘Uttanka Clouds’ Boon (उत्तङ्क-विष्वरूप-दर्शनम्)
ओड्कारप्रमुखान् वेदान् विद्धि मां त्वं भगूद्वह । यूपं सोम॑ चरुं होम॑ त्रिदशाप्यायनं मखे
oḍkārapramukhān vedān viddhi māṁ tvaṁ bhagūdvaḥ | yūpaṁ somaṁ caruṁ homaṁ tridaśāpyāyanaṁ makhe ||
Vāyu sprach: „Erkenne mich, o Bester der Gesegneten, als die Veden selbst, deren vorderster Laut die heilige Silbe ‘oṃ’ ist. Im Opfer bin ich der Opferpfahl (yūpa), Soma, die gekochte Gabe (caru), das Darbringen ins Feuer und die Speise, die die Götter nährt und stärkt.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a sacrificial-theological identity: Vāyu presents himself as pervading the Vedas (rooted in the primordial sacred syllable) and as the essential components and efficacy of yajña—its implements, offerings, and the divine nourishment produced by ritual. Ethically, it underscores reverence for Vedic order and the idea that cosmic forces sustain dharma through properly oriented sacrifice.
Vāyudeva is speaking to an addressed hero/recipient (honorifically called “best among the blessed”), revealing his all-pervading presence within Vedic revelation and sacrificial practice. The statement functions as a self-disclosure: the deity identifies with key ritual elements—yūpa, Soma, caru, homa—and with the strengthening of the gods within the sacrificial context.