ones hear it. The words of Brahm are always for the good and welfare of the devotee
of the Lord. So, mindful of this fact, Uma is advised to bring them to her heart and do
as advised by it.
Remember: Brahm does not speak often, and it is only when the Lord is pleased
by the devotee that he chooses to address him or her directly. There are other
instances where this has happened in Ram Charit Manas. Refer: Baal Kand, (i) Doha
no. 148 (with respect to Lord Vishnu blessing Manu and Satrupa); and (iii) Chaupai
line no. 5 that precedes Doha no. 177 (with respect of Brahma blessing the demon
brothers, Ravan etc.).
Not only the supreme Lord, even ordinary human sages blessed those upon whom
they were pleased—refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line no. 5 that
precedes Doha no. 164 where we read that the hermit has blessed king Pratapbhnu
and asked him to seek any boon he wishes.]•ÊflÒ Á¬ÃÊ ’Ù‹ÊflŸ ¡’„UË¥ – „UΔU ¬Á⁄U„UÁ⁄U ÉÊ⁄U ¡Ê∞„ÈU Ã’„UË¥H 3H
Á◊‹®„U ÃÈEgÁ„U ¡’ ‚# Á⁄U·Ë‚Ê – ¡ÊŸ„ÈU Ã’ ¬ ̋◊ÊŸ ’ʪ˂ÊH 4H
āvai pitā bōlāvana jabahīṁ. haṭha parihari ghara jā'ēhu tabahīṁ. 3.
milahiṁ tumhahi jaba sapta riṣīsā. jānēhu taba pramāna bāgīsā. 4.
When your father comes to call you back home^1 , at that time you must not resist him
but return home immediately^2 (with him). (3)
When you meet the seven celestial sages known as ‘Sapta-rishis’, then you
would be reassured about the authenticity of this prophesy made by this Oracle^3 .’ (4)
[Note—^1 It was Uma’s father who was instrumental in sending her to do Tapa by
overruling her mother’s initial doubts and objections (refer: Baal Kand, from Chaupai
line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 71—to Chaupai line no. 5 that precedes Doha no.
72). So, when her father himself comes to her to ask her to go back home, Uma
would have no doubts about his intentions.
Another interesting observation is that Uma has been advised to go home without
“resistence”. This means that her father had tried to bring her home on previous
occasions as well when he had learnt about the immensity of her sufferings as
outlined in verse nos. 4-8 that precede Doha no. 74. Remember: Her father was the
king of the mountains, and so obviously he must have kept someone to keep a watch
on her. So he was aware of her sufferings during the process of Tapa. He must have
either come himself or sent someone in order to persuade Uma to return home, but
she must have refused. That is why this Oracle had to tell her “not to resist her father
when he comes to ask her to return home”.
(^2) The next question is: After doing Tapa, why was it necessary for Uma to “go
home” instead of remaining in the hermitage where she did Tapa? Well, the answer to
this question is as follows: Uma did Tapa to ‘marry Shiva’, and marriage necessitates
that she remains in with her parents at her parental home so that all the formalites and
rites associated with marriage and its religious ceremonies can be done according to
the sanctioned process of the scriptures. Marriage cannot be done with full rituals and
ceremony in a forest hermitage.
(^3) Why was it necessary for the voice of Brahm to give a proof of its authenticity to
reassure Uma when it said that “when you meet the Sapta-rishis, you will be assured
of the truthfulness of this voice and prophesy”.
Well, the reason is that when someone does Tapa, the deity who is offered this
form of sacrifice is the one who reveals before the devotee to bless him or her. For
instance, when Manu and Satrupa did Tapa, they did it for Lord Vishnu, and it was
Vishnu who appeard before them to bless them—refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal
Kand, line no. 2 of Doha no. 143 (where it is said that they worshipped Lord