Shloka 20
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
वृतं नैकात्मकं येन कृतं त्रैलोक्यमात्मना । तथैव बहुरूपत्वाद् विश्वरूप इति स्मृत:
vṛtaṃ naikātmakaṃ yena kṛtaṃ trailokyam ātmanā | tathaiva bahurūpatvād viśvarūpa iti smṛtaḥ ||
Vasiṣṭha dit : «Celui par qui les trois mondes furent façonnés par son propre Soi n’est pas enfermé dans une forme unique. Parce qu’il se manifeste en de multiples formes, on se souvient de lui comme de “Viśvarūpa”, le Tout-Forme. Ainsi, le cosmos est à la fois créé et pénétré par cette unique réalité, qui apparaît comme multiple sans perdre son unité intérieure.»
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the ultimate principle that creates the three worlds is not limited to a single form; it manifests as many forms while remaining one. This supports an ethical vision of unity: seeing multiplicity as expressions of one reality reduces ego-driven division and encourages reverence toward all beings.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing his listener in a philosophical discourse within Śānti Parva, explaining the cosmic creator-pervader as ‘Viśvarūpa’—so called because the one reality appears in countless forms and yet underlies and pervades the entire three-world cosmos.