Shloka 15
Brahmopadeśa: Adhipatitva-kathana, Dharma-lakṣaṇa, and Kṣetra–Kṣetrajña Viveka
Book 14, Chapter 43
भगदेवानुयातानां सर्वासां वामलोचना । माहेश्वरी महादेवी प्रोच्यते पार्वती हि सा
bhagadevānuyātānāṁ sarvāsāṁ vāmalocanā | māheśvarī mahādevī procyate pārvatī hi sā ||
Vāyu berkata: “Di antara semua perempuan yang dikejar para lelaki yang dikuasai hasrat, yang utama ialah ia yang bermata elok—yang disebut Māheśvarī, Mahādevī, dan Pārvatī. Ketahuilah Umā-devī yang membawa kemujuran itu sebagai yang terbaik di antara perempuan; sedangkan di antara perempuan yang dicari demi kenikmatan, para Apsaras yang berhias perhiasan emaslah yang paling menonjol.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates the divine ideal of womanhood in the form of Umā/Pārvatī—named Māheśvarī and Mahādevī—placing her as the highest among women, while also acknowledging that worldly desire tends to pursue ornamented apsarases; it implicitly contrasts sacred excellence with sensual attraction.
Vāyudeva is speaking in praise and classification of feminine figures: he identifies Pārvatī/Umā by her epithets and declares her supreme among women, then notes that among pleasure-seeking contexts, richly adorned apsarases are regarded as foremost.