संत साहित्य · Guru Charitra · Chapters

Chapter 32 — Behavior of a Widow; Dead Husband Made Alive

Literal. The widow's-conduct code is given. The wife elects to commit sati. The sannyasi gives her four rudraksha beads, instructs her to tie two in her dead husband's ears and two around her own neck, and to sprinkle rudrabhishek tirth on his body before sati. The pyre is built. She walks around it three times. Reciting Shri Guru's name, she is led by the sannyasi to Shri Guru himself, who says: bring the body. The body is brought; Shri Guru sprinkles the rudrabhishek tirth on the dead body and looks at it with his sight full of nectar. The husband sits up, alive. He is shy at being unclothed; he wears his dhoti. A cynic asks: how can he be alive? Shri Guru says: I requested Brahmadev to give 30 years' life from his next life to this Brahmin youth.

Symbolic. The resource-transfer-across-lifetimes at the chapter's end is one of the most explicit operations in the book. Life-span is presented as a fungible quantity that can be requisitioned from a future incarnation and applied to a present one.

Structural. 30 years of life from the next life. 4 rudraksha beads. 3 rounds of the pyre.

Verse by verse

श्रीगणेशाय नमः ।

śrīgaṇeśāya namaḥ |

Om, salutation to Śrī Gaṇeśa.

As with every adhyāya, the poet begins by invoking Gaṇeśa (remover of obstacles) before turning to the chapter's teaching on a widow's conduct and a husband restored to life.

Begin any serious undertaking with a moment of humble invocation, not your own cleverness.

पतिव्रतेचिया रिति । सांगे देवा बृहस्पति । सहगमनी फलश्रुति । येणेपरी निरोपिली ॥१॥

pativrateciyā riti | sāmge devā bṛhaspati | sahagamanī phalaśruti | yeṇeparī niropilī ||1||

The god Bṛhaspati explains the customs of the devoted wife (pativratā); thus he related the fruits of sahagamana (a wife dying with her husband on the pyre).

The chapter opens as a teaching handed down by Bṛhaspati (guru of the gods) on how a devoted wife should live, and what fruit sahagamana (a wife's ritual death on her husband's pyre, once practiced as satī) is said to bring.

When you face a hard choice, seek out someone wiser and let their tested teaching guide you rather than raw emotion.

विधवापणाचा आचारू । सांगता झाला देववरू । पुसताती ऋषेश्वरू । ऐका श्रोते एकचित्ते ॥२॥

vidhavāpaṇācā ācārū | sāmgatā jhālā devavarū | pusatātī ṛṣeśvarū | aikā śrote ekacitte ||2||

The great god went on to explain the conduct proper to widowhood, as the sages questioned him; listen, O hearers, with one-pointed mind.

The great sages press further, asking Bṛhaspati to lay out the discipline proper to widowhood itself — the poet asks listeners to attend with a single, gathered mind.

Give your full, undivided attention when someone is about to teach you something that will shape how you live.

जवळी नसता आपुला पति । त्याते मरण झालिया प्राप्ति । काय करावे त्याचे सती । सहगमन केवी करावे ॥३॥

javaḷī nasatā āpulā pati | tyāte maraṇa jhāliyā prāpti | kāya karāve tyāce satī | sahagamana kevī karāve ||3||

If a woman's husband is not by her side when death overtakes him, what should his devoted wife do? How can she perform sahagamana?

The sages raise the hard case first: what is a wife to do if her husband dies while she is far from him, so that sahagamana with the body is not even possible?

When the ideal path is closed to you by circumstance, ask what other faithful path remains open, instead of despairing.

अथवा असेल गरोदरी । असे तीते कन्याकुमरी । काय करावे तिये नारी । म्हणून विनविती गुरूसी ॥४॥

athavā asela garodarī | ase tīte kanyākumarī | kāya karāve tiye nārī | mhaṇūna vinavitī gurūsī ||4||

Or if she is pregnant, or has a young daughter, what should that woman do? So they entreated the teacher.

