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The Marriage of Parvati
Mountains! Don't be a coward. Let her seek her Lord in her own way and her struggle shall not be futile. Narayana! Narayana!” He vanished into the skies.
Clad in a simple saffron sari and seated still and serene, on a mighty peak against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains, Parvati looked like an eternal dawn. The seasons changed and with them the fury of the elements, too. They had never been more fierce. It was the hottest summer, the coldest winter, the grimmest autumn, but, worst of all, it was the cruellest spring. Every living thing seemed to be on trial, along with Parvati. That little bird which dropped a fresh flower at her feet every morning was the only creature which still had its freedom.
One morning a young Brahmachari (bachelor) with a begging bowl arrived there and demanded Parvati's hospitality. She opened her eyes, and closed them again. "Young lady," he asked, "why are you inflicting such severe austerities on yourself? Have you no home? To whom are you addressing your prayer and penance?” Parvati gave no reply, but the name of Mahesha was faintly but repeatedly heard from her lips. "Oh, you are in love with Mahesha! You must be mad! What do you see in him? His only possession is a garland of skulls round his neck. He smears his body with ashes and performs crazy dances in the smasan (cremation ground). He has an ugly face with three eyes and a perpetually hissing serpent in his hair. He has no means and depends on alms for his existence. But you seem to be a princess. Why do you waste yourself for the sake of this uncouth mendicant? You can still give him up?” Parvati became furious, but she did not say a word. She gave him a stare
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