Shloka 29
अध्याय १६ — शङ्कर-उमा-वरदानम् तथा तण्डि-स्तुतिः (Śaṅkara–Umā Boon-Granting and Taṇḍi’s Hymn)
देवासुरमुनीनां तु यच्च गुहां सनातनम् । गुहायां निहितं ब्रह्म दुर्विज्ञेयं मुनेरपि,जो सनातन ब्रह्म देवताओं, असुरों और मुनियोंके लिये भी गुह् है, जो हृदयगुहामें स्थित रहकर मननशील मुनिके लिये भी दुर्विज्ञेय बने हुए हैं, वही ये भगवान् हैं। ये ही सबकी सृष्टि करनेवाले देवता हैं। इनके सब ओर मुख हैं। ये सर्वात्मा, सर्वदर्शी, सर्वव्यापी और सर्वज्ञ हैं
devāsuramunīnāṁ tu yac ca guhāṁ sanātanam | guhāyāṁ nihitaṁ brahma durvijñeyaṁ muner api ||
Vāyu said: “That eternal ‘cave’ which even the gods, the asuras, and the sages cannot truly penetrate—Brahman hidden within the inner cave (of the heart), difficult to know even for a contemplative seer—this indeed is the Lord. He is the divine source who brings forth all beings; He has faces in every direction, is the Self of all, all-seeing, all-pervading, and all-knowing.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest reality (Brahman/Īśvara) is inwardly present—hidden in the ‘cave’ of the heart—and is not easily grasped even by exalted beings or learned sages. True knowledge is therefore not merely intellectual; it requires inner realization of the all-pervading, all-seeing Self who is the source of creation.
Vāyu is speaking in a didactic context, identifying the supreme Lord through a traditional image: Brahman concealed in the heart-cave. He emphasizes the Lord’s cosmic attributes—creator, facing all directions, universal Self, omniscient and omnipresent—thereby guiding the listener from external notions of divinity to an inward, ethical-spiritual focus on realization.