Shloka 79
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
जो इस भूतलमें प्रवेश करके महादेवजीकी पूर्वकृत सृष्टिकी रक्षा करते हैं, जो समस्त जगतके रक्षक, विभिन्न प्राणियोंकी सृष्टि करनेवाले और श्रेष्ठ हैं, वे सम्पूर्ण देवता भगवान् शिवसे ही प्रकट हुए हैं ।।
yo 'smin bhūtale praviśya mahādevapūrvakṛtāṃ sṛṣṭiṃ rakṣanti, ye samastajagadrakṣakā nānāprāṇisṛṣṭikartāraḥ śreṣṭhāś ca, te sarve devā bhagavataḥ śivād eva prādurbhūtāḥ. vicinvantas tapasā tat-sthavīyaḥ kiñcit tattvaṃ prāṇa-hetoḥ nato 'smi. dadātu devaḥ sa varān iheṣṭān abhīṣṭṛto naḥ prabhur avyayaḥ sadā.
Disse Vāyu: “Aqueles que entram neste domínio terrestre para preservar a criação outrora realizada por Mahādeva—os protetores de todo o mundo, os que geram as diversas ordens de seres vivos e os mais excelsos—todos esses deuses, de fato, manifestaram-se apenas do Senhor Śiva. Buscando com austeridade esse princípio mais profundo e mais substancial, inclino-me em favor da própria vida. Que esse Deus—o Senhor imperecível, por nós invocado—conceda aqui as dádivas que desejamos.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Śiva as the ultimate source from whom the gods manifest, and frames devotion and austerity as a means to seek the underlying truth (tattva) and secure the preservation of life and order; the ethical thrust is reverence toward the sustaining principle behind cosmic protection.
Vāyu speaks in praise of Śiva, describing how divine protectors and creators operate within the world to safeguard Mahādeva’s primordial creation, then offers a bow born of ascetic inquiry and petitions the imperishable Lord for desired boons.