Shloka 42
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
मया च दत्तो विप्राग्रय वरस्ते ब्रह्म॒रूपिणा,विप्रशिरोमणे! तुम ब्रह्मर्षियोंद्वारा पूजित हो। मैंने ही ब्रह्मारूपसे तुम्हारे ऊपर बार-बार संतुष्ट हो तुम्हें अभीष्ट वर प्रदान किया है। मैंने समझ लिया था कि तुम सम्पूर्ण चराचर जगत्को नष्ट तथा एकार्णवमें निमग्न हुआ देखकर व्याकुल हो रहे हो। इसीलिये तुम्हें पुनः जगत्का दर्शन कराया है। ब्रह्मर्ष! जब तुम मेरे शरीरके भीतर प्रविष्ट हुए थे और समस्त संसारको देखकर विस्मय-विमुग्ध हो फिर सचेत नहीं हो पा रहे थे, तब मैंने तुरंत तुम्हें मुखसे बाहर निकाल दिया था
mayā ca datto viprāgrya varas te brahmarūpiṇā | vipraśiromaṇe! tvaṃ brahmarṣibhir dvārā pūjito 'si | mayā eva brahmarūpeṇa tava upari punaḥ punaḥ saṃtuṣṭena iṣṭa-varaḥ pradattaḥ | mayā jñātaṃ yat tvaṃ samastaṃ carācara-jagat naṣṭaṃ ca ekārṇave nimagnaṃ ca dṛṣṭvā vyākulo 'bhavaḥ | tasmāt te punaḥ jagad-darśanaṃ kāritaṃ mayā | brahmarṣe! yadā tvaṃ mama śarīrasyāntar praviṣṭo 'bhūḥ, sarvaṃ saṃsāraṃ dṛṣṭvā vismaya-vimūḍhaḥ san punaḥ saceto na babhūviṣaḥ, tadā tvāṃ sahasā mukhād bahiḥ niṣkāsitavān aham ||
The Deity said: “O foremost of brahmins, jewel among sages! You are honored by the great seers. It was I—appearing in the form of Brahmā—who, being repeatedly pleased with you, granted you the boon you desired. I understood that you were distressed when you beheld the entire moving and unmoving world destroyed and submerged in a single cosmic ocean. Therefore I showed you the world again. O brahmarṣi, when you entered within my body and, seeing the whole universe, became stunned with wonder and could not regain awareness, I immediately drew you out through my mouth.”
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes divine compassion and protection: when a seeker is overwhelmed by a terrifying or incomprehensible vision of cosmic dissolution, the deity both reassures and restores balance—granting boons according to merit and preventing the aspirant from being lost in bewilderment. Awe is acknowledged, but steadiness and guidance are presented as necessary for spiritual insight.
A deity addresses a foremost brahmin-sage, reminding him that the deity (in a Brahmā-like form) granted him desired boons. The sage had become distressed after witnessing the universe destroyed and submerged in a single ocean. To relieve him, the deity showed the world again; and when the sage entered the deity’s body and became stunned by the vision of the entire cosmos, the deity promptly brought him back out through the mouth.