uhn u Hkw[k fi;kl lfjl fufl ckl#A
u;u uh# eq[k uke iqyd ruq fg;¡ g#AA37AA
dan ewy Qy vlu] dcgq¡ ty ioufgA
lw[ks csyds ikr [kkr fnu xoufgAA38AA
nīda na bhūkha piyāsa sarisa nisi bāsaru.
nayana nīru mukha nāma pulaka tanu hiyam̐ haru. 37.
kanda mūla phala asana, kabahum̐ jala pavanahi.
sūkhē bēlakē pāta khāta dina gavanahi. 38.
37-38. She did not sleep, and had no hunger or thirst. For her, days and nights were
equal (i.e. her mental state made no distinction between the night and the day, and
both were the same for her as she remained submerged in the thoughts of Lord Shiva
and doing Tapa). Her eyes were always filled with tears, her mouth always
pronounced Lord Shiva’s name, her body was always in a perpetual state of thrill, and
Har (Shiva) constantly resided in her heart. (37)
She sometimes ate roots, stems or fruits, and at other times she survived on
water and air only, while on many a days she spent the whole time surviving on dry
leaves of the Bel tree (the wood apple tree; Aegle Marmelos; a creeper plant).^1 (38)
[Note—^1 Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line nos. 4-6 that precede
Doha no. 74.]
uke vijuk Hk;m iju tc ifjgjsA
uoy /koy dy dhjfr ldy Hkqou HkjsAA39AA
nsf[k ljkgfga fxfjtfg eqfuc# eqfu cgqA
vl ri lquk u nh[k dcgq¡ dkgw¡ dgqAA40AA
nāma aparanā bhaya'u parana jaba pariharē.
navala dhavala kala kīrati sakala bhuvana bharē. 39.
dēkhi sarāhahiṁ girijahi munibaru muni bahu.
asa tapa sunā na dīkha kabahum̐ kāhūm̐ kahu. 40.
39-40. When she even forsook eating dry leaves, she began to be called ‘Aparna’^1.
The glorious news of her stupendous deeds, her firm determination, her unique Tapa
and her virtuous character spread far and wide, filling all available space in the entire
creation consisting of 14 Bhuvans. [That is, the wonderful form of Tapa that Parvati
did which was never attempted by anyone earlier, as well as the hitherto never
imagined goal of attaining Lord Shiva with the aim of marrying him that she had set
for herself, set her aside from all others who did Tapa for various reasons in this
world. So, this helped to establish her fame and glory throughout the creation as
someone outstanding and unique.] (39)
Looking at the severity of the Tapa done by Girija, many ascetics, sages,
hermits, monks and seers praised her saying that no one had ever done or even heard
about such severe form of Tapa before^2. (40)
[Note—^1 Refer: Ram Charit Manas, Baal Kand, Chaupai line no. 7 that precedes Doha
no. 74.