front of not one, not two nor three—but ‘seven’ sages. This made her very uneasy
because this was a private affair for her. She even could not take the recourse of lies
before the sages, not could she refuse to reply. She was in a sort of a quandary.
She feared that the seven sages would ridicule her for her outlandish decision and
far-fetched desire to marry Shiva. That is why she said even before they could make
any adverse comments that her wish to marry Shiva was like (i) erecting a wall on
water (verse no. 5), and (ii) flying without wings (verse no. 6). She expected that
these comments would make the sages keep their quiet and go away. But this was not
to be. Just like Sati hadn’t got the hint when Shiva had tried to enlighten her about the
divinity of Lord Ram and had instead gone ahead to test the latter, these sages too
didn’t get a hint of what Parvati meant. Instead, they continued with their ‘testing
assignment’.
Such is the wonder of the Lord’s “Maya” (delusion-creating powers) that even
the wisest ones fail to pick up the hint when something is destined to happen as
devised by the supreme Creator!]ŒÊ0. ‚ÈŸÃ ’øŸ Á’„U‚ Á⁄U·ÿ ÁªÁ⁄U‚¢÷fl Ãfl Œ„U–
ŸÊ⁄UŒ ∑§⁄U ©U¬Œ‚È ‚ÈÁŸ ∑§„U„ÈU ’‚©U Á∑§‚È ª„UH 78H
dōhā.
sunata bacana bihasē riṣaya girisambhava tava dēha.
nārada kara upadēsu suni kahahu basē'u kisu gēha. 78.
When the sages heard the words of Parvati, they laughed in derision, saying—‘After
all, you have been born as a daughter of Mountains! [There is a sarcastic undertone in
this comment. It means that like the grossness and the dullness of the mountains,
whatever is produced in their realm too acquires their basic nature of being gross and
dull. The mountains lack greenery and vibrancy of life; they are made up of lifeless
and hard rocks. These are metaphors for dullness and grossness of mind and heart. In
other words, Parvati is dull and stupid as well as stubborn and hard to reason with like
the place where she is born.]
Say, has anyone’s home established if he or she had heeded the words (advice;
suggestions) of Narad? (Doha no. 78)
[Note—Refer also to Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line nos. 1-4 that
precede Doha no. 97 where Maina, the mother of Parvati, also accuses Narad in a
similar way. A note appended to Chaupai line nos. 1-2 therein explains the matter
further and why the accusations against Narad are misplaced and unjustified.
Narad was the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu, and a true sage and saint. His
constant endeavour was to help the creature attain freedom from the endless cycle of
birth and death. Narad always tried to wean away the creature’s Atma, i.e. his soul,
from being entangled with this world, and instead move towards attaining permanent
liberation and deliverance. Narad was a ‘Sanyasi’ par-excellence, and a Upanishad
named “Narad Parivraajak Upanishad” that describes in detail the philosophy of
Sanyas (life of worldly renunciation) is attributed to him. This Upanishad is one of
the best of its category.
This being so, Narad always dissuaded those with whom he came in contact from
getting entangled into the world by marrying and raising a household because then
the creature gets sucked in a vortex of worldly attachments, charms and
responsibilities from which he finds himself difficult to extract later on in life. It’s
like putting a foot in quicksand or quagmire or whirlpool: it’s quick and easy to get
in, and virtually impossible to get out.