Shloka 19
उवाच वचन श्लक्ष्णं भूताभावनमव्ययम् । लोकानामिह सर्वेषां त्वं कर्ता चान्त एव च,देवताओं तथा ऋषियोंकी बात सुनकर विश्वविधाता ब्रह्माजीने प्राणियोंको उत्पन्न करनेवाले अविनाशी अग्निको बुलाकर मधुर वाणीमें कहा--'हुताशन! यहाँ समस्त लोकोंके स्रष्टा और संहारक तुम्हीं हो, तुम्हीं तीनों लोकोंको धारण करनेवाले हो, सम्पूर्ण क्रियाओंके प्रवर्तक भी तुम्हीं हो। अतः लोकेश्वर! तुम ऐसा करो जिससे अग्निहोत्र आदि क्रियाओंका लोप न हो। तुम सबके स्वामी होकर भी इस प्रकार मूढ़ (मोहग्रस्त) कैसे हो गये? तुम संसारमें सदा पवित्र हो, समस्त प्राणियोंकी गति भी तुम्हीं हो
uvāca vacanaṁ ślakṣṇaṁ bhūtābhāvanam avyayam | lokānām iha sarveṣāṁ tvaṁ kartā cānta eva ca ||
Śaunaka said: With gentle, well-chosen words he addressed the imperishable one who brings beings into existence: “Here, for all the worlds, you are both the maker and the very end—their dissolution as well.” Thus cosmic responsibility is laid down as a moral charge: the sustainer of sacrificial order must not lapse into delusion, for the continuity of rites such as the Agnihotra safeguards dharma and the welfare of beings.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes accountable power: the one who can create and end worlds must also uphold the sustaining order (dharma). Cosmic agency is presented not as license but as duty—especially to prevent the decline of sacrificial and ethical order.
Śaunaka reports a scene where gentle but weighty words are addressed to an imperishable cosmic figure described as the source of beings. The speaker reminds him of his role as both creator and destroyer of the worlds, setting up an admonition (in the surrounding passage) to act so that essential rites like Agnihotra do not lapse.