Shloka 12
Brahmā’s Enumeration of Primacies (Ādi) and the Supremacy of Knowledge
Jñāna
अहं प्रजापतीनां च सर्वेषां नात्र संशय: । मम विष्णुरचिन्त्यात्मा स्वयम्भूरिति स स्मृत:
ahaṃ prajāpatīnāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ | mama viṣṇur acintyātmā svayambhūr iti sa smṛtaḥ ||
वायु बोले—समस्त प्रजापतियों का आदि मैं हूँ, इसमें संशय नहीं; पर मेरा भी आदि अचिन्त्य-स्वरूप भगवान् विष्णु हैं, जो ‘स्वयम्भू’—स्वतः प्रकट—कहे जाते हैं।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even exalted cosmic powers like Vāyu acknowledge a higher, ultimate source. The verse teaches theological hierarchy and humility: all secondary creators (Prajāpatis and even Vāyu) trace their origin to Viṣṇu, whose nature is beyond ordinary thought (acintya) and who is called Svayambhū, the self-existent.
Vāyudeva is speaking and clarifying his own cosmic status: he identifies himself as the primordial origin among the Prajāpatis, but then immediately situates himself under Viṣṇu, stating that Viṣṇu is his source and is traditionally known as Svayambhū.