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 ||
દેવો, અસુરો અને મુનિઓ માટે પણ જે સનાતન રહસ્ય-ગુહા છે—હૃદયગુહામાં નિહિત તે બ્રહ્મ, જે મનનશીલ મુનિ માટે પણ દુર્વિજ્ઞેય છે—એ જ આ ભગવાન છે.
वायुदेव उवाच
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.