Shloka 16
Uttanka’s Viśvarūpa Request and the ‘Uttanka Clouds’ Boon (उत्तङ्क-विष्वरूप-दर्शनम्)
धर्मस्य सेतुं बध्नामि चलिते चलिते युगे । तास्ता योनी: प्रविश्याहं प्रजानां हितकाम्यया
dharmasya setuṁ badhnāmi calite calite yuge | tāstā yonīḥ praviśyāhaṁ prajānāṁ hitakāmyayā ||
«Chaque fois qu’un âge chancelle et passe dans le changement, je scelle solidement le pont du Dharma. Pour le bien des êtres, j’entre encore et encore dans des matrices et des formes diverses, afin que les frontières de la droiture soient rétablies et que les vivants soient préservés de la dérive vers l’adharma.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
When moral order becomes unstable in times of yuga-transition, a divine power acts to re-establish dharma, motivated by the welfare of living beings, even by taking embodied forms suited to the situation.
Vāyudeva speaks in the first person, declaring an ongoing cosmic role: at recurring moments of upheaval across ages, he ‘fastens’ the support/bridge of dharma by entering different births and forms for the good of creatures.