Site menu |
|
Login form |
|
Search |
|
Our poll |
|
Statistics |
Total online: 1 Guests: 1 Users: 0 |
|
Welcome, Guest · RSS |
2024-03-28, 5:22 PM |
|
Chapter 4: Satî Quits her Body
(1) S'rî Maitreya said: 'After saying this much about the [possible]
end of his wife's physical existence, Lord S'iva fell silent.
Since
she
from
S'iva
understood
that
she
had
the
choice
between
being
anxious
to see her relatives and being afraid to meet her relatives, she was in
doubt whether she should go
or not. (2) Denied in her desire
to see her relatives she felt very sorry and shed tears in her
affliction. Trembling she angrily looked at her Bhava, the unequaled
one, as if she wanted to burn him.
(3) Breathing
heavily
she
walked
away
from him, the saintly one so dear to her to whom she
had
given half of her body. Being upset
because of her grief and anger and
with her intelligence clouded by
her female nature, she out of
love for her father's embodiment
then headed for his house. (4) Rapidly
leaving
all
alone
Satî
was
quickly
followed
by
the thousands of associates and
Yaksha's of the three eyed one [Lord
S'iva] who were headed by
Manimân
and Mada. Not afraid [to leave S'iva alone] they had put the bull
Nandî in front.
(5) Having placed her on the decorated bull, her
pet bird, ball, mirror, lotus flower, white umbrella, mosquito net,
garlands and other stuff were taken along, accompanied by the music of
drums, conch shells and flutes. (6) She
[thus] entered the
sacrificial arena where with the
help of sacrificial animals, pots, clay,
wood, iron, gold and grass and skins to sit upon,
the sacrifice, brightened by the
sounds of Vedic hymns, was held
that on all sides was attended by the great sages and authorities. (7) But
arriving there she out of fear
for the performer of the
sacrifice [Daksha] was not
respected by anyone with a welcome, save of course for her own sisters
and mother who embraced her with reverence, gladdened faces and throats
choked by tears of affection. (8) But
Satî, not being welcomed by her father, did not respond to the
reverence shown with the greetings of her sisters, mother and aunts who
with due respect properly informed her and offered her gifts and a seat. (9) Realizing
that
her
father
with
no
oblations
for
S'iva out
of contempt for the godhead had
not invited the mighty one for
the assembly of the sacrifice,
Satî got very angry and looked incensed as if she wanted to burn
the fourteen worlds with her eyes.
(10) The
goddess [next] for everyone present to hear began to condemn with words
filled with anger the opponents of S'iva who were so proud of their
troublesome sacrifices, meanwhile ordering his Bhûtas who stood
prepared to attack, to hold back.
(11) The blessed one said: 'He
[S'iva] has no one in this world
as his rival, no one is his enemy nor is anyone embodied dear to him.
Who in the world but you would be envious with him, the most beloved
being in the universe free from all enmity? (12) Unlike
you, oh twice born one, he doesn't
find fault in the qualities of the seekers of truth, he rather greatly
magnifies any little good he finds in others. And now you are with him,
the greatest
of all persons, finding fault! (13) It is
not so surprising, this
deriding of glorious
persons by those who take the transient body for the true self. It is an ugly
evil to be
envious with great personalities, an evil that perfectly serves the
purpose of bringing themselves down by the dust of the holy feet. (14) Persons
who
only
once
from
their
heart
pronounce
the two syllables of his name, see their sinful
activities immediately defeated; that S'iva, whose order is never
neglected and who is of an impeccable renown, you now strangely envy. (15)
Engaged at
his lotus feet the higher personalities exercise their bee-like minds aspiring the nectar of transcendental
bliss and for the common man he is the one
sought who fulfills all desires.
