Shloka 23
Umā’s Inquiry and the Manifestation of the Third Eye (उमा–प्रश्नः तृतीयनेत्रोत्पत्तिः)
भीष्म उवाच एतदाख्याय सा देवी सुमनायै तपस्विनी । पतिधर्म महाभागा जगामादर्शनं तदा
bhīṣma uvāca etad ākhyāya sā devī sumanāyai tapasvinī | patidharma-mahābhāgā jagāmādarśanaṃ tadā ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Nachdem jene asketische Göttin Sumanā diese Begebenheit so berichtet hatte—edel und standhaft in der Gattenpflicht, dem patidharma—entzog sie sich damals dem Blick und verschwand.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights patidharma—steadfast commitment to marital duty—as an ethical ideal reinforced by tapas (austerity and self-discipline). The teacher’s disappearance after instructing suggests that dharma is to be internalized and lived, not merely discussed.
Bhishma reports that the ascetic, revered woman finished narrating her account to Sumanā and then vanished from sight, marking the conclusion of her instruction and the episode.