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SVASTI – Essays in Honour of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah
appeared who led her to an enormous subterraneous temple hall with the first pratima of Dada Adishvar. It was so huge that she only could see his feet. [...] On her way back she suddenly appeared again at Jay Taleti, bringing flowers which nobody had seen before and with a very delicious scent. [...] Some people think, this is a miracle, but the only reason why Urmilaben got there was that she came close to salvation already.
Though the girls themselves never experienced a comparable miraculous incident, such accounts clearly fascinated them.In my view, this story about the possibility of entering otherwise concealed realms by performing fierce austerities can be seen as a symbolic expression of the transformative aspects ascribed to the navanu pilgrimage in general. Thus, physical deprivations were eventually cherished by the four friends from Bengalaru, as well as by other navanu pilgrims, even in view of a possible untimely death. In case someone dies during a pilgrimage, s/he is usually not bemoaned. On the contrary, such a death is considered ideal in the eyes of many pilgrims. Although immediate salvation is considered impossible during our era of time, not even on Shatrunjaya, such a death is nevertheless seen as a kind of guarantee for achieving salvation within the next three rebirths. With other words, death during a pilgrimage is accepted, as a way for accelerating the process of reaching spiritual salvation. Admittedly, a critical mind would rightly argue that the girls surely did not intend to die, nor would a responsible adult of their group have allowed such an effect of their austerities. Nevertheless the possible death is just an extreme form of the real transformation, which the girls actually experienced during the navanu pilgrimage. As Charita put it dramatically, one day after having performed chath:
Physically navanu is very difficult, but every day when I reach Dada I feel happy as never before. I feel that I achieved everything in my life. So if I die now I will do it happily. I make use of my human birth. I come close to salvation. This feeling was extreme when I did chath. [...] I thought even if I die on spot I will be happy.
After two or three days of fasting the navanu pilgrim is ritually fed by close family members, who on that occasion comes to Palitana, in order to share the feeling of spiritual success with the daughter, sister or niece. During the last ten days of navanu, all the four friends from Bengalaru continued their pilgrimages while being convinced that they cannot fail any more. After all, the hardest task was already achieved.
50 For the hidden parts of Shatrunjaya see also: Granoff 1999: 164 51 On death during pilgrimages in the Hindu context see, for instance: Morinis 1984: 297, Hardenberg 1998: 226
