Chapter 33 - The appeasement of Himavat

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

The sages said:—

1. Śiva is the father of the universe. Pārvatī is the mother of the universe. Hence your daughter shall be given to Śiva, the supreme soul.

2. O Himālaya, by this activity your life will be fruitful. You will become the venerable person of the most venerable in the universe. There is no doubt about it.

Brahmā said:—

3. O great sage, on hearing these words of the seven usages, the lord of the mountains bowed to them with joined palms and spoke thus.

Himavat said:—

4. O ye seven sages of great enlightenment, what you have just now said has been already cherished by me by the will of Śiva.

5. Now, a certain brahmin professing Vaiṣṇava cult came here and spoke very critically about Śiva.

6. Ever since, the mother Pārvatī has gone out of sense. Hences she does not wish her daughter’s marriage with Śiva.

7. She has entered the chamber of anger. She is aggrieved and her clothes have become dirty. O brahmins, her obduracy is so great that she does not pay heed to any ad vice.

8. I too am, you can say, out of sense. I am telling you the truth. I do not wish to give my daughter to Śiva who is apparently a mendicant.

Brahmā said:—

9. O sage, after saying these words, the king of mountains deluded by Śiva’s magic became silent and sat amidst the sages.

10. The seven celestial sages praised the magic of Śiva and sent Arundhatī^[1] to Menakā.

11. Then at the bidding of her husband Arundhatī, the bestower of knowledge, went quickly to the place where Menā and Pārvatī were sitting.

12. After going in she saw Menā lying in her grief. The chaste lady spoke to her these carefully selected sweet and wholesome words:—

Arundhatī said:—

13. O Menakā, get up. O chaste lady, I, Arundhatī, have come to your house. The seven sages of sympathetic nature have also come.

Brahmā said:—

14. On hearing Arundhatī’s voice, Menā got up quickly and bowed to her who was on a par with Lakṣmī in her brilliance.

Menā said:—

15. Ha, what a meritorious thing is this! We are blessed. Arundhatī, the daughter-in-law of the Creator of the universe, the wife of Vasiṣṭha, has come here.

16. O gentle lady, what for is your visit now? Please tell me specifically. My daughter and I are your slaves. Be merciful to us.

Brahmā said:—

17. Arundhatī, the chaste lady thus addressed, advised her in various ways and returned to the place where the sages were seated.

18. Then they began to advise the lord of the mountains, after thinking on the feet of Śiva. They were clever in speech and they spoke respectfully.

The sages said:—

19. O lord of the mountains, may our words, the cause of everything auspicious, be heard. Give Pārvatī to Śiva. Become the father-in-law of the world-destroyer.

20. For the destruction of Tāraka, formerly Brahmā requested Śiva who is the lord of all and who does not beg of any one, to strive for this alliance.

21. Śiva, the foremost of Yogins was not eager to marry. But since requested by Brahmā, the lord agreed to take your daughter.

22. Pārvatī performed a penance and the lord promised her. Thus for these two reasons the lord of Yogins wishes to marry her.

Brahmā said:—

23. On hearing the words of the sages, Himavat laughed but he was a little frightened. He spoke with humility.

Himavat said:—

24. I do not see any royal paraphernalia with Śiva, He has none to support him. He has no assets. He has no kinsman.

25. I do not wish to give my daughter to a Yogin who is extremely detached. O ye sons of the Creator of the Vedas tell me decisively.

26. If a father were to give his daughter in marriage to an unsuitable person, out of love, delusion, fear or covetousness, he is doomed. He will go to hell.

27. Out of my own free will, I will not give her to the trident-bearing Śiva. O sages, whatever arrangement is befitting here, may kindly be carried out.

Brahmā said:—

28. O excellent sages, on hearing these words of the mountain Himavat, Vasiṣṭha^[2], the most eloquent among them replied:—

Vasiṣtha said:—

29. O lord of mountains, listen to my words in every respect conducive to your welfare; they are not against virtue. They are true and shall bring about your joy here and hereafter.

30. Statements, in ordinary language and in the Vedas, are of three forms. A scholar knowing all lores understands them by means of his pure vision of knowledge.

31. It is only an enemy, though keen in intellect, who says what is pleasing to the ears now but what transpires to be untrue and unwholesome afterwards. He never speaks wholesome things.

32. Only a virtuous and sympathetic friend will speak such words as are unpleasant in the beginning but conducive to happiness in the end.

33. But the third variety of behaviour nectarlike to the ears, conducive to happiness on all occasions, essential and truthful is considered to be the most excellent.

34. O mountain, these are the three types of behaviour as mentioned in the treatises on polity. Tell me which type of behaviour shall I adopt to please you.

