Mena Gains Her Senses

Brahma said

Mena, virtuous and beloved of the mountain, came back to her senses. Shaken, she lamented and rebuked everyone, first her sons, over and over, then her daughter in harsh words.

Mena said

Sage, you once said Shivaa would marry Shiva, and then you set Himalaya to performing worship. Now the fruit can truly be seen, and it is perverse and harmful. Evil-minded sage, I have been cheated by you in every way and am a lesser person for it. And she then tormented herself with austerities hard even for sages; the fruit is here to see and it brings misery. What shall I do? Where shall I go? Who will end my misery? My family is ruined, my life is cursed. Where are those divine rishis? I will tear out their beards. Where is that cunning woman who came here of her own accord, pretending to be an ascetic's wife? Whose crime has brought everything to ruin for me?

Brahma said

Saying this, she looked at her daughter and spoke bitter words.

Mena said

Daughter, what have you done? This wicked act has brought me grief. You have given away gold with your own hands and taken a piece of glass. You gave up sandal paste and smeared yourself with mud. You drove the swan away and caught a crow. You threw away sanctified water and drank from a well. You cast aside the sun and carefully gathered a firefly. You threw out the rice and are eating the husk. Throwing away ghee, you eat duck oil with relish. You have left the service of a lion to serve a jackal. You have given up learning about the brahman to listen to wicked songs. We had extremely auspicious ashes from sacrifices at home, and you flung them far off and took inauspicious ashes from funeral pyres. You gave up supreme gods, Vishnu and the other supreme lords, and in your wickedness did austerities for such a Shiva. Shame on your intelligence, your beauty and conduct. Shame on whoever taught you, and on your friends. Daughter, shame on us who gave you birth. Shame on Narada's wisdom and on the saptarshis, who gave us bad counsel. Shame on the family! Shame on skill in sacrifices. Shame on all you have done. You have burned down the house, and that is death to me. Let this king of mountains not come near me. Let the saptarshis not show me their faces. What have you all accomplished together? You have destroyed the family. Why was I not born barren? Why did the foetus not miscarry? Why did I not die? Why did my daughter not die? Why did no rakshasas swoop from the sky and eat her? I will cut off your head now. What will I do with the bodies? If I give you up, where will I go? Alas, my life is ruined!

Brahma said

Saying this, Mena fell to the ground and lost her senses. Shaken and suffering grief and anger, she did not go to her husband. Lord among sages, there were great lamentations then.

One by one all the gods came to her. Sage, I came first myself. Supreme among rishis, seeing me you spoke to her.

Narada said

You do not know Shiva's true handsome form. This is a form he has taken in play, not the real Shiva. Devoted wife, so put away your anger and compose yourself. Give up this stubbornness and do what must be done: give Shivaa to Shiva.

Brahma said

Hearing you, Mena answered: "Wicked one, get up and go far away. You are the worst of the wicked." As she said this, Indra and all the other gods and guardians of the world came and spoke.

The devas said

Mena, daughter of the ancestors, listen gladly. He is the supreme Shiva himself and brings supreme happiness. Because of your daughter's extremely hard austerities and his compassion, Shambhu showed himself to her and gave her a boon. He is kind to his devotees.

Brahma said

Addressed so by the gods, Mena lamented again.

Mena said

My daughter will not be given to Girisha, with his fierce form. Why are all you gods playing this trick, to make her supreme beauty useless?

Brahma said

Lord among sages, as she said this the seven rishis, Vasishtha and the others, came and spoke.

The saptarshis said

Daughter of the ancestors, beloved of the mountain, we have come to accomplish a task. How could we possibly hold a contrary view about it? The sight of Shankara is the greatest gain. He has come to your house with a bowl to receive alms.

Brahma said

Though they spoke so, Mena paid no heed to the sages. Weak in knowledge, she answered the rishis angrily.

Mena said

I will kill her with weapons, but I will not give her to Shankara. All of you go far away and do not come near me.

Brahma said

Saying this, she stopped, but she was shaken and lamented. Sage, great cries of lament were heard there.

Then agitated Himalaya came and tried lovingly to wake her understanding, speaking to her of true insight.

Himalaya said

Mena, listen to me now. Beloved, why are you downcast? So many people have come to our house, and you are scolding them. You do not know Shankara. You have seen this disfigured form and are upset. Shambhu has many forms. I know Shankara. He protects everyone. He is worshipped by those who are themselves worshipped. He shows compassion, and he also chastises. Beloved, dearer to me than life, blameless one, do not be stubborn. Get rid of your misery. Excellent in vows, get up and do what must be done. Earlier Shambhu came to our door in a disfigured form. Let me remind you. He played many pastimes, and seeing his supreme greatness you and I agreed to give our daughter to him. Queen, beloved, we have given our pledge and must keep it.

Brahma said

Sage, her husband the mountain said this and stopped. Hearing him, Shivaa's mother Mena replied.

Mena said

Lord, listen to me and act on my words. Seize our daughter Parvati, bind her by the throat and without hesitation fling her down. She will not be given to Hara. Husband, or else take her to the ocean, lord of mountains, drown her there, abandon her and be happy. Husband, if you give our daughter to malformed Rudra, I will certainly give up my own body.

Brahma said

Hearing Mena's stubborn words, Parvati herself came and spoke charming words to her.

