सप्रजापतय: सर्वे बालार्कसदृशप्रभम् । उस बालकके रूपमें ये सर्वलोकेश्वर प्रभु भगवान् महादेव ही थे, किंतु प्रजापतियोंसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता बालसूर्यके सदृश कान्तिमान् उन जगदीश्वरको पहचान न सके
sa-prajāpatayaḥ sarve bālārka-sadṛśa-prabham | sa bālakasya rūpeṇa sarva-lokeśvaraḥ prabhuḥ bhagavān mahādeva eva āsīt, kintu prajāpatibhiḥ saha samastā devatāḥ bāla-sūrya-sadṛśa-kāntimantaṃ taṃ jagad-īśvaraṃ parijñātuṃ na śekuḥ |
Vyāsa sprach: Alle Prajāpatis erblickten ein strahlendes Wesen, leuchtend wie die eben aufgegangene junge Sonne. Doch diese Kindgestalt war niemand anders als Bhagavān Mahādeva selbst—der Herr, der Souverän aller Welten. Dennoch vermochten selbst die Gesamtheit der Götter samt den Prajāpatis jenen lichtvollen Jagadīśvara nicht zu erkennen.
व्यास उवाच
Even exalted beings may fail to recognize the highest truth when it is veiled by an unexpected form. The verse points to the ethical need for humility and inner discernment: status, learning, or power do not guarantee right perception of dharma or the divine.
Vyāsa narrates that the Prajāpatis and the gods see a child-like figure blazing like the rising sun. That figure is actually Mahādeva, the Lord of all worlds, but they cannot identify him despite his evident radiance.