Shloka 11
यदस्य बहुधा रूप॑ भूतं भव्यं भवत्तथा
yad asya bahudhā rūpaṁ bhūtaṁ bhavyaṁ bhavat tathā | bhūta-bhaviṣya-vartamāna-kāle sthāvara-jaṅgamākāreṣu tasya anekāni rūpāṇi prakaṭībhavanti | tasmāt sa “bahurūpa” iti kathyate | sarve devāḥ tasmin nivasantīti tasmāt sa “viśvarūpa” iti kathyate ||
Vāyu dit : «Parce que sa forme se manifeste de multiples manières—comme ce qui fut, ce qui sera et ce qui est—apparaissant sous les figures de l’immobile et du mobile, on l’appelle donc “Aux multiples formes” (Bahurūpa). Et puisque tous les dieux demeurent en lui, on l’appelle “À la forme universelle” (Viśvarūpa).»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches divine all-pervasiveness: the Supreme is present across past, present, and future, manifesting as every kind of being—immovable and movable—hence ‘Bahurūpa’; and since all deities are contained within that reality, it is ‘Viśvarūpa’.
Vāyudeva explains the significance of two epithets—‘Bahurūpa’ and ‘Viśvarūpa’—by describing how the divine manifests in countless forms across time and as all categories of beings, with all gods residing within that cosmic form.