Shloka 78
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
तत्सम्भूता भूतकृतो वरेण्या: सर्वे देवा भुवनस्यास्य गोपा: । आविश्येमां धरणीं ये5भ्यरक्षन् पुरातनीं तस्य देवस्य सृष्टिम्
tat-sambhūtā bhūta-kṛto vareṇyāḥ sarve devā bhuvanasyāsya gopāḥ | āviśyemāṃ dharaṇīṃ ye 'bhyarakṣan purātanīṃ tasya devasya sṛṣṭim ||
由那位众生之造化主所赐的崇高恩赐而生，一切诸天——尊贵而可敬者——皆成为此世间的守护者。他们进入这大地之中，护持她——那位神圣主宰的古老创造——以维系宇宙的秩序与绵延不绝。
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that cosmic stability is upheld through divinely sanctioned guardianship: the gods, empowered by the Creator’s boon, protect the Earth and preserve the ancient order of creation—an ethical model for protective responsibility (rakṣaṇa) as a form of dharma.
Vāyudeva describes how the gods, originating through a boon connected with the Creator of beings, entered into the Earth and guarded her—portraying the deities as world-protectors who maintain and defend the primordial creation.