Further exceptions are asked about — a widow who is pregnant or has a small daughter — showing that the tradition itself recognizes duties that outweigh even the highest vow.

Let your responsibility to those who depend on you take precedence over any dramatic gesture of devotion.

ऐकोनि देवांचे वचन । सांगता जाला विस्तारोन । एकचित्ते करून । ऐका श्रोते सकळ ॥५॥

aikoni devāmce vacana | sāmgatā jālā vistārona | ekacitte karūna | aikā śrote sakaḷa ||5||

Hearing the gods' question, he began to explain at length; listen, all you hearers, with one-pointed attention.

Having heard the sages' questions, Bṛhaspati begins his detailed answer — the poet again calls the audience to attentive listening, marking that real instruction is about to begin.

Before responding to a hard question, take a moment to gather your thoughts fully rather than answering carelessly.

पति जवळी असे जरी । सहगमनी जावे तिये नारी । असता आपण गरोदरी । करू नये सहगमन ॥६॥

pati javaḷī ase jarī | sahagamanī jāve tiye nārī | asatā āpaṇa garodarī | karū naye sahagamana ||6||

If the husband is present, the wife should go with him upon the pyre; but if she is pregnant, she should not perform sahagamana.

The first ruling is given: sahagamana is proper only when the husband's body is actually present, and a pregnant wife must not attempt it, since new life takes precedence over the rite.

Never let a rule of devotion be applied so rigidly that it endangers a life you are responsible for protecting.

स्तनपानी असता कुमारू । तिणे करिता पाप थोरू । पुरुष मेला असेल दुरू । सहगमन करू नये ॥७॥

stanapānī asatā kumārū | tiṇe karitā pāpa thorū | puruṣa melā asela durū | sahagamana karū naye ||7||

If she has a child still at the breast, doing so would be a great sin; and if the husband has died far away, she should not perform sahagamana.

Two more prohibitions follow — a nursing mother must not perform sahagamana, and neither may a wife whose husband died far away; the text calls doing so in these cases a wrong, not a virtue.

Recognize that some duties, like caring for a nursing child, override even the most sacred-seeming vow.

तिणे असावे विधवापणे । विधिपूर्वक आचरणे । सहगमासमाने । असे पुण्य परियेसा ॥८॥

tiṇe asāve vidhavāpaṇe | vidhipūrvaka ācaraṇe | sahagamāsamāne | ase puṇya pariyesā ||8||

She should instead live as a widow, observing the proper rites; hear that this merit equals that of sahagamana.

In place of the pyre, the text offers a path open to everyone: living out disciplined widowhood is declared to carry the very same puṇya (merit) as sahagamana itself.

When the dramatic path is barred to you, trust that a quieter, sustained discipline can carry equal worth.

विधवापणाचा आचारू । करिता असे पुण्य थोरू । निवर्तता आपुला भ्रतारू । केशवपन करावे ॥९॥

vidhavāpaṇācā ācārū | karitā ase puṇya thorū | nivartatā āpulā bhratārū | keśavapana karāve ||9||

Great merit comes from observing widow's conduct; when her husband has passed away, she should have her hair shorn.

The widow's discipline begins concretely with the ritual shaving of the head upon her husband's death — an outward mark of the inward renunciation she now takes up.

Mark a major turning point in your life with some visible change that reminds you daily of your new commitment.

ज्या का विधवा केश राखिती । त्यांची ऐका फलश्रुति । केश पुरुषासी बाधिती । नरकापरी परियेसा ॥१०॥

jyā kā vidhavā keśa rākhitī | tyāmcī aikā phalaśruti | keśa puruṣāsī bādhitī | narakāparī pariyesā ||10||

Hear the consequence for widows who keep their hair: their hair burdens the husband, dragging him toward hell, it is said.

A striking warning follows: unshorn hair on a widow is said to burden her departed husband — the poet uses this vivid image to stress how the living can still affect the dead through their conduct.

