अध्याय १६ — शङ्कर-उमा-वरदानम् तथा तण्डि-स्तुतिः (Śaṅkara–Umā Boon-Granting and Taṇḍi’s Hymn)
अजं तमहमीशानमनादिनिधन प्रभुम् अत्यन्तसुखिनं देवमनघं शरणं व्रजे
ajaṁ tam aham īśānam anādinidhanaṁ prabhum atyantasukhinaṁ devam anaghaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraje
میں اُس اَجنما ایشان کی پناہ لیتا ہوں—جو بےآغاز و بےانتها رب ہے، سراسر سرور و مسرت، الٰہی اور بےداغ۔
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse teaches śaraṇāgati—taking refuge in the supreme Lord—described as unborn, beginningless, endless, blissful, and stainless. It also presents a harmonizing vision where the highest reality is praised in terms familiar to Sāṅkhya (Pradhāna, Puruṣa) and Yoga (Īśvara), affirming one supreme divine source behind creation and dissolution.
Vāyu-deva offers a devotional declaration, identifying Mahādeva (Śiva) as the unsurpassed supreme being. He frames Śiva’s greatness through philosophical and cosmological language—praised by Sāṅkhya scholars, contemplated by yogins, and recognized by the wise as the cause of the world’s origin and end—before explicitly taking refuge in him.