øı0. ’⁄U •ŸÈ„UÊÁ⁄U ’⁄UÊà Ÿ ÷Êß ̧ – „°U‚Ë ∑§⁄ÒU„U„ÈU ¬⁄U ¬È⁄U ¡Êß ̧H 1H
Á’cŸÈ ’øŸ ‚ÈÁŸ ‚È⁄U ◊È‚È∑§ÊŸ – ÁŸ¡ ÁŸ¡ ‚Ÿ ‚Á„Uà Á’‹ªÊŸH 2H
caupā’ī.
bara anuhāri barāta na bhā'ī. ham̐sī karaihahu para pura jā'ī. 1.
biṣnu bacana suni sura musukānē. nija nija sēna sahita bilagānē. 2.
Lord Vishnu told the gods—‘Oh brothers! The marriage procession does not match
the groom; it does not seem to be worthy of the groom^1. Do you all want to make
yourselves a butt of ridicule, become laughing stocks, and invite jeers and cat-calls in
someone else’s city^2 ?’
The gods smiled^3 at the words of Vishnu (because they understood what he
meant). So they collected their own armies (companions, friends and attendants) and
formed independent groups as they moved ahead in the marriage procession. (2)
[Note—^1 The gods looked splendid in their best of attire and surrounded by heavenly
paraphernalia. But a groom is the focal point of a ‘marriage procession’, and not the
guests. In the present case, the groom was Shiva, and he was dressed in the most
unconventional form, almost like a hermit (refer: Chaupai line nos. 1-5 that precede
Doha no. 92 herein above). So it was obvious that the marriage procession did not
match the groom; it was exactly the opposite of what it ought to ideally be. Had it
been a marriage procession of some god it would have been a perfect party, but in the
present situation it was at odds with the groom.
When the bride’s people would see such a procession, it is natural that they
would laugh and jeer at it. And when this happens, Vishnu feared that these gods
would immediately take offense because he knew about their nature of being very
proud and egoist. There were chances that some amongst these gods would lose his
cool and begin a ruckus in the bride’s place. This scenario would obviously most
unsavoury, especially when it is the occasion of the marriage of one of their senior
members, Lord Shiva.
There were also grave chances that Shiva himself would lose his cool and curse
the gods for creating a situation that puts him in a precarious and hilarious position
because it was on their behest that he had agreed to marry Parvati in the first place
after being highly reluctant to do so initially.
(^2) The gods live in the heaven, while Parvati’s father is the king of mountains on
earth. Lord Shiva has two abodes—one is in the heaven like all othe gods, and the
other in on earth, on Mt. Kailash. He was doing meditation in the vicinity of Kailash.
The marriage party of the bridegroom goes from the city of his residence to the city
where the bride lives. This is what Vishnu meant—the gods had assembled from the
heaven, ‘their city or place of residence’, and they were going to the bride’s place on
earth, in the realm of the lofty snow-covered mountains of the mighty Himalayan
range, i.e. ‘someone else’s city’.
The family of the bride, i.e. Parvati, and all the residents of that place were well
aware that the groom, i.e. Shiva, is an ascetic, and that his attendants consist of ghosts
and phantoms. Shiva is sure to call his faithful followers, the ghosts and the
phantoms, to accompany him as his companions, friends and attendants. Obviously,
the gods mingling with Shiva’s followers would be such a horrifying sight. The
residents of Parvati’s place will laugh at the gods.
So it’s better that they segregate themselves from Shiva’s followers and move in
independent groups.
3 We shall read below that even Shiva has ‘smiled’ at Vishnu’s words. No one
took offence of his words which were spoken in a light-hearted manner without any
prejudice and intent to offend anyone.]