Shloka 21
ज्वलनं तं॑ समासाद्य प्रीताभूवन् सवासवा: । नरव्याप्र! इन्द्रसहित सब देवता बृहस्पतिको आगे करके अग्निदेवके समीप आये और उन्हें देखकर बड़े प्रसन्न हुए || २० ह ।। पुनर्यथागतं जग्मु: सर्वभक्षश्च सो5भवत्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: jvalanaṃ taṃ samāsādya prītābhūvan savāsavāḥ | punar yathāgataṃ jagmuḥ sarvabhakṣaś ca so 'bhavat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Approaching that blazing Fire (Agni), the gods—together with Indra—became delighted. Then they departed, returning as they had come; and Agni thereafter became ‘all-devouring,’ able to consume everything. In narrative terms, the episode underscores how divine satisfaction and proper approach to a sacred power can result in a transformative boon—yet one that carries immense, potentially fearsome consequence when a force like fire becomes unrestricted in what it may consume.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that when divine or sacred forces are properly approached and pleased, they may grant transformative capacities; however, such empowerment (Agni becoming ‘all-devouring’) implies ethical responsibility, since unleashed power can have vast and indiscriminate effects.
The gods, accompanied by Indra, approach Agni and are pleased; afterward they depart, and Agni becomes sarvabhakṣa—capable of consuming everything—signaling a significant change in Agni’s potency within the unfolding episode.