It is for this reason that she was re-born in the household of the king (or the
patron deity) of the snow-covered mountains (known as the Himalayas) as Parvati. (6)
[Note—An exactly the same thing is narrated in Srimad Bhagwat Maha-Puran,
Skandha 4, Canto 7, verse no. 58.
An interesting thing is to be noted here. Sati had requested Lord Hari “to grant
her a boon so that she may serve or have devotion for the feet of Lord Shiva in all her
forthcoming births”, instead of seeking “final dissolution of her gross body so that her
soul finds its liberation and deliverance, or in other words, seek final emancipation
and salvation for herself”. This is because she had a desire to serve Lord Shiva like all
‘Bhakts’ or devotees want. In order to serve Shiva’s holy feet it was necessary to take
a birth once again. If she had sought final dissolution for her soul, if she had sought
final emancipation and salvation for her soul it would have meant that the soul would
merge with its primary source, the cosmic Soul known as Brahm, and there would be
no rebirth for her. This destiny of the soul is known as “Moksha”. If she had sought
Moksha then in this situation it would have been the end of the cycle of birth and
death for her, and this meant she wouldn’t be able to fulfil her desire to serve Lord
Shiva any longer.
A ‘Bhakta’ (devotee) does not want Moksha; he or she wants to be able to serve
the object of his or her adoration and devotion for a long-long time. Ascetics and
hermits, those who are self-realised and well-versed in the higher learning of the
metaphysical philosophy of the Upanishads, however, prefer dissolution of their gross
body and find final freedom for their soul for all times to come. In other words, they
seek ‘Moksha’.
Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Kishkindha Kand, Chanda line no. 6 that precedes
Doha no. 10 where we read that Baali, the monkey king of Kishkindha, had sought a
similar sort of boon from Lord Ram at the time of his death.
Similarly, in Ram Charit Manas, Ayodhya Kand, Chaupai line nos. 5-6 that
precede Doha no. 24 we find that the friends and common citizens of Ayodhya pray
to God that they be so blessed that in every birth they have to take due to the
cumulative effect of their deeds in any given birth, they can have unstinted devotion
for Lord Ram and are able to serve him.
Even sage Vasistha, who was the royal priest of the kingdom of Ayodhya and the
son of the creator Braham, had also sought this type of blessing in Ram Charit Manas,
Uttar Kand, Doha no. 49.
Now, why was she born in the household of ‘Himwaan’, the king or the deity of
the snow-covered mountains known as Himalayas? There are the following possible
reasons for it—
(i) At the time of death she had asked that in her next birth she could serve Lord
Shiva, and it is well known that Shiva’s terrestrial abode is in Mt. Kailash which is
located in the northern fringes of the Himalayas.
(ii) Sati was scorched in heat of two kinds—one was the heat generated by her
anger, and the other was the heat that burnt her physical body. So her soul wished to
be born in a cold environment, and no other place suited its desire better than the
‘snow-covered mountains’.
(iii) Her soul wished to take birth in a home where the general ambience was of
contentedness, calmness and tranquility as opposed to ambition, greed, and a false
sense of pride, arrogance and ego. Himwaan, the king of the mountains, was
inherently cool and calm by temperament as symbolised by the snow that covered his
kingdom. Himalayan mountain ranges are by their inherent nature a tranquil and
serene place where hermits and ascetics seeking solace and succour for their souls can
live in peace, as opposed to kingdoms in the plains where agitation, restlessness,
greed, arrogance, strife, jealousy, malice and other worldly taints are order of the day
and the dominant features.
kiana
(Kiana)
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