HOW TO MAKE GOD FALL IN LOVE
[9] Nanněcoda, 4.54–76, 78–82.
[Indra, king of the gods, has commissioned Manmatha, "Desire," to disturb śiva in his meditation and make him fall in love with the divine Uma, so that śiva will produce through Uma a son to lead the gods in war against their enemies. Manmatha has accepted this dangerous mission.]
"This job is just right for me," Manmatha said to Indra. "I accept. Give me the betel."
[10] The gift of betel nut and leaf seals a contract.
Thus honored by the king of the gods, Manmatha took his leave and headed home, together with his friend, Spring. Meanwhile, at home,| Rati, his wife, [11] The name means "delight," especially sexual delight. was ill at ease, | |
| waiting for her husband to return. | |
| Surprising evil omens were appearing. | |
| Tremors shook her body, as if the antigods | |
| had possessed her. She was sad and terrified. | |
| Then she saw her husband's flag in the sky, | |
| with a crocodile painted on it. |
| Bees buzzing, cuckoos cooing sweetly, | |
| parrots singing joyful chants: | |
| with a great flourish, Manmatha arrived, | |
| eager to see his wife. |
| She looked at him and hid her inner sadness | |
| with a smile. After the usual greetings, | |
| she asked: "Indra summoned you for some | |
| special purpose—what was that?" |
She pressed him. He saw her feelings on her face. A little irritated, he replied, with a smile:
| "You seem scared, though you're trying to hide it. | |
| I can see in your movement | |
| that you're masking fear. | |
| Your lips are quivering. What is it that is | |
| disturbing you? Tell me." |
So she told him about the mysterious omens, some from the gods, some from the sky, some from the earth, and some from her own body. "Tell
| "Maybe Indra doesn't care that śiva is our family god, | |
| but doesn't he know that the whole universe worships him? | |
| It means nothing to him that śiva is a great Yogi, | |
| but what about the fact that he is the Lord of all the worlds? | |
| Indra may not fear a god who cut off Brahmā's head, | |
| but isn't he afraid of someone who put an end to Death? | |
| His three eyes may not be frightening, | |
| but still he is Rudra, the Doomsday fire. | |
| Indra is sending you against that terrible god. | |
| Will helping Indra do us any good? If you take on | |
| the strongest, death is certain. Doesn't Indra | |
| know this? |
| Indra has sent you off without further thought. | |
| He's a king, after all. You are going | |
| as his lieutenant. But are you a warrior? | |
| Will śiva be a pushover? You're hunting | |
| a lion, and it will be a miracle if either you | |
| or Indra survive. |
| All the women in heaven are in love with you. | |
| Indra can't stand it. That's why he's sending you | |
| to your death, on this pretext. |
| Those women don't look at him the way | |
| they look at you. So Indra hates you | |
| and wants you to die. Should you make it easy | |
| for him by volunteering? |
| When the gods invited you for this mission, | |
| you took it as an honor. They told you śiva | |
| would be an easy target, so you quickly | |
| got ready to go. But you're risking your life. | |
| You're not even afraid of this impossible task. | |
| Visnu and Laksmi [12] Manmatha's parents. would hardly approve | |
| of your arrogant talk. |
| If śiva opens his third eye, for some reason or other, | |
| the whole universe dies in an instant. | |
| How can you attack someone so fierce? | |
| Very well, go ahead: how big a fish | |
| can a little fish eat? | |
| Like somebody who chews up a brick | |
| at the wink of an eye, | |
| you're so full of yourself | |
| you want to take on the gods. | |
| Fighting with Rudra for no reason | |
| is like a locust fighting fire." |
While Rati was telling him about śiva, and trying to discourage him, Manmatha looked at her and said:
| "When I shoot my flower arrows, the hearts | |
| of both śiva and Uma will simply melt | |
| and unite. Do you have any doubt? | |
| I want to achieve this goal, never attempted before | |
| in any world. Skilled archer that I am, | |
| I will make their bodies one. |
| You know, by what you've seen and heard, | |
| that nothing in all the worlds | |
| can cross my command. Why are you | |
| so afraid? Why make the god draped in snakes | |
| into such a vicious enemy?" |
Manmatha thought this should put an end to the argument, but Rati was still thinking about śiva's power, and she said:
| "His bow is the Mountain of Gold; yours | |
| is made of sugarcane. His arrow is the deadly | |
| Pāśupata. You shoot flowers that wilt at a touch. | |
| He wrecks cities. [13] The reference is to the Triple City of the antigods. And you—you wreak havoc | |
| in the hearts of men stranded far from their lovers. | |
| However you look at it, you're as close to him | |
| as a mosquito to an elephant. |
| Your soft arrows can't even penetrate | |
| the hearts of those who worship śiva, | |
| let alone the god himself. Is it wise | |
| to think of vanquishing the invincible? | |
― 74 ― | |
| I'm a woman, I'm frail, but if I look at you | |
| in anger, you start to shiver. | |
| What makes you think you can withstand | |
| the fire from śiva's deadly eye? | |
| Children chew it up and spit it out, | |
| but still you rely on sugarcane | |
| to make your bow. | |
| Flowers that die when pressed into women's hair | |
| you take for arrows. | |
| The gentle breeze that can hardly move a tender bud | |
| is your Chief Lieutenant, | |
| and your elite units are manned by bees and parrots, | |
| that any woman can shoo away. | |
| Spring, burned up | |
| at the touch of the mildest of summers, | |
| is your ally. The spearhead in your attack | |
| is a row of cuckoos, who are scared away by baby crows. | |
| Armed like this, with such splendid troops, | |
| you hope to move against the Fierce God? |
| Are you stronger than the Man-Lion, who got himself skinned? [14] śiva, as śarabha-mŪrti, overcame Visnu as the Man-Lion. | |
| Are you stronger than the Creator, who lost one of his heads? [15] Brahmā was beheaded by śiva. | |
| Are you mightier than Death, who was burnt to cinders? [16] As Kālântaka, śiva destroyed Yama, the god of death. | |
| Why pick a quarrel, for no reason, with the god | |
| who destroys all?" |
He listened, and replied: "Strength, valor, magical spells, schemes, meditations, mind control, and other such superhuman powers, however marvelous they may be, become soft under the influence of passion, like the moonstone when touched by moonbeams. Everyone knows this by experience.
| When men who can crush an elephant to death | |
| tightly hold them in their embrace, | |
| women more tender than a flower | |
| beg for more. Don't you know | |
| the supreme power of passion? |
| If you want to know the reason: | |
― 75 ― | |
| So long as living beings are either male or female | |
| and have minds that feel, | |
| that is enough—all of them | |
| are controlled by Desire. | |
| That's how the Creator made the world, | |
| and He gave me this power." | |
Then he explained to her the supremacy of desire—the prime cause of the first creation—and convinced her. He was ready, now, to advance against God.