Shloka 11
Bhagavān’s Avatāras, Their Protections (Poṣaṇa), and the Limits of Knowing Him
सत्रे ममास भगवान् हयशीरषाथो साक्षात् स यज्ञपुरुषस्तपनीयवर्ण: । छन्दोमयो मखमयोऽखिलदेवतात्मा वाचो बभूवुरुशती: श्वसतोऽस्य नस्त: ॥ ११ ॥
satre mamāsa bhagavān haya-śīraṣātho sākṣāt sa yajña-puruṣas tapanīya-varṇaḥ chandomayo makhamayo ’khila-devatātmā vāco babhūvur uśatīḥ śvasato ’sya nastaḥ
എന്റെ (ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ) യജ്ഞസത്രത്തിൽ ഭഗവാൻ സാക്ഷാൽ ഹയഗ്രീവാവതാരമായി പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു. സ്വർണവർണ്ണനായ യജ്ഞപുരുഷൻ, വേദഛന്ദസ്സുകളുടെ രൂപം, സർവ്വദേവതകളുടെയും അന്തര്യാമി—അവൻ. അവൻ ശ്വസിച്ചപ്പോൾ തന്നെ അവന്റെ നാസാരന്ധ്രങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് വേദസ്തുതികളുടെ മധുരധ്വനികൾ പുറപ്പെട്ടു।
The Vedic hymns are generally meant for sacrifices performed by fruitive workers who also want to satisfy the demigods to achieve their fruitive result. But the Lord is the personified sacrifices and personified Vedic hymns. Therefore one who is directly a devotee of the Lord is a person who has automatically both served the purposes of sacrifices and pleased the demigods. The devotees of the Lord may not perform any sacrifice or may not please the demigods as per Vedic injunctions, and still the devotees are on a higher level than the fruitive workers or the worshipers of different demigods.
FAQs
In this verse, Hayagrīva is identified as Bhagavān Himself, the Yajña-puruṣa—radiant and divine—who embodies the Vedas and sacrifice, revered as the source and protector of sacred knowledge.
The verse teaches that Vedic sound (vācaḥ)—the mantras and meters (chandas)—is not a human invention but originates from the Supreme Lord, indicating the transcendental, apauruṣeya nature of the Vedas.
By honoring Vedic sound through sincere chanting, study, and devotion, and by remembering that all sacred knowledge and spiritual practice ultimately rests on the Supreme Lord as its source.