blue-coloured lotus flower. In other words, the daughter of Daksha bore the genes of
Lord Vishnu and had inherited the latter’s character. This daughter was known as
“Lalitaa”.
[The ‘blue colour’ represented the sky element, and indicated that Lord Vishnu is
indeed the Viraat Purush who not only pervades the entire creation but also harbours
this creation in his body like the ‘sky’ which not only fills the entire space of this
creation, but the creation itself is lodged in the bosom of the sky.]
Daksha then married Lalitaa, who had a body like a ‘blue-lotus’, to Lord Neel-
Kantha (Shiva) because his features—‘blue throat’—matched with the bride. This
marriage was formalized on the day of Chaitra Shukla Tritiyaa (i.e. the 3rd day of the
bright half of the 1st lunar month of the Hindu calendar, which is roughly March-
April).
According to ‘Kalika-Puran’, when the time of creation arrived, both Brahma
(creator) and Vishnu (sustainer) started making efforts in this direction by
coordinating their efforts and invoking their own ‘Shaktis’ (dynamic powers). But the
third god of the Trinity, i.e. Lord Shiva, took no interest and continued to remain
submerged in the bliss obtained by meditation. Seeing that Shiva is disinterested,
Brahma motivated his son Daksha to pray to Lord Vishnu so that the latter gives his
“Maya” (delusion creating powers) personified as a maiden to him (Daksha) as his
daughter.
As the name suggests, this daughter, who was a personified form of “Maya”
(delusions), was successful in casting a spell of magical charm on Shiva’s mind and
heart that for once the Lord fell for the trap and gave his consent to marry her when
he saw her outstanding beauty, and also because she had done Tapa to have him as
her husband.
The fact that it was on the insistence of Brahma and others that Daksha married
his daughter Sati to Shiva is reiterated by Daksha himself in Srimad Bhagwat Maha-
Puran, Skandha 4, Canto 2, verse no. 17.
This facet of the story is also reiterated in Skanda Puran, Maheshwar Khanda,
Canto 1.
11 This entire episode of Sati killing herself and the reason for it has already
been narrated earlier in Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, from Chaupai line no. 5 that
precedes Doha no. 50—to Chaupai line no. 8 that precedes Doha no. 64.
This is very interesting. In a subtle way, the Sapta-rishis are reminding Parvati
about her previous life and the fact that she had asked Lord Hari at the time of her
death to grant her a boon that she remains devoted to Lord Shiva even in her new
life—refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line nos. 5-6 that precede Doha
no. 65. Therefore, she is being warned not to deviate from her chosen path inspite of
all the nonsense the Sapta-rishis are saying. It was also to give her a hint that
whatever they are saying is wrong because she was well aware that the cause of her
death as Sati was not due to any machinations of Shiva but her own fault. She had
realised her mistake even as Sati, and wished to atone for it—refer: Ram Charit
Manas, Baal Kand—(i) Chaupai line nos. 1-3 that precede Doha no. 54; (ii) Doha no.
57 along with its following Chaupai line nos. 1-4; and (iii) from Doha no. 58—to
Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 60.
Well, as we read on we shall discover that Parvati had caught this hint, and so she
remained steadfast on her vows of marrying Shiva inspite of these seven sages trying
their best to dilute her determination. She rejects all their contentions and arguments
and tells them to scoot from there.]ŒÊ0. •’ ‚Èπ ‚Ùflà ‚ÙøÈ Ÿ®„U ÷Ëπ ◊ÊÁª ÷fl πÊ®„U–
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dōhā.