Shloka 17
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
अहं संवर्तको वदह्विरहं संवर्तकोडनल:,मैं ही संवर्तक (प्रलयका कारण) वल्ि हूँ। मैं ही संवर्तक अनल हूँ। मैं ही संवर्तक सूर्य हूँ और मैं ही संवर्तक वायु हूँ। द्विजश्रेष्ठ आकाशमें जो ये तारे दिखायी देते हैं उन सबको मेरे ही रोमकूप समझो। रत्नाकर समुद्र और चारों दिशाओंको मेरे वस्त्र, शय्या और निवासस्थान जानो। मैंने ही देवताओंके कार्यकी सिद्धिके लिये इनकी पृथक्-पृथक् रचना की है
ahaṃ saṃvartako vadahvir ahaṃ saṃvartako 'nalaḥ | ahaṃ saṃvartakaḥ sūryo 'haṃ saṃvartakaḥ samīraṇaḥ | dvijaśreṣṭha ākāśe ye tārā dṛśyante tān sarvān mamaiva romakūpān viddhi | ratnākaraṃ samudraṃ ca catasro diśaś ca mama vastra-śayyā-nivāsasthānāni jānīhi | mayāiva devakāryasya siddhaye teṣāṃ pṛthak pṛthag racanā kṛtā ||
A Divindade disse: “Eu sou o fogo Saṃvartaka —a labareda que traz a dissolução; eu sou a chama Saṃvartaka. Eu sou o sol Saṃvartaka, e eu sou o vento Saṃvartaka. Ó melhor entre os duas-vezes-nascidos, sabe que todas as estrelas vistas no céu não passam de poros do meu corpo. Sabe que o oceano portador de joias e as quatro direções são as minhas vestes, o meu leito e a minha morada. Para o cumprimento dos desígnios dos deuses, eu mesmo modelei todas essas coisas em suas formas distintas.”
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches divine immanence and sovereignty: the Deity identifies with the forces of dissolution (Saṃvartaka fire), with cosmic regulators (sun and wind), and with the very structure of the universe (stars, ocean, directions). Creation and differentiation are presented as purposeful—done to accomplish the gods’ ordained functions—implying an ordered cosmos grounded in a single supreme agency.
A Deity is revealing a cosmic identity to an addressed ‘best of the twice-born’ (a Brahmin/ascetic). The speech expands from elemental powers (fire, sun, wind) to a universal-body vision (stars as pores; ocean and directions as garments/bed/abode), asserting that the world’s distinct forms were intentionally fashioned for the successful execution of divine purposes.