mainā hṛdayam̐ bhaya'u dukhu bhārī. līnhī bōli girīsakumārī. 6.
adhika sanēham̐ gōda baiṭhārī. syāma sarōja nayana bharē bārī. 7.
jēhiṁ bidhi tumhahi rūpu asa dīnhā. tēhiṁ jaṛa baru bā'ura kasa kīnhā. 8.
Maina was especially very sad in her heart and full of remorse. She called her
daughter (Parvati)---(6)
---and made her sit on her lap with great affection^1. Her dark eyes were full of
tears (of regret, remorse, pain and sorrowfulness at the fate of her daughter, and the
uncertainty that now bares its tongue)^2.
She spoke to her daughter in an affectionate tone that was tinged with sadness
and remorse—‘It’s such an irony that the creator who has bestowed upon you such
grace and beauty is the same one who has made the groom so fearful and ugly.
[What an irony it is really. Couldn’t the creator, who is supposed to be wise
and who is supposed to be the one who decides the fate of every single creature of his
creation, select a suitable groom for you when such a choice is in his discretionary
powers? Couldn’t he see that there is no match between you and the groom? What
grave error of judgement has he made?]^3 (8)
[Note—^1 The mother felt very sorry for her daughter’s fate. Though she loved Parvati
very much and was concerned for her welfare as is evident from reading Ram Charit
Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line nos. 1-7 that precede Doha no. 71, but her love for
her daughter had now overwhelmed her and aggravated her emotional condition
because she had never expected that her beloved daughter is to be married to such a
groom as Shiva appeared to be in physical terms.
Earlier when her husband had tried to assuage her feelings and get over her fears
and apprehensions by convincing her that the best line of action for Parvati would be
to do Tapa to be able to marry Shiva as prophesised by sage Narad (refer: Doha no.
71 along with Chaupai line nos. 7-8 that precede it, and Chaupai line nos. 1-5 that
follow it), she had thought that her fears were groundless as the father of Parvati too
loved his daughter as much as she does, and therefore he cannot think ill of her.
But now when Maina saw her future son-in-law, she was horrified. Love and
affection for her daughter heaved inside her sad heart as she became remorseful and
regretted her decision to allow Parvati to do Tapa to have Shiva as her husband. She
regretted that had she been aware of the type of groom Parvati is fated to have, she
would have not allowed her to do Tapa under any circumstance. This will be clear
below when we read Doha no. 96 along with its preceding Chaupai line no. 8 and
Chanda line nos. 1-4, as well as Chaupai line nos. 1-4.
(^2) Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Doha no. 255—to Chaupai line nos. 1-5
that precede Doha no. 256 which describe a similar situation when Sita’s mother was
very sad that after no one had been successful in lifting the bow upon which the
marriage of her daughter hinged, the delicate prince of Ayodhya, i.e. Lord Ram, has
now been asked to accomplish this almost impossible task. Now what would happen
if he too fails?
(^3) There are other instances in Ram Charit Manas where the creator is accused of
acting irrationally and unwisely. Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Ayodhya Kand, (i)
Chaupai line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 49; (ii) Chaupai line no. 2 that precedes
Doha no. 119; (iii) Chanda line no. 1 that precedes Doha no. 201; (iv) Chanda line no.
2 that precedes Doha no. 276.]