Later on in the story of Ram Charit Manas we shall read that Lord Ram had
subjected Sita to the “fire test of purity” at the end of the war at Lanka—refer: Ram
Charit Manas, Lanka Kand, Doha no. 108—to Doha no. 109. Does this mean that Sita
was corrupt, or that Lord Ram doubted her integrity? The whole war was fought to
liberate her from the clutches of the demons, and then this to happen was
incredulous? But Lord Ram was very wise: he knew that it was necessary to keep
tongues from wagging false accusations.]øı0. Á⁄UÁ·ã„U ªıÁ⁄U ŒπË Ã„°U ∑Ò§‚Ë – ◊Í⁄UÁÃ◊¢Ã ìSÿÊ ¡Ò‚ËH 1H
caupā’ī.
riṣinha gauri dēkhī taham̐ kaisī. mūratimanta tapasyā jaisī. 1.
The (seven celestial) sages saw Gauri (Parvati) there (i.e. at the place where she had
been doing Tapa) as if she was a personified form of Tapa (penance, austerities and
sufferance for a noble cause) itself. [She was radiant with the divine aura acquired by
doing penances and observing austerities. She personified all the virtues of Tapa, and
when the sages saw her they found her in a state of exalted existence that can come
only when one has attained the highest level of purity as a fruit of successful Tapa.]
(1)
[Note—Refer also: Shiva Puran, 2/3/25/19.
Even the first glance of Parvati convinced the sages that she was absolutely
immaculate and worthy of being Shiva’s partner. Whatever may be her sins in her
previous life as Sati, all those sins have been burnt along with her physical body
when she burnt herself in the fire of Yoga (as narrated in Baal Kand, Chaupai line no.
8 that precedes Doha no. 64).
Presently in her new birth as Parvati, her Atma (i.e. her ‘pure self’ or Soul) was
as divine, as holy and as immaculate as it could ever be. Even as the ordinary fire
burns all the impurities of anything that is put into it, the rigours of Tapa too leaves
the person who undertakes it fully purified and free of any after-effects of sins
committed by him or her. This results in the shine of the Atma coming to the fore in
the form of a radiant and glorious halo around the concerned person just like the
brilliant halo that surrounds the sun in the sky.]
’Ù‹ ◊ÈÁŸ ‚ÈŸÈ ‚Ò‹∑ȧ◊Ê⁄UË – ∑§⁄U„ÈU ∑§flŸ ∑§Ê⁄UŸ Ã¬È ÷Ê⁄UËH 2H
∑§Á„U •fl⁄UÊœ„ÈU ∑§Ê ÃÈEg ø„U„Í – „U◊ ‚Ÿ ‚àÿ ◊⁄U◊È Á∑§Ÿ ∑§„U„ÍUH 3H
bōlē muni sunu sailakumārī. karahu kavana kārana tapu bhārī. 2.
kēhi avarādhahu kā tumha cahahū. hama sana satya maramu kina kahahū. 3.
The sages said to Sailkumari (the daughter of the mountains; Parvati)—‘Listen to us,
oh Sailkumari! Why are you doing such a severe Tapa? (2)
Whom do you worship, and what is your wish? Why don’t you tell us the
secret of your heart (that has led you to undertake doing such a severe Tapa)?’ (3)
[Note—Refer also: Shiva Puran, 2/3/25/21 where the sages have asked Parvati—“Oh
Sailkumari; why are you doing such severe Tapa? Which deity do you worship; what
do you want as a reward? Tell us everything.”
An interesting point to note here is this: The sages did not adopt any conceit or a
fictitious form when they went to Parvati to test her. Compare this to Sati who had
assumed the form of Sita, Lord Ram’s wife, when she had gone to test the Lord