Shloka 20
देवि! यह मैंने तुम्हारे निकट विस्तारयुक्त एवं मंगलमय वानप्रस्थधर्मका स्थूलभावसे वर्णन किया है ।। उमोवाच भगवन् सर्वभूतेश सर्वभूतनमस्कृत । यो धर्मो मुनिसंघस्य सिद्धिवादेषु तं वद
devi! yad ahaṁ tava nikaṭe vistārayuktaṁ ca maṅgalamayaṁ vānaprasthadharmaṁ sthūlabhāvena varṇitaṁ. umovāca: bhagavan sarvabhūteśa sarvabhūtanamaskṛta, yo dharmo munisaṅghasya siddhivādeṣu taṁ vada.
Maheshvara said: “Goddess, I have explained to you—at length and in an auspicious manner—the discipline of the forest-dweller (vānaprastha), presenting it in its broad outline.” Uma replied: “O Blessed Lord, Lord of all beings, revered by all beings—tell me that dharma which belongs to the assemblies of sages, as discussed in their teachings on spiritual attainment.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse marks a transition: Shiva concludes his broad, auspicious exposition of vānaprastha-dharma, and Uma requests a further, more specialized teaching—namely the dharma upheld by sages in discussions of siddhi (spiritual accomplishment). It frames dharma as both ethical discipline (life-stage duties) and a pathway toward higher realization.
In Anuśāsana Parva, a didactic dialogue unfolds between Maheśvara and Umā. Here Shiva signals completion of one topic (the forest-dweller’s code), and Uma respectfully addresses him with epithets (“Lord of all beings”) and asks him to explain the sages’ dharma connected with teachings on attaining siddhi.