Balakanda - Doha 51 to 60

Doha - 51

He who has bodied Himself forth as the jewel of Raghu's race for sake of His devotees is no other than the Suprme Eternal, who is all-pervading and ever free, who is the Ruler of all the worlds and the Lord of Maya, whom illumined sages , Yogis (mystics) and Siddhas (adepts) constantly meditate upon with their sinless mind and whose glory is sung by the Vedas as well as the puranas and other scriptures in negative terms as not this.

So-

Although Lord Siva repeated this time after time , His exhortation made no impression on the heart of Sati Then the great Lord Siva smillingly said, realizing in His heart the of Sri Hari Maya;

"If you have a grave doubt in your mind, why not go and verify the thing? I shall be waiting in the shade of this banyan tree till you come back to me. Using your critical judgment you should resort to some device whereby the stupendous error born of your ignorance may be rectified." Thus obtaining leave of Siva Sati proceeded on Her mission. She racked Her brains to find out what step She should take (in order of test the divinity of Rama). On this side Siva came to the conclussion that mischief was in store for Daksa's daughter (Sati) When her doubt did not yield even to My assurances, He said to Himself, "it seems the stars are unpropitious to her and no good-will come out of it After all, whatever Sri Rama has willed must come to pass; why should one add to the complication by indulging in further speculation? So saying Lord Siva began to mutter the name of Sri Hari ; while Sati proceeded to thr spot where the all-blissful Lord (Sri Rama) was.

After many an anxious though Sati assumed the form of Sita and moved ahead on the same route along which the Ruler of men (Sri Rama) was passing.

When Laksmana saw Uma (sati) in Her disguise , he was astonishe and much puzzled. He was tongue -tied and looked very grave; the sagacious brother was acquainted with the Lord's glory . All -perceiving and the inner controller of all, the lord of gods, Sri rama, took no time in detecting the false appearance of Sati, Rama was the same comniscient Lord whose very though wipes out ignorance . sati sought to practise deception even on Him : see how deep-rooted the nature of a woman is ! Extolling in a mild tone . Joining the palms of His hands, He first made obeisance to Her mentioning His name along with His father's. He then asked Her the whereabouts of Lord Siva (who has a bull emblazoned on His standard) and wondered what made Her roam about all alone in the forest.

Sati felt very uncomfortable when She hrard these soft yet sinificant words of Rama. She turned towards the great Lord Siva with a feeling of awe and much dejected at heart.

"I heeded not the world of Sankara and imposed My own ignorance on Rama. What reply shall I give to my lord now ? The agony of Her heart was most terribe. Sri Rama perceived that Sati had got vexed; He therefore to Her a part of His glory . As She went on Her way Sati beheld a strange phenomenon. Rama was going ahead of Her along with His Consort , Sita, and His younger brother , Laksmana. she looked back and there too She saw the Lord with His brother and Sita in an attractive garb. Whichever way She turned Her eyes, there was the Lord enthroned with the Siddhas (adepts) and illumined sages ministering to Him Sati saw more than one sets of Siva, Brahma and Visnu, each set possessing a glory infinitely greater than that of the others. She also beheld a whose host of gods bowing at the Lord's feet and waiting upon Him in their different garbs.

She further perceived innumerable Satis (consorts of Siva), comsorts of Brahma and Laksmis (consorts of Visnu), all peerless in beauty. They conformed in their appearance to the garb in which Brahma and the other gods appeared.

Each separate of Rama was atended by a wholoe host of gods with their feminine counterparts as well as by the whole animate and inanimate creation with its multitudinous species. But while the gods who adored the Lord appeared in diverse garbs, the appeaance of Sri Rama was the same in every case. Although She saw many Ramas with as many Sitas, their garb did not vary. Seeing the same Rama, the same Laksmana and the same Sita , Sita was struck with great awe. Her heart quivered, and She lost all consciousess of Her body. Closing Her eyes She sat down on the wayside, and When She opened Her eyes and gazed once more, the daughter of Daksa saw nothing there. Repeatedly bowing Her head at the feet of Sri Rama, She proceeded to the spot where the Lord of Kailasa was.

When She came near, Lord Siva smilingly inquired if all was well with Her and then said , Tell me now the whole truth , how did you test Sri Rama?"

Having realized the greatness of the Hero of Raghu's race Sati in Her awe concealed the truth from Siva. "I made no test my lord; I made obeisance just like You What You said cannot be untrue; I am filly convinced in my heart. Lord Sankara then looked within by contemplation and came to know all that sati had done. Again, He bowed His head to the delusive power of Sri Rama, that had prompted Sati to tell a lie. What has been preordained by the will of Sri Hari must have its Sita; this made Siva much discomsolate at heart. If continue to love Sati as heretofore, the cult of Devotion will disappear and it will be indecorous on My part to do so."

Sati is too chaste to be abandoned, and it is a great sin to love her any more as a wife ." The great Lord Siva uttered not a word alound, although there was great agony in His heart.

