Mahabharata 3.190.4 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 190, Shloka 4
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
अहं नारायणो नाम प्रभव: शाश्वृतो5व्यय: । विधाता सर्वभूतानां संहर्ता च द्विजोत्तम
ahaṃ nārāyaṇo nāma prabhavaḥ śāśvato 'vyayaḥ | vidhātā sarvabhūtānāṃ saṃhartā ca dvijottama |
ദേവൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഞാൻ ‘നാരായണൻ’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധൻ; ഞാൻ തന്നെയാണ് സർവ്വത്തിന്റെയും ഉദ്ഭവം, ശാശ്വതൻ, അവ്യയൻ. ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ, സർവ്വഭൂതങ്ങളുടെ വിധാതാവും പ്രളയത്തിലെ സംഹർത്താവും ഞാൻ തന്നെയാണ്.
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the Supreme Lord’s identity as Nārāyaṇa: the eternal, imperishable source who both establishes (creates/ordains) and withdraws (destroys) all beings. Ethically, it grounds dharma in a cosmic moral order upheld by a single sovereign principle rather than merely human power.
A divine speaker addresses a brāhmaṇa (“dvijottama”) and reveals His supreme status—declaring Himself the origin, the eternal reality, and the agent of creation and dissolution—thereby authorizing the teaching or boon that follows with the weight of ultimate authority.
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