Shloka 4
Umā’s Inquiry and the Manifestation of the Third Eye (उमा–प्रश्नः तृतीयनेत्रोत्पत्तिः)
हुताशनशिखेव त्वं ज्वलमाना स्वतेजसा । सुता ताराधिपस्येव प्रभया दिवमागता
hutāśanaśikheva tvaṁ jvalamānā svatejasā | sutā tārādhipasyeva prabhayā divam āgatā |
Bhīṣma said: “You blaze by your own radiance like a tongue of sacrificial fire; and like the Moon’s daughter, you have come to the heavenly realm, shining with a brilliant splendor.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys that inner virtue (tejas) manifests outwardly as spiritual radiance, and that such merit leads to exalted states (symbolized by arrival in heaven). Ethical purity and righteous conduct are portrayed as self-luminous, needing no external validation.
Bhīṣma addresses a feminine figure (a woman or goddess-like presence) and praises her appearance and destiny through two similes: she shines like a flame of Agni and, like the Moon’s daughter, illuminates heaven with her brilliance—indicating her elevated, meritorious arrival in the celestial realm.