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
devāsuramunīnāṁ tu yac ca guhāṁ sanātanam | guhāyāṁ nihitaṁ brahma durvijñeyaṁ muner api ||
Vāyu dit : «Cette ‘caverne’ éternelle que ni les dieux, ni les asuras, ni les sages ne peuvent réellement pénétrer — Brahman caché dans la caverne intérieure (du cœur), difficile à connaître même pour le voyant contemplatif — c’est bien le Seigneur. Il est la source divine qui fait naître tous les êtres ; ses visages se tournent vers toutes les directions, il est le Soi de tous, l’Omnivoyant, l’Omniprésent et l’Omniscient.»
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.