35. Śiva, the lord of gods, is devoid of riches created by Brahmā. But His mind is engrossed in the ocean of true knowledge.

36. How can lord Śiva who is knowledge-Bliss Himself have any desire for articles created by Brahmā? An ordinary householder gives his daughter to one who has a kingdom and riches in his possession?

37. By offering his daughter to a miserable person, a father may be guilty of slaughtering his daughter. Who can think Śiva miserable whose servant is Kubera?

38. He is attributeless, supreme soul, great lord and greater than Prakṛti. He can create and annihilate things by a mere sportive touch of His eyebrows.

39. His manifestations are threefold, He is the cause of creation sustenance and annihilation in the names of Brahmā Viṣṇu and Śiva.

40. Brahmā stays in Brahmaloka, Viṣṇu in the milk ocean, Śiva in Kailāsa, all these are the attributes of Śiva.

41. The primordial nature, born of Śiva, maintains threefold forms in the creative activity, partially out of sport with diverse digits.

42 Vāṇī, the deity presiding over the activity of speech, is born of his mouth; Lakṣmī, in the form of riches, is born out of his chest.

43. Pārvatī manifested herself in the splendours of the gods. After killing all the demons she granted riches and glory to the gods.

44. In another Kalpa she was born of the womb of Dakṣa’s wife. Her name was Satī. She attained Śiva. Dakṣa gave her to Him.

45. By her Yogic power she cast off her body on hearing about the insult to her husband. She is now born of you in the womb of Menā.

46. This Pārvatī is the wife of Śiva in every birth. In every Kalpa she is the great cosmic intellect, mother of wise men.

47. She is victorious always in the form of Siddhā, the bestower of Siddhi (achievement) and is Siddhi personified. Śiva carefully preserves the bones and ashes from the funeral pyre of Satī.

48. Hence, you give your daughter, this gentle lady to Śiva out of your own free will. Otherwise she will herself go and surrender herself as his beloved wife.

49. Taking the firm decision on seeing her innumerable sufferings He came to the place of your daughter’s penance in the guise of a brahmin.

50. After consoling her and granting her the boon He returned to His abode. It was for complying with her request that Śiva requested you for the hand of Śivā, O mountain.

51. Both of you had accepted the proposal as you were drawn by devotion to Śiva. O lord of mountains, how is it that your mind has taken a somersault now? Please tell me.

52. On being requested by the gods, the lord has sent us, the sages and Arundhatī to you.

53. O mountain, we instruct you plainly. By giving Pārvatī to Śiva you will meet with great bliss.

54. O lord of mountains, even if you do not give Pārvatī to Śiva out of your own free will, their marriage will take place as a result of the inexorable workings of fate.

55. O dear one, Śiva has already granted Pārvatī the boon at the time of her penance. A promise of Śiva cannot be turned topsyturvy.

56. Oh! even the promise of ordinary good men acting under the guidance of Śiva cannot be transgressed in all the worlds. O mountain, what then about that of Śiva Himslf.

57. Working singlehanded, Lord Indra chopped off the wings of mountains as though at play. Pārvatī too sportively broke the peak of Meru.

58. All riches can be sacrificed, O lord of mountains, for the sake of a single entity, but the eternal Śruti has it that one should forsake a single entity for the sake of a unit.

59. When danger was imminent at the hands of a brahmin, the chief of kings, Anaraṇya^[3], saved his entire asset by giving his daughter to him.

60. When he was threatened by the curse of brahmin his preceptors, wise kinsmen and people well-versed in the science of polity advised him hastily.

61. O king of mountains, you too save your kinsmen by giving your daughter to Śiva. You can claim thus the gods too to your side.

Brahmā said:—

62. On hearing the words of Vasiṣṭha, Himavat, with a dejected heart but laughing outwardly asked him about the details of the story of the king.

Himavat said:—

63. O brahmin, what is the race to which the king Anaraṇya belonged? How did he save his assets by giving his daughter?

Brahmā said:—

64. On hearing these words of the mountain, Vasiṣṭha became glad and told him the details of the interesting story of the king.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

She is the wife of Vasiṣtha, one of the seven sages. In Hindu Mythology she is regarded as the highest pattern of conjugal excellence and wifely devotion.

[2]:

Vasiṣṭha was one of the seven great sages and one of the ten Prajāpatis. There are several accounts about his origin. He is declared to have been either a mind-born son of Brahmā or the son of Mitra and Varuṇa from Urvaśī.

[3]:

According to Śiva-purāṇa Rudrasaṃhitā Section III ch. 34, the King Anaraṇya belonged to the lineage of the fourteenth Manu called Indra-Sāvarṇi. He is said to have performed a hundred horse-sacrifices with Bhṛgu as his officiating priest but did not accept Indra-hood.