by Tulsidas
And Vishnu the abode of all virtues—
But he in whom the heart delights,
Is the one with whom the heart concerns itself.
(80)
Had I met you earlier, great munis,
I would have listened to your advice and followed it most willingly.
But now I have spent my life on Shambhu,
So to what purpose should I consider his virtues or faults?
If your hearts are resolved upon this
And you cannot refrain from matchmaking—
Well, those given to making mischief are not lazy,
And there are many other bridegrooms and maidens in the world!
Even if my struggle takes countless lifetimes,
My husband will be Shambhu, or I shall remain unwed.
I will not abandon Narad’s counsel,
Not even if Mahesh himself tells me to a hundred times.
I fall at your feet and beseech you—return home, it is too late.’
So said Jagadamba, mother of the world.
Seeing her love, the wise munis cried,
‘Praise be to Jagadambika Bhavani!
You are Maya, Shiv is God Supreme
Mother and father of the universe!’
Bowing their heads at her feet the munis left,
Ecstatic with delight.
(81)
The munis sent Himvant to her;
Entreating her repeatedly, he brought his daughter back home.
The Saptarishi returned to Shiv,
And related to him all that had occurred with Uma.
Shiv, absorbed and enchanted, listened to the account of her love for him.
Rejoicing, the seven sages returned home.
Then, steadying his heart, all-wise Shambhu
Began to meditate upon Raghunayak.
It was during that time that the demon Tarak appeared.
The strength of his arm was formidable, his valour immense and his splendour great,
He had won all the worlds and conquered their rulers,
And the gods were left without peace or riches.
Exempt from decrepitude and death, he could not be defeated—
The gods fought many battles, but lost them all.
At last they went to Viranchi and told him of their woes.
The Creator saw that the gods were deeply distressed.
Reassuring them all, Viranchi explained,
‘This Danuj will die
When a son shall be begotten of Shambhu’s seed,
For he alone will conquer him in battle.
(82)
Listen to what I say and devise a plan
By which such a god may be born to help you.
Sati, who gave up her body at Daksh’s sacrifice,
Has been born again in the home of Himachal.
She has practised penance in the hope of making Shambhu her husband,
Who, meanwhile, has given up everything and sits in profound meditation.
Even though it may seem devoid of sense and greatly inappropriate,
Listen to a suggestion of mine—
Send Kam, the god of love, to Shiv,
And let him break his meditation.
Then I will go to Shiv with bowed head
And persuade him to marry her.
This is the only way to help the gods and ensure their well-being.’
‘It is a good suggestion,’ agreed everyone.
With great devotion, they then invoked the god of love,
And he, who bears five arrows and a fish on his banner, appeared.
The gods related to him their woes—
He heard their story, and reflected for a while.
‘Conflict with Shambhu will bring me no good,’
He then replied with a laugh.
(83)
‘Even so, I shall do as you ask,
For the Vedas say that the highest duty is to help others,
And the saints forever praise the one
Who gives up even his body for the good of others.’
So saying, he bowed his head to everyone, and set out
His bow of flowers in his hand, his helpers, Spring and soft breezes, with him
And as he went, Marxlviii reflected in his heart,
‘Opposing Shiv means my death is certain.’
Then he unleashed his power and let it spread,
And brought the whole world under his sway.
When he who bears a fish upon his banner is aroused,
All the bounds imposed by the Vedas are destroyed in an instant.
Continence, austerity, and every kind of abstinence and restraint,
Fortitude, duty, knowledge and learning,
Virtuous conduct, prayer, penance and detachment—
The legions of discernment all fled, terrified.
Discernment with his helpers fled,
His great warriors upon the battlefield turned,
And, like fleeing soldiers who take refuge in mountain caves,
Hid themselves in holy books.
The world was in turmoil and cried to the Creator,
‘What is to happen? Who will protect us?
Who is this foolhardy being with two heads against whom Rati’s lord
Has unleashed his power and taken up his bow and arrows?’
Whatever creatures there were in the world, moving or unmoving,
Whether called female or whether called male—
Each and every one of them threw away restraint, abandoned all decorum,
And became subject to Love’s desire.
(84)
Every heart was overcome with lust and a longing for the exhilaration of love.
Beholding the vines, the trees bent down their boughs towards them,
The rivers swelled, and exulting, rushed towards the ocean,
And ponds and lakes joined with each other.
When the inert were in such a state,
Who can describe the doings of sentient beings?
The beasts and the birds, which move in the sky, in water or on land,
All came under the sway of Love, forgetting time and season.
