Shloka 25
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
बद्दीभिवद्धिभि: स्फीता स्त्रीधर्मज्ञा शुचिस्मिता । शैलराजसूुतां देवीं पुण्या पापभयापहा,पवित्र मुसकानवाली गंगाजी अनेक बुद्धियोंसे बढ़ी-चढ़ी, स्त्री-धर्मको जाननेवाली, पाप-भयको दूर करनेवाली, पुण्यमयी, बुद्धि और विनयसे सम्पन्न, सर्वधर्मविशारद तथा प्रचुर बुद्धिसे संयुक्त थीं। उन्होंने गिरिराजकुमारी उमादेवीसे मन्द-मन्द मुसकराते हुए कहा
buddhibhir vṛddhibhiḥ sphītā strī-dharma-jñā śuci-smitā | śailarāja-sutāṃ devīṃ puṇyā pāpa-bhayāpahā ||
Mahēśvara said: “Gaṅgā, endowed with abundant intelligence and mature discernment, well-versed in the duties and conduct proper to women, and smiling with pure gentleness, was herself holy and a remover of the fear born of sin. Turning to the goddess Umā, daughter of the Lord of Mountains, she addressed her with a soft smile.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Gaṅgā as an exemplar of purity, mature intelligence, and knowledge of strī-dharma, implying that ethical counsel should come from one who is inwardly pure and discerning, and that holiness dispels the fear rooted in wrongdoing.
Śiva describes Gaṅgā’s qualities and then notes that she turns to Umā (Pārvatī), the daughter of Himālaya, and begins to speak to her with a gentle, pure smile—setting the scene for a moral or dharmic instruction.