Shloka 43
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
असकृत् परितुष्टेन विप्रर्षिगणपूजित । सर्वमेकार्णवं दृष्टवा नष्ट स्थावरजड्रमम्,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
asakṛt parituṣṭena viprarṣigaṇapūjita | sarvam ekārṇavaṁ dṛṣṭvā naṣṭa-sthāvara-jaṅgamam || vipraśiromaṇe! tvaṁ brahmarṣibhir dvārā pūjitaḥ | mayā eva brahmarūpeṇa tava upari punaḥ punaḥ tuṣṭena iṣṭa-varaḥ pradattaḥ | mayā jñātaṁ yat tvaṁ samasta-carācara-jagat naṣṭaṁ ca ekārṇave nimagnaṁ ca dṛṣṭvā vyākulaḥ bhavasi | tasmāt te punaḥ jagato darśanaṁ kāritaṁ mayā | brahmarṣe! yadā tvaṁ mama śarīrasya antar praviṣṭaḥ san samasta-saṁsāraṁ dṛṣṭvā vismaya-vimūḍhaḥ san punaḥ saceto na bhavasi sma, tadā aham tvāṁ sahasā mukhāt bahiḥ niṣkāsitavān |
The Deity said: “O foremost of brahmins, revered by companies of brahmin seers, I have again and again been pleased with you and, in my Brahmā-form, have granted you the boon you desired. I understood that you were distressed on seeing the entire moving and unmoving world destroyed and submerged in a single cosmic ocean. Therefore I caused you to behold the world once more. O brahmarṣi, when you had entered within my body and, after seeing the whole universe, were struck with wonder and could not regain awareness, I immediately drew you out through my mouth.”
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A finite mind can be overwhelmed by direct vision of cosmic dissolution and the universe within the Divine; therefore the deity tempers revelation with protection. The passage emphasizes divine compassion, the granting of boons to the worthy, and the ethical idea that spiritual experiences should lead to humility rather than panic.
The deity addresses a foremost brahmin seer, explaining that he repeatedly granted the seer’s desired boon. Seeing the world destroyed and submerged in the single cosmic ocean made the seer anxious; so the deity restored his vision of the world. When the seer had entered the deity’s body and became stunned by the sight of the entire universe, the deity quickly brought him back out through the mouth.