All the worlds were bewildered and blinded by passion,
Even the kok birds did not consider night or day.
Gods, demons, men, Kinnaras and serpents,
Spirits of the dead, demons, ghosts and goblins—
Their condition I shall not describe in detail,
Knowing them to be forever slaves to lust.
But Siddhas, hermits, yogis and great munis—
Even they fell under the sway of lust and suffered the pain of separation.
When even yogis and ascetics came under the sway of passion,
What can one say of lesser men?
Those who once looked upon all creation as imbued with the Absolute Spirit,
Now perceived it as consisting of women.
Women saw the world filled with men,
And men saw it filled with women!
For two measures of time, the whole universe
Was filled with the spectacle produced by Kam.
No one remained unmoved,
For the heart-born god had stolen every heart.
Only those whom Raghubir protected,
Remained unaffected during that time.
(85)
For two measures of time this spectacle continued,
The time it took Kam to reach Shambhu;
Looking upon Shiv, Mar grew apprehensive,
And the world returned to what it used to be.
All creatures at once grew peaceful and content,
As when the effect of wine passes off the intoxicated.
Looking upon Rudra,xlix the god of love grew afraid—
Rudra, Supreme Lord, so difficult to worship and so hard to attain.
To go back meant disgrace, but neither was Madanl able to do anything,
So, deciding to die, he made a plan.
He at once
made glorious spring appear—
Row upon row of young trees burst into flower,
Forests, groves, wells and ponds
Became beautiful and exceedingly pleasant, as did every part of each direction.
Love bloomed and exulted everywhere
So that passion awoke even in the hearts of the dead.
Love awoke even in the hearts of the dead,
The loveliness of the forest then cannot be described.
Cool, fragrant, and gentle breezes began to blow,
True friends of passion, fanning Love’s fire.
Upon the lake many lotuses bloomed,
And swarms of honeybees softly hummed;
Swans, cuckoos and parrots sweetly called,
As apsaras sang and danced.
He tried all his innumerable tricks,
But Love and his army were defeated—
Shiv’s steadfast samadhi did not break.
Now he grew angry, he whose abode is the heart.
(86)
Madan climbed the beautiful branch
Of a spreading mango tree, his heart vexed.
On his flowery bow he fitted his arrows,
And in his great passion, took aim, drew the string to his ear,
And let fly the five arrows which pierced Shiv’s heart.
His samadhi broken, Shambhu awoke.
In the heart of the Lord arose great turmoil,
Opening his eyes he looked all around,
And when he saw Madan amongst the leaves of the mango tree,
His wrath made the three worlds tremble.
Then Shiv opened his third eye
And turned it upon Kam, who was burnt to ashes.
A great tumult arose in the world—
The gods were afraid, their enemies glad,
Those devoted to sensual pleasures remembered the joys of love and grew anxious,
While saints and yogis became free of the thorn of desire.
The yogis became free of the thorn of desire,
But hearing of her husband’s fate, Rati fell into a faint.
Weeping and lamenting, and grieving in many ways,
She went to Shankar.
With great love, and beseeching him in diverse ways,
She stood in from of him, her hands folded.
The Lord, compassionate Shiv, who is so easy to please,
Saw the weak and helpless woman and said gently,
‘From now on, Rati, your lord’s name
Will be “Anang”, “the bodiless one”,
Even without a body, he will pervade all.
Now listen to the circumstances in which you will meet him again.
(87)
‘When Krishna shall take birth in the family of Jadu,
A big burden will be destroyed from the earth.
Your husband will be his son—50
My words are never untrue.’
Hearing Shankar’s words, Rati returned.
I will now relate the remaining story:
When the gods received news of these happenings,
They—Brahma and the others—went first to Vaikunth.
Then, with Vishnu and Brahma,
The gods went to Shiv, the abode of mercy.
Each of them sang his praises in diverse ways,
And the moon-crested one was pleased.
Said Brishketu, ocean of compassion,
‘Tell me, immortals, why have you come?’
Replied Brahma, ‘Lord, you pervade our very hearts and know what lies within—
Even so, bound by devotion, I place before you this respectful petition:
In the hearts of all the gods,
There is joyous anticipation, Shankar.
They wish to see, with their own eyes, Lord,
Your wedding.
(88)
‘That we may gaze upon this celebration and fill our eyes with it—
Towards this end take action, you who have set us free from Love’s frenzy.
Granting Rati a boon after destroying Kamdev—
This was well done, compassionate one.
The great punish, but then show their mercy—
Such is the grace inherent in masters and gods.
But Parvati has practised endless penance,
So now accept her.’
