Shloka 16
सूर्यो भूत्वा रश्मिभिर्जातवेदो भूमेरम्भो भूमिजातान् रसांश्व । विश्वानादाय पुनरुत्सृज्य काले दृष्टवा वृष्ट्या भावयसीह शुक्र,शुक्लवर्णवाले सर्वज्ञ अग्निदेव! आप ही सूर्य होकर अपनी किरणोंद्वारा पृथ्वीसे जलको और सम्पूर्ण पार्थिव रसोंको ग्रहण करते हैं तथा पुन: समय आनेपर आवश्यकता देखकर वर्षके द्वारा इस पृथ्वीपर जलरूपमें उन सब रसोंको प्रस्तुत कर देते हैं
sūryo bhūtvā raśmibhir jātavedo bhūmer ambho bhūmijātān rasāṁś ca | viśvān ādāya punar utsṛjya kāle dṛṣṭvā vṛṣṭyā bhāvayasīha śukra śuklavarṇavāle sarvajña agnideva ||
Stambhamitra praises Agni as the cosmic regulator: becoming the Sun, you draw up with your rays the earth’s waters and all terrestrial essences; then, when the proper time arrives, you release them again—seeing what is needed—nourishing this world through rainfall. Thus you are addressed as Śukra, white-maned, all-knowing Agnideva, whose orderly cycles sustain life and uphold the moral harmony of the cosmos.
स्तम्बमित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic vision of nature: divine intelligence sustains the world through orderly cycles—taking up water and essences and returning them as rain at the right time. This regularity (ṛta) is portrayed as a moral-cosmic principle that enables life to flourish.
Stambhamitra addresses Agni in praise, identifying him with the Sun’s function: drawing up earthly waters and vital essences by rays and later releasing them as rainfall, thereby nourishing the earth. The speech is devotional and explanatory, highlighting Agni’s universal agency.