Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)
उमा बोलीं--भगवन! सर्वभूतेश्वर! शूलपाणे! महान् व्रतधारी महेश्वर! मेरे मनमें एक महान् संशय उत्पन्न हुआ है। आप मुझसे उसकी व्याख्या कीजिये ।। किमर्थ ते ललाटे वै तृतीयं नेत्रमुत्थितम् । किमर्थ च गिरि॑ग्ध: सपक्षिगणकानन:
Umā uvāca—bhagavan, sarvabhūteśvara, śūlapāṇe, mahān vratadhārī maheśvara! mama manasi mahān saṁśaya utpannaḥ. tvaṁ me tasya vyākhyāṁ kuru. kimarthaṁ te lalāṭe vai tṛtīyaṁ netram utthitam? kimarthaṁ ca girigṛdhaḥ sapakṣigaṇakānanaḥ?
किमर्थं ते ललाटे वै तृतीयं नेत्रमुत्थितम् । किमर्थं च गिरिग्धः सपक्षिगणकाननः ॥
नारद उवाच
Reverent inquiry is presented as a legitimate path to understanding divine qualities: Uma approaches Śiva with humility and precise questions, implying that doubts should be clarified through respectful dialogue rather than suppressed.
Within Nārada’s narration, Uma addresses Śiva and asks for the reasons behind two features/epithets: the manifestation of his third eye on the forehead and the meaning of the designation 'girigṛdhaḥ … kānanaḥ' (associated with mountains, birds, and the forest).