अध्याय १६ — शङ्कर-उमा-वरदानम् तथा तण्डि-स्तुतिः (Śaṅkara–Umā Boon-Granting and Taṇḍi’s Hymn)
देवासुरमुनीनां तु यच्च गुहां सनातनम् । गुहायां निहितं ब्रह्म दुर्विज्ञेयं मुनेरपि
devāsuramunīnāṁ tu yac ca guhāṁ sanātanam | guhāyāṁ nihitaṁ brahma durvijñeyaṁ muner api ||
Wika ni Vāyu: “Yaong walang hanggang ‘yungib’ na hindi mapasok ng ganap na pagkaunawa maging ng mga deva, asura, at mga muni—ang Brahman na nakatago sa panloob na yungib (yungib ng puso), na mahirap makilala kahit ng mapagnilay na pantas—siya nga ang Panginoon. Siya ang banal na pinagmumulan ng lahat ng nilalang; ang Kanyang mukha’y nakaharap sa lahat ng dako, Siya ang Sarili ng lahat, ang nakakakita sa lahat, ang sumasaklaw sa lahat, at ang nakaaalam sa lahat.”
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse teaches that the highest reality (Brahman/Īśvara) is inwardly present—hidden in the ‘cave’ of the heart—and is not easily grasped even by exalted beings or learned sages. True knowledge is therefore not merely intellectual; it requires inner realization of the all-pervading, all-seeing Self who is the source of creation.
Vāyu is speaking in a didactic context, identifying the supreme Lord through a traditional image: Brahman concealed in the heart-cave. He emphasizes the Lord’s cosmic attributes—creator, facing all directions, universal Self, omniscient and omnipresent—thereby guiding the listener from external notions of divinity to an inward, ethical-spiritual focus on realization.