Remember that how you carry yourself after a loss is never only about you — it touches those who came before you too.

यास्तव करणे केशवपण । करावे तिणे नित्य स्नान । एक वेळा भोजन । करावे तिणे परियेसा ॥११॥

yāstava karaṇe keśavapaṇa | karāve tiṇe nitya snāna | eka veḷā bhojana | karāve tiṇe pariyesā ||11||

Therefore she should have her head shaved, bathe daily, and eat only once a day.

Beyond the shaving, the widow's regimen calls for daily bathing and a single daily meal — small, repeated austerities meant to keep the body simple and the mind turned toward what matters.

Build one modest daily discipline rather than a single grand gesture, and let it steady you over time.

एक धान्याचे अन्न । करावे तिणे भोजन । तीन दिवस उपोषण । करावे तिणे भक्तीने ॥१२॥

eka dhānyāce anna | karāve tiṇe bhojana | tīna divasa upoṣaṇa | karāve tiṇe bhaktīne ||12||

She should eat food of a single grain, and fast for three days with devotion.

The fasting intensifies: plain single-grain meals, and three full days of fasting undertaken with bhakti (devotion) — the spirit behind the austerity is what gives it worth.

When you take on a hard discipline, do it with love in your heart, not resentment, or it will not nourish you.

पाच दिवस पक्षमासास । करावा तिणे उपवास । अथवा चांद्रायणग्रास । भोजन करणे परियेसा ॥१३॥

pāca divasa pakṣamāsāsa | karāvā tiṇe upavāsa | athavā cāmdrāyaṇagrāsa | bhojana karaṇe pariyesā ||13||

Five days each fortnight she should fast, or eat according to the cāndrāyaṇa regimen of graduated morsels.

The text prescribes the cāndrāyaṇa fast, a lunar-cycle regimen where food intake rises and falls with the moon — a discipline tying bodily restraint to the rhythms of nature itself.

Pace a demanding discipline gradually, like a season changing, rather than forcing it all at once.

चंद्रोदय बीजेसी । एक ग्रास तया दिवसी । चढते घ्यावे पंधरा दिवसी । पौर्णिमेसी भोजन ॥१४॥

camdrodaya bījesī | eka grāsa tayā divasī | caḍhate ghyāve pamdharā divasī | paurṇimesī bhojana ||14||

On the day the moon rises on the second lunar day she should take one morsel, increasing it day by day for fifteen days until a full meal on the full moon.

The waxing half of the cāndrāyaṇa is detailed: one morsel growing daily until a full meal on the full moon — moderation building steadily toward fullness.

Let your effort grow step by step toward a goal instead of expecting full strength on day one.

कृष्णपक्षी येणेपरी । ग्रास घ्यावे उतरत नारी । अमावास्या येता जरी । एक ग्रास जेवावा ॥१५॥

kṛṣṇapakṣī yeṇeparī | grāsa ghyāve utarata nārī | amāvāsyā yetā jarī | eka grāsa jevāvā ||15||

In the dark fortnight she should likewise decrease her morsels day by day, until on the new-moon day she eats but a single morsel.

The waning half mirrors the waxing: morsels decrease day by day through the dark fortnight — restraint as a disciplined, patterned practice, not random denial.

Taper down a habit gradually and deliberately rather than abandoning it abruptly.

शक्ति नाही जियेसी । एकान्न जेवावे परियेसी । अथवा फल-आहारेसी । अथवा शाका-आहार देखा ॥१६॥

śakti nāhī jiyesī | ekānna jevāve pariyesī | athavā phala-āhāresī | athavā śākā-āhāra dekhā ||16||

If she lacks the strength for this, she may eat a single food, or live on fruit alone, or on vegetables alone.

The text shows compassion for human limits: if a widow cannot manage the full fast, lesser observances are permitted — the ideal bends to what a person can actually sustain.

Adapt a discipline to your real capacity rather than abandoning it entirely because you cannot do the hardest version.

