Shloka 16
Umā’s Inquiry and the Manifestation of the Third Eye (उमा–प्रश्नः तृतीयनेत्रोत्पत्तिः)
(अग्निसंरक्षणपरा गृहशुद्धि च कारये । कुमारान् पालये नित्यं कुमारी परिशिक्षये ।।
agnisaṁrakṣaṇaparā gṛhaśuddhiṁ ca kāraye | kumārān pālaye nityaṁ kumārī pariśikṣaye || ātmapriyāṇi hitvāpi garbhasaṁrakṣaṇe ratā | bālānāṁ varjaye nityaṁ śāpaṁ kopaṁ pratāpanam || avikṣiptāni dhānyāni nānnavikṣepaṇaṁ gṛhe | ratnavat spṛhaye gehe gāvaḥ sayavasodakāḥ || samudgamya ca śuddhāhaṁ bhikṣāṁ dadyāṁ dvijātiṣu || pravāsaṁ yadi me yāti bhartā kāryeṇa kenacit | maṅgalair bahubhir yuktā bhavāmi niyatā tadā ||
अग्निसंरक्षणपरा गृहशुद्धिं च कारये । कुमारान् पालये नित्यं कुमारीः परिशिक्षये ॥ आत्मप्रियाणि हित्वापि गर्भसंरक्षणे रता । बालानां वर्जये नित्यं शापं कोपं प्रतापनम् ॥ अविक्षिप्तानि धान्यानि नान्नविक्षेपणं गृहे । रत्नवत् स्पृहये गेहे गावः सयवसोदकाः ॥ समुद्गम्य च शुद्धाहं भिक्षां दद्यां द्विजातिषु । प्रवासं यदि मे याति भर्ता कार्येण केनचित् । मंगलैर्बहुभिर्युक्ता भवामि नियता तदा ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal of household ethics: protect the sacred fire and maintain cleanliness, nurture children with patience (without curses or harshness), safeguard pregnancy through self-denial, avoid wasting food, care for cows as precious dependents, and give alms to the twice-born while observing purity and disciplined auspicious conduct—especially during the husband’s absence.
In Bhishma’s discourse on dharma, a woman’s exemplary domestic conduct is described in the first person: she recounts her daily responsibilities—ritual care, household purification, child-rearing, instruction of girls, restraint in speech and anger, careful management of food, attentive care of cows, and charitable giving—then adds that when her husband travels for work she remains self-controlled and engaged in auspicious observances.