Hearing Vidhi’s request and recalling Ram’s words,
Shiv joyfully declared, ‘So be it!’
Then the gods beat on their drums,
And showered him with flowers, crying, ‘Hail to the lord of the gods!’
Knowing it to be the right moment, the Saptarishi arrived,
And Vidhi sent them at once to Himachal’s home.
They went first to Bhavani,
And spoke sweet words that were filled with guile—
‘You would not listen to us then
But took Narad’s counsel,
And now your penance has been in vain
For Mahesh has burnt Kam to ashes.’
(89)
At their words, Bhavani smiled and said,
‘You speak fittingly, O great and learned munis,
For in your understanding, it is only now that he has destroyed Kam,
And that up until now Shambhu was subject to desire.
But I know that Shiv has always been a yogi,
Eternal, faultless, free from lust and without desire.
And if, knowing him to be thus, I have served Shiv
With love, and in deed, thought and word,
Then—listen, great munis—that compassionate Lord
Will make true my penance.
When you said that Har burnt Mar—
That showed a great lack of discernment in you.
Respected fathers, it is the inherent nature of fire
That ice never dares go near it,
For it will be most certainly destroyed.
It is the same with Manmathli and Mahesh.’
The munis were delighted to hear her words,
And to see her love and belief.
Bowing their heads to Bhavani, they left
And went to Himachal.
(90)
They related all the circumstances to the lord of the mountains.
Hearing of Madan’s annihilation, he was greatly grieved;
Then they told him of the boon given to Rati,
And hearing about this, Himvant was greatly gladdened.
He reflected upon Shambhu’s divine majesty,
And respectfully summoned wise men and sages.
Bidding them determine an auspicious day, star and hour,
He had them quickly set the wedding date in the manner prescribed in the Vedas.
Himachal gave the letter with this information to the Saptarishi,
And humbly clasped their feet.
The Saptarishi took the letter to Vidhi,
Who, reading it, could not contain his delight.
Reading the time and date of the wedding, he announced it to everyone,
And the munis and the entire gathering of gods rejoiced.
Flowers rained down, while in the heavens, music played,
And in all ten directions, sacred pitchers of good omen were placed.
The gods all began preparing and making ready
Their vehicles and diverse chariots.
Auspicious omens of felicity and joy were seen,
As the apsaras sang.
(91)
As for Shiv himself, his host of attendants began to adorn him—
They arranged his crown of matted locks and set upon it a crest of serpents.
Wearing snakes for earrings and bracelets,
His body smeared with ashes, and a lion skin around his waist,
The moon upon his handsome brow, and Ganga upon his head,
With his three eyes, and a serpent for his sacred thread,
Poison in his throat, and a garland of human heads upon his chest—
In such awful attire was the great god
Shiv, the abode of felicity and compassion!
The trident and the damru resplendent in his hands,
He set off, mounted upon a bull, as music played.
Seeing Shiv, the wives of the gods smiled,
‘No bride in the world is worthy of this groom!’
Vishnu, Viranchi and the other gods
Climbed into their chariots, and joined the wedding procession.
‘The assembly of gods is in every way incomparable,
But the wedding procession is still not worthy of the groom!’
Said Vishnu thus with a smile.
Then, summoning the guardians of all the quarters of the world, he said,
‘Proceed separately, all of you,
Each with his own retinue.
(92)
The wedding procession does not equal the bridegroom—
Do you want to be laughed at when we reach that foreign city?’
The gods smiled at Vishnu’s words
And each followed separately with his own legions.
Mahesh smiled to himself—
‘Hari’s playfulness will not stop!’
Hearing these dear words of his own most dear friend,
He sent Bhringi to fetch all his attendants.
Hearing Shiv’s command, they all came
And bowed their heads at the lotus feet of the Lord.
They came riding in diverse vehicles, in diverse garb and guise—
Shiv laughed, seeing his own company.
Some were headless, some many-headed,
Some had no hands or feet, some had several,
Some were many-eyed, some without eyes,
Some were fat and well-fed, some thin and emaciated.
Some were very thin, some very stout,
Some in pure and pious guise, some in wicked and foul.
With frightful ornaments, and skulls in their hands,
Their bodies all drenched in fresh blood,
With the faces of donkeys and dogs, pigs and jackals—
Who can enumerate the uncountable forms of his attendants?
Ghosts and goblins and troops of witches—
It is impossible to describe them all.
The ghouls and goblins dance and sing,
Weaving to and fro,
Most fantastical, repulsive to behold,
Uttering strange and peculiar cries.
(93)
As was the groom, now was his wedding procession—