अथवा घ्यावे क्षीर मात्र । कधी न घ्यावे अपवित्र । जेणे राहे प्राण मात्र । श्वासोच्छ्वास चाले ऐसे ॥१७॥

athavā ghyāve kṣīra mātra | kadhī na ghyāve apavitra | jeṇe rāhe prāṇa mātra | śvāsocchvāsa cāle aise ||17||

Or she may take only milk; she should never take anything impure — only enough to keep the breath of life going.

Even the mildest allowance insists that nothing impure ever be taken; purity of intake matters more than quantity.

Guard the quality of what you take in — food, words, company — even when you must simplify your life.

शयन करिता मंचकावरी । पुरुष घाली रौरव घोरी । भोगी नरक निरंतरी । पतीसहित परियेसा ॥१८॥

śayana karitā mamcakāvarī | puruṣa ghālī raurava ghorī | bhogī naraka niramtarī | patīsahita pariyesā ||18||

If she sleeps upon a raised bed, she casts her husband into the dreadful Raurava hell; both husband and wife then suffer that hell endlessly, it is said.

Sleeping on a raised bed rather than the ground is condemned in the strongest terms — a hyperbolic warning against comfort-seeking during a period meant for austerity.

During a season set aside for reflection or mourning, resist reaching for comforts that dull the purpose of that season.

करू नये मंगलस्नान । अथवा देहमर्दन । गंध परिमल तांबूल जाण । पुष्पादि तिणे वर्जावे ॥१९॥

karū naye mamgalasnāna | athavā dehamardana | gamdha parimala tāmbūla jāṇa | puṣpādi tiṇe varjāve ||19||

She should not take an auspicious bath, nor anoint her body; she must give up sandal-paste, perfume, betel, flowers and the like.

The widow gives up festive bathing, body-oiling, sandal-paste, perfume, betel and flowers — the small sensory pleasures once tied to married life are set aside as an act of remembrance.

Let go of small luxuries that no longer fit the season of life you are in, rather than clinging to old habits out of comfort.

पुत्रावीण असे नारी । करणे तर्पण पुत्रापरी । तीळ दर्भ कुशधारी । गोत्रनाम उच्चारावे ॥२०॥

putrāvīṇa ase nārī | karaṇe tarpaṇa putrāparī | tīḷa darbha kuśadhārī | gotranāma uccārāve ||20||

If she has no son, she herself should offer the water-libation (tarpaṇa) as a son would, holding sesame and kuśa grass, pronouncing his lineage and name.

If she has no son to perform tarpaṇa (the ritual water-offering to ancestors), the widow herself takes on that role — the text quietly grants her the duty usually reserved for a son.

When the person expected to carry out a duty is missing, step up and do it yourself rather than let it go undone.

विष्णुपूजा करावी नित्य । आपुला पुरुष हा निश्चित । पुरुष आठवोनि चित्त । विष्णुस्थानी मानिजे ॥२१॥

viṣṇupūjā karāvī nitya | āpulā puruṣa hā niścita | puruṣa āṭhavoni citta | viṣṇusthānī mānije ||21||

She should worship Viṣṇu daily, remembering that her husband is verily present there; holding him in mind, she should regard him as one with Viṣṇu.

Daily worship is redirected: she is to see her departed husband as present within Viṣṇu himself, holding his memory in her mind even as she bows before the god.

Keep the memory of someone you have lost alive by weaving it into your daily devotion or reflection, not by shutting it away.

पुरुष असता जेणेपरी । पतिनिरोपे आचार करी । तेणेचि रीती विष्णु अवधारी । त्याचे निरोपे आचरावे ॥२२॥

puruṣa asatā jeṇeparī | patinirope ācāra karī | teṇeci rītī viṣṇu avadhārī | tyāce nirope ācarāve ||22||

Just as she once acted only by her husband's word while he lived, so now she should regard Viṣṇu in that same way, and act only at his behest.

Just as she once obeyed her husband's word in life, she is now to obey Viṣṇu's word in the same spirit — her devotion is transferred, not ended, by death.

