Shloka 9
शुकस्य मिथिलागमनम् (Śukasya Mithilāgamanam) — Śuka’s Journey to Mithilā and the Courtly Test
तमप्रमेयो&तिबलं ज्वलमानं विभावसुम् | ऊष्माणं सर्वभूतानां सप्तार्चिषमथाञज्जसा
tam aprameyo ’tibalaṁ jvalamānaṁ vibhāvasum | ūṣmāṇaṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ saptārciṣam athāñjasā ||
Yājñavalkya dit : «Ce Feu—Vibhāvasu—immensurable, d’une puissance extrême, flamboyant, qui est la chaleur même de tous les êtres et qui possède sept langues de flamme, est promptement absorbé et dévoré par le Vent puissant ; puis le Vent, se manifestant en huit formes, se met à parcourir tout l’univers—en haut, en bas et entre les deux—se répandant en tous sens.»
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most powerful and luminous forces (like Fire) are not ultimate; they are governed and transformed within a larger cosmic order. The ethical implication is humility: do not cling to power, brilliance, or sensory force as final—seek the higher principle that transcends measurable phenomena.
Yājñavalkya describes a cosmic process in which blazing Fire (Agni/Vibhāvasu), characterized as the heat within all beings and possessing seven flames, is swiftly absorbed/overpowered by Wind (Vāyu), which then spreads in all directions in its multiple forms.