Parvati said

Mother, your thinking has turned perverse and brings what is inauspicious. You should rely on dharma. Why are you giving up dharma? This Rudra has no one superior to him. He is himself Ishvara and everything flows from him. Shambhu is beautiful in form and gives happiness. He is described in all the shrutis. Mahesha Shankara rules himself and is lord of all the gods. Mother, he has many forms and is addressed by many names. Hari, Brahma and the others serve him. The lord is the foundation of everything, its creator and destroyer, free of change, lord of the three divinities, indestructible and eternal. All the gods have come here as servants for his sake and are holding festivities at your gate. What greater happiness can there be? Get up and strive to make your life successful. Give me to Shiva and make your own stage of life successful. Mother, give me to Paramesha Shankara. Mother, accept him; I humbly ask you. If you do not give me to him I will accept no other groom. How can a jackal, which deceives others, take a share meant for a lion? Mother, in thought, word and deed, and by what I have heard, I have myself chosen Hara. That being so, do what you wish.

Brahma said

Hearing Shivaa, Mena, beloved of the lord of mountains, lamented much. Extremely angry, she ground her teeth, seized her daughter and beat her with fists and knees. Agitated and furious, she struck her daughter. Son, sage, the rishis and others there rescued her from her hands and took her far away.

She censured them repeatedly, and her own destiny, and said once more all those wicked words.

Mena said

See what I, Mena, will do to wicked Parvati, seized by an evil planet. I will give her virulent poison. I will certainly throw her into a well. Or I will cut Kali to bits with weapons. I will drown my own daughter Parvati in the ocean. Or I will cast off my own body. It will not be otherwise. I will not give my daughter Durga to Shambhu, who has a malformed figure. What a terrible groom the wicked girl has got! Everyone is laughing at me, at the mountain and at the family. He has no mother, father or brother. He has no relatives or anyone of the same gotra. He has neither beauty nor cleverness. He has no house or anything else, no garments or ornaments. He has no one to help him, no auspicious mount. He is not young and has no riches. He has no purity or learning. What kind of body does he have? It brings affliction. What do I see that I should give my extremely auspicious daughter to him?

Brahma said

So Menaka lamented a great deal in many ways. Sage, overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, she wept.

Then I came there and spoke to Menaka, telling her of Shiva's excellent tattva, to dispel her great ignorance.

Brahma said

Mena, listen gladly to my auspicious words. If you listen to them lovingly your wicked thinking will be destroyed. Shankara is creator, preserver and destroyer of the world. Since you do not know his form, why do you suffer this sorrow? The lord has many names and forms and plays many pastimes. He rules himself and is lord over everything, lord of maya, with no alternative. Mena, understand this and give Shivaa to Shiva. Give up this wicked stubbornness and evil ignorance, which ruins all tasks.

Brahma said

Thus addressed by me, Mena lamented again, and, sage, without the least shame answered me.

Mena said

Brahma, why do you want to make her great and supreme beauty useless? Why don't you kill this Shivaa yourself? You should not speak to me about giving her to Shiva. I will not give my own daughter, whom I love more than life, to Shiva.

Brahma said

Great sage, as she said this Sanaka and the other siddhas came and spoke to her very lovingly.

The siddhas said

He is the supreme Shiva himself, who gives supreme happiness. Out of compassion for your daughter, the lord showed himself to her.

Brahma said

Mena lamented again and answered: "I will not give her to Girisha, fierce in form. Why are all you siddhas trying to deceive me and make her supreme beauty useless?" Sage, hearing her I was amazed. All the gods, siddhas, rishis and humans were surprised. Then, hearing of her great and firm stubbornness, Vishnu, dear to Shiva, came and spoke to her.

Vishnu said

You are the beloved daughter of the ancestors, born of their mental power, with all the qualities. You are Himalaya's wife, born directly in Brahma's excellent line, and your aides are like him. In this world you are blessed. What more can I say? You are the foundation of dharma, so how can you give up dharma? Can the gods, the rishis, Brahma or I say anything contrary? Reflect on this. You do not know Shiva, who is both without and with qualities. He is both disfigured and handsome, served by everyone and the aim of the virtuous. He created Devi Prakriti Ishvari, the foundation, and on her side he created Purushottama. With them, Brahma and I have forms based on the gunas. To secure the welfare of the worlds Rudra himself took an avatara. The Vedas, gods and everything seen in the universe, moving or still, came from him. Everything was created from Shankara. Who can describe his form? Who knows it? Brahma and I cannot reach him. Everything seen in the universe, from a blade of grass to Brahma, know that it is all Shiva; there is no need to reflect on this. In his own play he has come down in this visible form. He has come to your door by the power of Shivaa's austerities. Himalaya's wife, so put aside your grief and serve Shiva. You will gain great bliss and all your hardships will be destroyed.

Brahma said

Sage, so understanding formed in Menaka's mind. Instructed by Vishnu, her mind grew softer, but she did not give up her stubborn view that she would not give her daughter to Hara. Confounded by Shiva's maya, Mena did not accept the idea. Having understood a little, Mena, beloved of the mountain, said to Hari: "I will give my daughter if his form is beautiful. Otherwise, even if a crore of different attempts are made, it will not happen. I have told you my firm and true words." Firm in her vows, Mena said this and fell silent. The blessed one was goaded by Shiva's wishes, which confound everyone.