When circumstances take away the person you once looked to for guidance, redirect that same trust toward a higher, steadier source.

तीर्थयात्रा उपासव्रत । विष्णुनिरोपे करावे निश्चित । अथवा गुरु द्विज विख्यात । त्यांचे निरोपे आचरावे ॥२३॥

tīrthayātrā upāsavrata | viṣṇunirope karāve niścita | athavā guru dvija vikhyāta | tyāmce nirope ācarāve ||23||

Pilgrimage and fasting-vows should be undertaken only at Viṣṇu's bidding, or at the word of her guru or of renowned brāhmaṇas.

Pilgrimage and vows are to be undertaken only at the prompting of Viṣṇu, her guru, or respected brāhmaṇas — discipline is placed under guidance, not personal whim.

Before committing to a demanding new practice, seek the counsel of someone wiser rather than deciding entirely alone.

आपण असता सुवासिनी । ज्या वस्तूची प्रीति अंतःकरणी । तैशी वस्तु द्यावी धणी । विद्वज्जनविप्रांसी ॥२४॥

āpaṇa asatā suvāsinī | jyā vastūcī prīti amtaḥkaraṇī | taiśī vastu dyāvī dhaṇī | vidvajjanaviprāmsī ||24||

Whatever things she loved in her heart when she was a married woman, those very things she should now give generously to learned brāhmaṇas.

Whatever she once loved and enjoyed as a married woman, she is now to give away to the learned — turning personal attachment into an act of charity.

Give away, rather than merely renounce, the things you loved — let your restraint become someone else's benefit.

वैशाख माघ कार्तिकमास । अनेक स्नानी आचारविशेष । माघस्नान तीर्थास । विष्णुस्मरणे करावे ॥२५॥

vaiśākha māgha kārtikamāsa | aneka snānī ācāraviśeṣa | māghasnāna tīrthāsa | viṣṇusmaraṇe karāve ||25||

In Vaiśākha, Māgha and Kārtika there are many special bathing observances; the Māgha bath at a holy tīrtha should be done while remembering Viṣṇu.

The text lists the great bathing months — Vaiśākha, Māgha, Kārtika — each carrying its own observance, with the Māgha tīrtha-bath done in constant remembrance of Viṣṇu.

Mark the changing seasons of the year with small acts of remembrance rather than letting time pass unnoticed.

वैशाखी जळकुंभदान । कार्तिकी दीपआराधन । ब्राह्मणा द्यावे घृतदान । यथाशक्त्या दक्षिणेसी ॥२६॥

vaiśākhī jaḷakumbhadāna | kārtikī dīpaārādhana | brāhmaṇā dyāve ghṛtadāna | yathāśaktyā dakṣiṇesī ||26||

In Vaiśākha, pots of water should be given in charity; in Kārtika, lamps should be lit; ghee should be given to brāhmaṇas along with a fee as she can afford.

Specific seasonal charities follow: water-pots given in Vaiśākha's heat, lamps lit in Kārtika's dark — worship expressed through practical relief of others' needs.

Match your giving to what people actually need in that season — water in the heat, light in the dark.

माघमासी तिळघृतेसी । द्यावे दान विप्रांसी । अरण्यात वैशाखमासी । पोई घालिजे निर्मळोदके ॥२७॥

māghamāsī tiḷaghṛtesī | dyāve dāna viprāmsī | araṇyāta vaiśākhamāsī | poī ghālije nirmaḷodake ||27||

In Māgha she should give sesame and ghee to brāhmaṇas; in Vaiśākha she should set up water-sheds of pure water in the forest for travellers.

Further seasonal charity: sesame and ghee given in Māgha, and water-sheds set up in the forest in Vaiśākha for thirsty travelers — small mercy built by one grieving woman.

Turn your private grief into something useful for strangers, like providing water for a traveler on a hot road.

