अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
कर्मकाले पुनर्देहमविचिन्त्यं सृजाम्पहम् । आविव्य मानुषं देहं मर्यादाबन्धकारणात्,फिर सृष्टि-रचनाके समय मैं अचिन्त्यस्वरूप धारण करता हूँ; तथा मर्यादाकी स्थापना एवं रक्षाके लिये मानव-शरीरसे अवतार लेता हूँ
karmakāle punar deham avicintyaṃ sṛjāmy aham | āviśya mānuṣaṃ dehaṃ maryādābandhakāraṇāt ||
No tempo determinado para a ação, volto a fazer surgir um corpo de natureza inconcebível. Entrando em forma humana, nasço para estabelecer e salvaguardar os limites da ordem justa (maryādā), para que o mundo permaneça contido pelo dharma.
देव उवाच
The divine manifests in embodied form at critical times to uphold dharma—specifically to establish and protect maryādā, the moral and social boundaries that restrain disorder and sustain righteous life.
The speaker, identified as a deva, explains the reason for assuming a human body: at the proper moment he manifests an inconceivable form and enters human embodiment to restore and maintain the world’s rightful order.