Mahabharata 3.190.45 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 190, Shloka 45
अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः
The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise
दृष्टवा लोक॑ समस्तं च विस्मितो नावबुध्यसे । ततो$सि वकत्राद् विप्रषे द्रुतं निःसारितो मया
dṛṣṭvā lokaṃ samastaṃ ca vismito nāvabudhyase | tato 'si vaktrād vipraṣe drutaṃ niḥsārito mayā, vipraśiromaṇe |
देव उवाच—समस्तं लोकं दृष्ट्वा त्वं विस्मितो नावबुध्यसे; तस्मात्, हे विप्रर्षे, द्रुतं त्वां वकत्राद् निःसारितवानहम्। सर्वं चराचरं जगद् ध्वस्तं एकार्णवे निमग्नं दृष्ट्वा त्वं व्याकुल इति मया ज्ञातम्; तेन कारणेन पुनस्ते जगद्दर्शनं दत्तम्। यदा त्वं मम शरीरस्याभ्यन्तरं प्रविष्टः समग्रं विश्वं दृष्ट्वा विमूढो न स्वात्मनि प्रत्यावर्तितुं शशाक, तदा त्वां तत्क्षणादेव बहिर्मोचितवानहम्।
देव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A finite mind can be overwhelmed by direct encounter with the totality of creation and dissolution; the deity’s compassion moderates revelation, restoring the seeker’s stability. Divine knowledge is given in a way that protects the recipient, emphasizing grace alongside awe.
The deity addresses a brahmin-sage who has witnessed the entire cosmos (including its dissolution into a single ocean) from within the deity. Seeing the sage stunned and unable to recover awareness, the deity swiftly releases him outward from the mouth and explains the reason: to relieve his distress and re-show the world in a bearable manner.
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