शिवालयी ईश्वरावरी । गळती ठेविजे निर्मळ वारी । गंध परिमळ पूजा करी । तेणे पुण्य अगाध ॥२८॥

śivālayī īśvarāvarī | gaḷatī ṭhevije nirmaḷa vārī | gamdha parimaḷa pūjā karī | teṇe puṇya agādha ||28||

She should place a dripping vessel of pure water over the Śiva-liṅga in the temple, and worship with sandal-paste and fragrance — the merit of this is boundless.

She is told to keep a vessel dripping pure water over the Śiva-liṅga and to worship with fragrance — a gentle, continuous offering said to carry boundless merit.

Choose one small, sustained act of devotion and keep it running steadily rather than a single showy gesture.

विप्राचिया घरोघरी । उदक घालिजे शक्त्यानुसारी । अन्न द्यावे निर्धारी । अतिथिकाळी परियेसा ॥२९॥

viprāciyā gharogharī | udaka ghālije śaktyānusārī | anna dyāve nirdhārī | atithikāḷī pariyesā ||29||

She should provide water at every brāhmaṇa's house as she is able, and be sure to give food whenever a guest arrives.

Hospitality becomes a spiritual duty: water and food are to be given at every brāhmaṇa's door and to any guest who arrives, according to her means.

Never turn away a guest empty-handed; offer what you can, even if it is only water.

तीर्थयात्रे जात्या लोका । त्याते द्याव्या छत्रपादुका । येता आपल्या गृहांतिका । पादप्रक्षालन करावे ॥३०॥

tīrthayātre jātyā lokā | tyāte dyāvyā chatrapādukā | yetā āpalyā gṛhāmtikā | pādaprakṣālana karāve ||30||

To pilgrims travelling to holy places she should give umbrellas and sandals; and when they come near her house, she should wash their feet.

Pilgrims are given practical gifts — umbrellas, sandals — and welcomed with the humble act of washing their feet when they pass near her home.

Show hospitality through small physical acts of care, like washing a tired traveler's feet, not just kind words.

वारा घालावा विझणेसी । वस्त्र द्यावे परिधानासी । गंध तांबूल परिमळासी । कर्पूरवेलादि परियेसा ॥३१॥

vārā ghālāvā vijhaṇesī | vastra dyāve paridhānāsī | gamdha tāmbūla parimaḷāsī | karpūravelādi pariyesā ||31||

She should fan them, give them clothing to wear, and offer sandal-paste, betel and fragrant camphor and betel-leaf.

Comfort for guests continues: fanning them, providing clothing, offering fragrance — hospitality attends to the whole body, not only hunger.

When caring for a guest, think beyond food to their full comfort — a fan on a hot day, a clean cloth.

जलपात्र द्यावे शक्तीसी । गुडपान आम्रपानेसी । द्राक्षे कर्दळीफळेसी । ब्राह्मणा द्यावे मनोहर ॥३२॥

jalapātra dyāve śaktīsī | guḍapāna āmrapānesī | drākṣe kardaḷīphaḷesī | brāhmaṇā dyāve manohara ||32||

As she is able she should give water-vessels, jaggery-water and mango-leaf drink, grapes and plantains — lovely gifts to brāhmaṇas.

The list of gifts to brāhmaṇas grows lavish, described as heart-pleasing, showing that charity should be given with beauty and care, not grudgingly.

When you give, give something well-chosen and pleasing, not merely the minimum required.

जे जे दान द्यावे द्विजा । पतीच्या नावे अर्पिजे वोजा । संकल्पून पुरुषकाजा । धर्म करणे येणेपरी ॥३३॥

je je dāna dyāve dvijā | patīcyā nāve arpije vojā | samkalpūna puruṣakājā | dharma karaṇe yeṇeparī ||33||

Whatever gift she offers a brāhmaṇa, she should carefully dedicate it in her husband's name; every act of merit should be resolved for her husband's sake in this manner.

Crucially, every gift is to be dedicated in her husband's name through a formal ritual resolve — turning her acts of charity into merit transferred to him.

