Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 503
यक्किंचिद् ब्राह्मुणो ब्रूयात् सर्व कुर्यामिति प्रभो । प्रभावशाली पुत्र! ऐसा कहकर वे वहीं अन्तर्धान हो गये। उनके अदृश्य हो जानेपर मैंने अस्पष्ट वाणीमें धीरेसे यह व्रत लिया कि “आजसे कोई ब्राह्मण मुझसे जो कुछ कहेगा
yat kiñcid brāhmaṇo brūyāt sarvaṁ kuryām iti prabho |
Vāyu said: “O lord, whatever a brāhmaṇa may say, I will do it all.” Having spoken thus, he vanished on the spot. After he became invisible, I quietly undertook this vow in an indistinct voice: “From today onward, whatever any brāhmaṇa asks of me, I shall fulfill completely.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes the ethical force of a vow (vrata) and the ideal of honoring the words of a brāhmaṇa—understood as a representative of sacred learning and dharma—by committing to fulfill requests without evasion, reflecting discipline, humility, and reliability.
A figure declares, “Whatever a brāhmaṇa says, I will do.” Immediately afterward, the other party disappears (antardhāna). In response to that moment, Vāyu privately takes up a vow: from that day onward he will fully carry out whatever any brāhmaṇa asks of him.