Chapter 36 - The statements of the seven sages

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Brahmā said:—

1. On hearing the words of the seven sages, Himācala, his wife and attendants were very much surprised. The lord of the mountains spoke to the other mountains.

Himācala said:—

2. O lord of mountains—Meru,^[1] O Sahya^[2] O Gandhamādana,^[3] O Mandara,^[4] O Maināka,^[5] O Vindhya,^[6] all of you listen to my words.

3. Vasiṣṭha says like this. It is to be considered what I shall do now. You consider well, decide and let me know.

Brahmā said:—

4. On hearing his words, Sumeru and other mountains decided carefully and spoke to Himalaya lovingly.

The mountains said:—

5. Of what avail is a long discussion and deliberation now? What should be done is only that. She is born only for the purpose of the gods.

6. Incarnating for the sake of Śiva, she shall be given to Śiva. Śiva has been propitiated by her and Śiva has also spoken to her.

Brahmā said:—

7. On hearing the words of Meru and others, Himācala was greatly pleased and Pārvatī laughed within herself.

8. Arundhatī too convinced Menā with reasoned statements and examples from various mythological legends.

9. Then the wife of the mountain too was delightedly convinced. She entertained Arundhatī, the sages and the mountain with a grand feast and then took food herself.

10. Then the chief of mountains, freed from wrong notions and grown wise, spoke with palms joined in reverence and mind extremely delighted.

Himācala said:—

11. O fortunate sages, please listen to my words. All my bewilderment has vanished since I have heard the story of Śiva and Śiva.

12. Everything that I possess, my body, wife, Menā, sons, daughter, assets and achievements and other things belong to Śiva and not otherwise.

Brahmā said:—

13-14. After saying so, he bedecked his daughter with various ornaments. Then he took them all and placed them on the lap of the sage saying “These are the presents I have to give her.”

The sages said:—

15. O mountain, you are the donor, Śiva is the mendicant, and the alms goddess Pārvatī. What else can be better than this ?

16. Since the course of your summits is befitting, you are blessed, you are the chief of all mountains, you are great in every respect.

Brahmā said:—

17. After saying thus, the sages of pure mind offered their blessings to the girl—“Be pleasing to Śiva.”

18. They touched her with their hands and continued—“Everything will be well with you. As the moon in the bright half of the month, may your qualities increase.”

19. After saying thus and offering fruits and flowers to the lord of mountains, the sages made him believe that the alliance was a settled fact.

20. The great chaste lady Arundhatī tempted Menā further with Śiva’s good qualities.

21. According to the worldly convention they smeared the moustache of the mountain with powdered turmeric and saffron as an auspicious custom.

22. After fixing the auspicious Lagna for the marriage and congratulating and complimenting one another the sages came to Śiva’s abode on the fourth day.

23. After reaching the place, Vasiṣṭha and other sages bowed to Śiva and eulogised Him with different hymns. They then spoke to lord Śiva.

The sages said:—

24. O lord Śiva, lord of the gods, O great lord Śiva, please listen lovingly to the narration of what we, your attendants, have done.

25. O great lord, the lord of mountains and Menā have been urged with different kinds of statements and examples from mythological legends. Undoubtedly he is enlightened.

26. Pārvatī has been betrothed to you by the lord of mountains. It is not otherwise. Now please start for the marriage with your attendants and the gods.

27. O great god, O lord, go to the abode of Himācala and marry Pārvatī in accordance with the customs for the sake of a son.

Brahmā said:—

28. On hearing their words, lord Śiva who was delighted and who loved to follow worldly conventions laughed and said:—

Lord Śiva said:—

29. O fortunate one, a marriage ceremony has never been witnessed nor even heard of by me before. The details of the same shall be mentioned by you all, specifically.

Brahmā said:—

30. On hearing these words in a worldly vein uttered by Śiva they laughingly replied to Sadāśiva, lord of the gods.

The sages said:—

31-33. Please invite and summon Viṣṇu with his retinue, Brahmā with his sons, lord Indra,⁷⁰ all the sages, Yakṣas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, heavenly nymphs and others. All of them will jointly accomplish everything for you. There is no doubt about it.

Brahmā said:—

34. Saying this and taking His permission the seven sages joyfully returned to their abodes praising the way of Śiva.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The mountain stands in the centre of the earth and is described as the paricarp of the earth-lotus with great islands or continents forming its petals. For details, see Note 217 P. 310.

[2]:

Sahya is the name applied to that part of the Western Ghats which lies to the north of the Travancore hills.

[3]:

Gandhamādana is that part of the Himalayas on which the Badarikāśrama is situated. See Note 309 p. 405.

[4]:

See Note 30 P. 560 For details see Note 36 P. 48.

[5]:

Maināka: See Note 12 P. 494.

[6]:

The name Vindhya is applied to the whole chain of hills running from Gujrat to the Gayā region and lying on both sides of the Narmadā river.