Shloka 28
कालयुक्तधर्मविवेकः
Discerning Dharma in Accord with Time
उमोवाच मनसा बद्ध्यते येन कर्मणा पुरुष: सदा । तन्मे ब्रूहि महाभाग देवदेव पिनाकधृत्,उमाने पूछा--महाभाग! पिनाकधारी देवदेव! जिस मानसिक कर्मसे मनुष्य सदा बन्धनमें पड़ता है, उसको मुझे बताइये
umovāca manasā baddhyate yena karmaṇā puruṣaḥ sadā | tan me brūhi mahābhāga devadeva pinākadhṛt ||
Umā said: “O Mahābhāga, O God of gods, bearer of the Pināka bow—tell me what kind of mental action it is by which a person is continually bound. Explain to me the inner deed of the mind that keeps one trapped in bondage.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames bondage as arising not only from outward deeds but from an inner, mental ‘karma’—the mind’s patterns that continually bind a person. It sets up an ethical inquiry into how intention, attachment, and mental fixation become the root of continued bondage.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Umā addresses Śiva respectfully (as Devadeva and bearer of the Pināka) and asks him to explain which mental action causes a person to remain perpetually bound. This initiates a didactic exchange where Śiva is invited to teach about the psychology of bondage and liberation.