Then Sankara bowed His head at the feet of the Lord; and as soon as He invoked Sri Rama tje idea came to His mind that He should have no connection with sati so long as she continued to remain in that body.Siva resolved accordingly and having so resoveld the stable-minded Lord Sankara proceeded towards His home (Mount Kailasa) with His mind fixed on the Hero of Raghu's race . Even as He stepped forward a charming voice from heaven thundered forth. "Glory to the great Lord Siva, who has so staunchly upheld the cause of Devotion. Who to else than You can take such a vow ? You are a devotee of Sri Rama and the all-powerful Lord at the same time. Sati felt troubled at heart when She heart the heavenly voice ,She addresed Siva in a faltering voice, Tell me, O merciful Lord! what vow You have taken. You are an embodiment of Truth and compassionate to the poor." Even though Sati inquired in ways more than one, the Slayer of the demon Tripura, Sankara, spoke not a word.

Sati concluded that the commiscient Lord had come to know everything and felt sorry that She had tried to deceive Sambhu. The woman is silly and stupid by nature, She realized.

Even water (when mixed with milk) sells as milk; look at the unifying process of love.water, however, is separated from the milk and the taste also disappears the moment a drop of acid is introduced into it in the form of a falsehood.

Sati felt perturbed in Her heart at the thought of what She had done: and the extent of Her anxiety could neither be gauged nor described. She realized that Lord Siva is a supremely unfathomable ocean of mercy , hence He did not openly declare Her fault , From the attitude of Sankara, however ,She judged that the Lord had ababdoned Her , and felt disturbed in Her heart. Conscious of Her guilt She could not utter a world of protest; but all the Her heart smouldered like a furnace. perceiving the sad look of Sati , Siva (who has a bull emblazoned on His standard) narrated beautiful stories in order to divert Her mind . Relating various legends while on His way , the Lord of the universe, Siva, reached Kailasa . Then, recalling His vow , Sambhu sat down there under a banyan tree in the Yogic pose known as padmasana (the pose of a louts). Sankara communed with His own self and passed into an unbroken and indefinitely long indefinitely long Samadhi (trance).

Then Sati dwelt in Kailasa, Her mind grievously sorrowing. Nobody knew anything about what was going on in Her mind; but the days hung heavy on Her like so many Yugas or ages.

The grief that preyed on Sati 's mind was ever new ; for She did not know when She would be able to cross the ocean of sorrow."I slighted the Lord of Raghus and again took my husband's words to be untrue; Providence has repaid me for my sins and has done only that which I deserved. Now O God ,it does not behove you that you should make me survive even after lalienating me from Sankara. The anguish of Her heart was beyond words . The sane lady invoked the presence of Rama in Her heart and addressed Him thus ; If they refer to You as compassionate to the poor and if the Vedas have glorified You as the dispeller of sorrow , I beseech with joined palms.O Lord, that I may be speedily of this body of mine. If have any devotion to the feet of Siva and if I am true to my vow in though , word and deed-

"Then, O all-perceiving Lord listen to me and speedily devise some plan whereby I may die and be thus rid of this unbearable calamity without much exertion."

The daughter of Daksa, Sati, thus felt very miserable. Her deep agony was terribe beyond words. When eight -seven thousand years elapsed, the immortal Sambhu emerged from His trance .Siva started repeating the name of Rama ; then Sati came to know that the Lord of the universe had come to the waking satale , She went and bowed ay the of Sambhu, Sankara gave Her a seat opposite Himself . He began to narrat the delightful stories of Sri Hari. Meanvhile Daksa (Sati's father ) had come to be the lord of created beings. On careful consideration the Creator (Brahma) found Dasksa qualified in everyway and appointed him as the supreme lord of created beings . When Dasksa attained this high position, the pride of his heart knew no bounds. Never was a creature born in this world, whom power did not inyoxicate.

DaKsa got together all the sages and they began to perform a big sacrifice . All the gods who obtain a share of the oblations offered at a sacrifice were cordially invited to attend.

Kinnaras (a species of demigods), Nagas, Siddhas (a class of celestial beings) and Gandharvas (celestial songsters) and the whole host of gods proceeded to the sacrifice along with their wives. All the gods with the exception of Visnu, Viranci (the Creator) and the great Lord Siva , set out in their aerial cars Sati beheld beautiful aerial cars of various patterns patterns coursing through the air, Celestial damsels were singing melodious strains, which intruded upon the ears of ascetics and broke their medition. When Sati inquired about the stir in the air, Siva explained the whole thing . She was somewhat delighted to hear of the sacrifice commenced by Her father and thought of making it an excuse for staying a few days with Her father in case the great Lord Siva granted Her leave. Repudiation by Her lord tormented Her heart not a little; but conscious of Her guilt She would not utter a word. At last Sati spoke in a charming voice tinged with awe , misgiving and affection-