Shloka 5
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
अहं विष्णुरहं ब्रह्मा शक्रश्नाहं सुराधिप: । अहं वैश्रवणो राजा यम: प्रेताधिपस्तथा,मैं नारायण ही सबकी उत्पत्तिका कारण, सनातन और अविनाशी हूँ। द्विजश्रेष्ठ! सम्पूर्ण भूतोंकी सृष्टि और संहार करनेवाला भी मैं ही हूँ। मैं ही विष्णु हूँ, मैं ही ब्रह्मा हूँ, मैं ही देवराज इन्द्र हूँ और मैं ही राजा कुबेर तथा प्रेतराज यम हूँ
ahaṁ viṣṇur ahaṁ brahmā śakraś cāhaṁ surādhipaḥ | ahaṁ vaiśravaṇo rājā yamaḥ pretādhipas tathā ||
A Divindade disse: “Eu sou Viṣṇu; eu sou Brahmā; eu sou Śakra (Indra), senhor dos deuses. Sou também Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera), o rei, e igualmente Yama, soberano dos que partiram. Sabe que os poderes que veneras como governantes separados são, na verdade, expressões da única fonte suprema que faz surgir os seres e depois os recolhe; portanto age com reverência e autocontenção, vendo o Um por trás de todos os ofícios divinos.”
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the unity of divine authority: the supreme Deity declares that the major cosmic offices—preservation (Viṣṇu), creation (Brahmā), rulership of gods (Indra), wealth and guardianship (Kubera), and moral death-judgment (Yama)—are manifestations of one ultimate reality. Ethically, it urges reverence, humility, and dharmic conduct grounded in seeing one source behind all powers.
A divine speaker (devah) reveals their all-encompassing identity, listing well-known gods to show that what appear as separate deities and jurisdictions are unified in the supreme being. This revelation functions as instruction and reassurance to the listener, placing worldly and heavenly powers within a single cosmic sovereignty.