Shloka 13
समुद्रपानम् (Samudra-pānam) — Maitrāvaruṇi Drains the Ocean; Devas Seek a Means to Refill It
भगवान् विष्णुकी कही हुई यह बात सुनकर देवता ब्रह्माजीकी आज्ञा ले अगस्त्यके आश्रमपर गये ।। तत्रापश्यन् महात्मानं वारुणिं दीप्ततेजसम् | उपास्यमानमृषिभिर्देवैरिव पितामहम्,वहाँ उन्होंने मित्रावरुणके पुत्र महात्मा अगस्त्यजीको देखा। उनका तेज उद्धासित हो रहा था। जैसे देवतालोग ब्रह्माजीके पास बैठते हैं, उसी प्रकार बहुत-से ऋषि-मुनि उनके निकट बैठे थे
tatrāpaśyan mahātmānaṃ vāruṇiṃ dīptatejasam | upāsyamānam ṛṣibhir devair iva pitāmaham ||
There they beheld the great-souled son of Mitra and Varuṇa—Agastya—radiant with blazing spiritual splendor. He was being attended and revered by many sages, just as the gods sit in reverence before the Grandsire Brahmā. The scene underscores the ethical authority of realized ascetics: true brilliance is the power of tapas and wisdom, before which even the mighty bow in humility.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual greatness (tejas born of tapas and wisdom) commands natural reverence; even the powerful honor the truly realized. The verse models humility and the dharmic principle that inner attainment, not status, is the highest authority.
The visitors arrive at Agastya’s hermitage and see Agastya—son of Mitra and Varuṇa—shining with ascetic brilliance, surrounded by sages who attend him with the same reverence that gods show to Brahmā.