successful completion of their Tapa (penance and austerity) that they did with the
wish to see the Lord.
Again, we read about the Lord heavenly charm when his physical form as Lord
Ram is described in Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, (i) Doha no. 219 along with its
preceding Chaupai line nos. 3-8; (ii) Doha no. 233 along with its preceding Chaupai
line nos. 1-8; and (iii) Doha no. 327 along with its preceding Chaupai line nos. 1-10,
and Chanda line nos. 1-4.(^2) Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Doha no. 93 along with its Chaupai line
nos. 6-8 and Chanda line nos. 1-4 herein above that describe the unconventional
members of the retinue that accompanied Lord Shiva in the marriage procession.
(^3) But, not all fled; only the weak-hearted ran away. This will be clear in the next
verse which says that some of the courageous and wise had patience, and they stayed
put there. Those who ran away were generally the youngsters who had accompanied
the elders to enjoy the novel spectacle of receiving a marriage party and its
accompanying gaity and merriment.]
œÁ⁄U œË⁄U¡È Ä°U ⁄U„U ‚ÿÊŸ – ’Ê‹∑§ ‚’ ‹Ò ¡Ëfl ¬⁄UÊŸH 5H
ª∞° ÷flŸ ¬Í¿U®„U Á¬ÃÈ ◊ÊÃÊ – ∑§„U®„U ’øŸ ÷ÿ ∑¢§Á¬Ã ªÊÃÊH 6H
∑§Á„U• ∑§Ê„U ∑§Á„U ¡Êß Ÿ ’ÊÃÊ – ¡◊ ∑§⁄U œÊ⁄U Á∑§œı¥ ’Á⁄U•ÊÃÊH 7H
’L§ ’ı⁄UÊ„U ’‚„°U •‚flÊ⁄UÊ – CÿÊ‹ ∑§¬Ê‹ Á’÷Í·Ÿ ¿UÊ⁄UÊH 8H
dhari dhīraju taham̐ rahē sayānē. bālaka saba lai jīva parānē. 5.
ga'ēm̐ bhavana pūchahiṁ pitu mātā. kahahiṁ bacana bhaya kampita gātā. 6.
kahi'a kāha kahi jā'i na bātā. jama kara dhāra kidhauṁ bari'ātā. 7.
baru baurāha basaham̐ asavārā. byāla kapāla bibhūṣana chārā. 8.
Those who were wise and sensible (a reference to the elderly members of the
reception party) maintained their cool and showed patience. But children and
youngsters (who had no knowledge of the reality of the situation) fled for their lives
in terror^1. (5)
When they ran to their homes, their parents were aghast at their condition, and
enquired from them the reason for their fear. The children trembled in fear as they
answered their parents as follows—(6)
‘What can we say; there is nothing worthy of narrating (about the marriage
party). The sight we saw is incredulous: is it an army of Yam (the god of hell and
death) or a marriage procession? [With ghosts and phantoms dancing merrily, it looks
as an army of the god of death has come to invade our city. It is not believable that a
marriage party can consist of ghosts and phantoms and be such absurdly horrifying!]
(7)
Listen—the bridegroom is sitting on a bull and is covered with snakes, skulls
and ash^2! [What kind of a groom is he? It’s a nightmarish scene.]’^3 (8)
[Note—^1 Those who were elderly and wise knew all about Parvati’s Tapa and the
reason for which she did it—i.e. that she wanted to marry Shiva. These elderly people
knew who Lord Shiva was and about his companions. They were well aware that
these ghosts and phantoms don’t mean any harm, and that their master, Lord Shiva, is
the most compassionate and kind Lord in creation. How can he ever cause harm to
the city as well as its inhabitants when he has come to marry its princess, Parvati, the
daughter of king Himwaan? Refer: Doha no. 95 herein below which precisely
addresses this point, along with the note that accompanies it.