That you of all people now have to be against him, the friend of
all living entities in all the three worlds! (16) Do
you really think that
others than you, like Brahmâ and his brahmins, are not familiar
with
the inauspicious call of him who is associated with the demons and who with his scattered, matted hair is garlanded with skulls
and is smeared with the ashes of the crematorium? They still take on their heads the flowers that fell from the
feet of him who is called S'iva or auspicious! (17) When
one is confronted with people who irresponsibly blaspheme the
controller of the religion, one
should block one's ears
and walk away, if nothing else can be done. But if one can do
something, one should by force cut out the tongue of the vilifying
blasphemer and next give up one's own life. That's the
way to deal with such matters! (18) Therefore
I
shall
no
longer
bear
this
body
I
received
from
you
who blasphemed God. To purify oneself from
mistakenly having eaten poisonous
food it is best to vomit, so one says. (19) Elevated
transcendentalists
who
enjoy
their
lives
do
not
always
follow the rules and regulations of the
Vedas, de ways of the gods differ from those of man. Therefore a man should not criticize
another man [like S'va] by the standard of his own unique sense of duty
[see also B.G. 18: 47]. (20)
In truth the Vedas distinguish between
activities performed in attachment and activities performed in
detachment
[pravritti and nivritti dharma], and thus one has on the
basis of these two characteristics of dharma two choices. To be of both
at the same time is contradictory and thus it can be so that none
of these activities are to the satisfaction of the one of
transcendence. (21) Oh father, the ways we follow
are not
your ways, they are not recommended by those who satisfied by the food
of the sacrifice follow the ritual path and thus get their fill. They
are of those complete forsakers who follow the non-manifest form of
sacrificing. (22) With your offenses against
S'iva
and denial of this body that was produced from your body, I say enough
is enough! I am ashamed to have taken this contemptible birth. Oh what
a
shame it is to be related by birth to a bad person, to someone who is an offender of great
personalities. (23) Because
of
the
family
tie
I have with you it makes me very sad when my great
Lord S'iva calls me 'daughter of
Daksha'. All my joy and smiles vanish immediately when he does so.
Therefore I will give up this bag of bones that was produced from your
body.'
(24) Maitreya
said: 'Oh annihilator of the enemy, speaking thus to Daksha in the
arena
of
sacrifice, she sat down in silence on the ground with her face to the
north. After touching water she, dressed in saffron garments, then
closed her eyes
to find absorption in the process of yoga. (25)
Balancing the inward and outward going breath she, the blameless one, in the control of her
yogic posture with intelligence directed her life air upward. She
raised
it gradually up from the navel cakra to the heart, from the
heart to the windpipe and from the throat to the place between her
eyebrows. (26) In
her desire to give it up because of her anger towards
Daksha, she who
time and again full of respect sat on the lap of the most worshipful
one of
all saints, thus by the exercise of her own will focussed
on the air and fire within
her body. (27) When
she right there within
her mind saw nothing but the nectarean lotus feet of her husband, the
supreme spiritual teacher of the universe and was freed from all
impurities, soon the body
of Satî was ablaze because of the fire that originated from her
absorption.
(28) From the side of those who witnessed
it a loudly in the sky and on the earth reverberating,
wondrous tumult originated: 'Ohhh..., alas Satî the beloved goddess
of the
most respectable demigod, has given up her life in her anger about
Daksha. (29) Oh,
just see the great
soullessness of him, the Prajâpati from whom all the generations
sprang. Because of his disrespect she voluntarily gave up her body,
she, his
own daughter Satî worthy of our repeated respect. (30)
He so hard-hearted and not worthy the
brahminical status, will gain extensive ill fame in the world because
he in
his offenses as an enemy of Lord S'iva couldn't keep his own daughter
from preparing herself for death!' (31) While
the people were thus
talking among themselves after having witnessed the wondrous death of
Satî, the attendants of S'iva stood up with their weapons
lifted in
order to kill Daksha. (32) But
as soon as he saw them approaching Bhrigu quickly offered oblations in
the southern
fire and recited hymns from the Yajur Veda to ward off the destroyers
of a
sacrifice. (33) From
the oblations being
offered by Bhrigu, by the thousands the demigods manifested named the
Ribhus who by dint of the moon [Soma] and by penance had achieved great
strength. (34) And
all the ghosts and Guhyakas
[guardians of S'iva] being attacked by them with pieces of firewood
from the
fire, thus, [haunted] by the glow of sheer brahminical power, fled in
all
directions.
|
|