Shloka 12
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
मज्जमाना जले विप्र वीयेणासीत् समुद्धृता । अग्निश्च वडवावक्त्रो भूत्वाहं द्विजसत्तम,विप्रवर! पूर्वकालमें जब यह पृथ्वी जलमें डूब गयी थी, उस समय मैंने ही वाराहरूप धारण करके इसे बलपूर्वक जलसे बाहर निकाला था। विद्वन! मैं ही बडवामुख अग्नि होकर सदा समुद्रके जलको पीता हूँ और फिर उस जलको बरसा देता हूँ। ब्राह्मण मेरा मुख है, क्षत्रिय दोनों भुजाएँ हैं और वैश्य मेरी दोनों जाँघोंके रूपमें स्थित हैं
majjāmānā jale vipra vīryeṇāsīt samuddhṛtā | agniś ca vaḍavāvaktro bhūtvāhaṃ dvijasattama ||
Disse a Divindade: “Ó brâmane, quando a Terra afundava nas águas, foi por minha própria força que a ergui. E, ó melhor dos duas-vezes-nascidos, Eu também me torno o fogo da Boca da Égua (Vaḍavāmukha), que bebe as águas do oceano e depois as devolve novamente como chuva.”
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts divine sovereignty over cosmic processes: the same supreme power rescues the world in crisis and also regulates nature’s cycles (ocean and rain). Ethically, it frames preservation of the world and maintenance of order (dharma) as a divine responsibility and model for rightful power.
A deity addresses a brahmin and recounts two cosmic acts: lifting the Earth from the waters (evoking the boar-rescue motif) and manifesting as the Vaḍavāmukha fire associated with the ocean’s waters and their return as rain.