ancestors)^5 , he has no home and therefore no designated place where he could be
found for sure (“Ageha”)^6 , he remains naked (“Digambar”)^7 , and has serpents
wrapped around his body (“Vyaali”)^8. (6)
Tell us, what comfort or happiness does one expect to get by marrying such a
groom? It is such a foolish thing for you to be misled by the advice of an imposter
(Narad)^9! (7)
Lord Shiva had first married Sati at the instance of some friends (i.e. his
compatriots, the gods)^10 , but later on he had manouvered things in such a way that
Sati had to kill herself. [This refers to Parvati’s earlier life in which she had died by
burning in the fire of Yoga at her father’s place.]^11 (8)
[Note—^1 This is a reference to Lord Shiva who is a renunciate God not interested in
mundane affairs of life, who lives like a mendicant or an ascetic who prefers to
remain submerged in deep mediation for most of the time, who remains aloof from all
material pleasures and indifferent to all worldly attachments, who has no home per-se
and lives on the snow-covered peaks of Mt.Kailash, who wonders alone in cremation
grounds trying to provide liberation and deliverance to the soul of the dead by
uttering the holy and divine name of Lord Ram in the latter’s ears, and so on and so
forth. In short, Lord Shiva whom Parvati wants to marry is not at all fit to become a
husband of a lady who wishes to establish a home and live a peaceful life as a
householder.
(^2) For a self-realised and enlightened person who has tasted the nectar of eternal
bliss and peace obtained by maintaining a safe distance from the turbulent world,
whether he is an immortal god or an ordinary mortal creature, remaining aloof from
involvement with the world and renouncing any links with it comes naturally—
because such renunciation and detachment gives him his peace of mind and bliss of
heart. Since getting tied in the bond of marriage sucks a person in the whirlpool of
worldly responsibilities and obligations from which, once accepted, it is difficult to
get out, a self-realised and spiritually enlightened person would always strive to avoid
this shackle and would prefer to remain free as a sky-borne bird.
The Atma is like a free bird that wishes to remain free from any bondage, whilst
the bond of marriage is like the same bird being caged for life.
The character traits that are considered as negative or shortcomings in Shiva’s
character appear to be so when one views them from the perspective of the world and
how it judges someone. The gross world regards possession of material things and
enjoying them as positive signs of success and a healthy mind that thinks of material
growth, development, enhancement and expansion. But the world forgets that all
things that are related to the sense organs of the gross body are as transient and
perishable as the body and the world itself in which the body lives. The world and its
physical charms are like the mirage of a dry desert that pulls a thirsty person toward
itself only to lead him to his death because there is no water in that mirage.
Similarly, imagining peace, happiness, joy, pleasure and comfort in the world and
its material things is as foolish as trying to find water in the desert mirage. Only a few
who are self-realised and exceptionally wise and enlightened strive to rise above the
grossness of the world and attain a level of exalted existence, but for this to happen,
for this noble aim to be realised they have to distance themselves from the world,
become detached from it and renounce its illusionary charms and comforts.
Lord Shiva is one such god. Being the Lord in-charge of death, he has witnessed
the pain associated with life in this world, and how a creature feels unfulfilled at the
end of his life inspite of his having gained every possible successes in life. Shiva sees
that even those who claimed the highest degree of achievement and success in this
world do not find peace at the time of death. They have to take a new birth because
they are trapped in the wheel of Karma, the wheel that traps a creature’s Atma or soul
in an endless cycle of birth and death depending on the deeds he or she does in
previous life. On the other hand, those who had realised the futility of worldly pursuit