Dedicate your good deeds explicitly to someone you love, so your effort becomes a gift to them as well as to others.

कार्तिकमासी जवान्न । अथवा जेविजे एकान्न । वृताक माष मसूर लवण । तैलादि मधु वर्जावे ॥३४॥

kārtikamāsī javānna | athavā jevije ekānna | vṛtāka māṣa masūra lavaṇa | tailādi madhu varjāve ||34||

In Kārtika she should eat barley-food or a single grain only; she must avoid eggplant, black gram, lentils, salt, oil and honey.

During Kārtika she restricts her diet severely, avoiding rich foods associated with comfortable living, set aside during this month of special austerity.

Pick specific indulgences to give up during a period of discipline, rather than vague, unfocused restraint.

वर्जावे कास्यपात्र । आणिक वर्जावे द्विदलमात्र । मनी असावे पवित्र । एकाग्रेसी परियेसा ॥३५॥

varjāve kāsyapātra | āṇika varjāve dvidalamātra | manī asāve pavitra | ekāgresī pariyesā ||35||

She should avoid bronze vessels, and also avoid all pulses; her mind should remain pure and single-pointed.

Further restrictions are paired with the reminder that the mind above all must stay pure and single-pointed; outer rules serve an inner focus.

Treat any external rule you follow as a support for inner focus, not an end in itself.

पलाशपात्री भोजन करावे । शुचि उद्यापन करावे । जे जे व्रत धराते । त्याते उजवावे तत्त्वता ॥३६॥

palāśapātrī bhojana karāve | śuci udyāpana karāve | je je vrata dharāte | tyāte ujavāve tattvatā ||36||

She should eat from a leaf-plate, and complete every vow with a proper closing rite; whatever vow she undertakes she must truly bring to completion.

Eating from a simple leaf-plate and always completing a vow with its udyāpana (closing rite) — the text insists a vow begun must be seen through to its true finish.

Finish what you start; a discipline abandoned halfway loses the good it was meant to build.

घृतभरित कास्यपात्र । विप्रा द्यावे पवित्र । भूमिशयन केले व्रत । मंचक द्यावा विप्रासी ॥३७॥

ghṛtabharita kāsyapātra | viprā dyāve pavitra | bhūmiśayana kele vrata | mamcaka dyāvā viprāsī ||37||

She should give a bronze vessel filled with ghee to a brāhmaṇa; and having herself observed the vow of sleeping on the ground, she should give a proper bed to a brāhmaṇa.

The closing rites grow specific — since she herself slept on the ground as an austerity, a proper bed is given to a brāhmaṇa instead, so her sacrifice becomes his comfort.

Let what you give up become a gift to someone else who needs it, rather than sheer waste.

जे जे वस्तु त्यजिली आपण । ते ते द्यावी ब्राह्मणालागून । रसद्रव्ये एक मास जाण । त्याग करावी परियेसा ॥३८॥

je je vastu tyajilī āpaṇa | te te dyāvī brāhmaṇālāgūna | rasadravye eka māsa jāṇa | tyāga karāvī pariyesā ||38||

Whatever thing she has renounced for herself, that very thing she should give to a brāhmaṇa; she should give up rich foods for one full month.

The principle is made explicit: whatever she has renounced for herself, she must give to a brāhmaṇa; a month of restraint becomes a month of giving.

Turn every personal renunciation into a concrete gift for someone else instead of just an absence.

त्यजूनिया दधि क्षीर । उद्यापन आचार मनोहर । असलिया शक्त्यनुसार । धेनु द्यावी सालंकृत ॥३९॥

tyajūniyā dadhi kṣīra | udyāpana ācāra manohara | asaliyā śaktyanusāra | dhenu dyāvī sālamkṛta ||39||

Having given up curds and milk, she should perform the beautiful closing rite; if she is able, she should give a cow adorned with ornaments.

Having given up curds and milk, the closing rite culminates, as means allow, in the gift of a fully adorned cow — one of the most valued gifts in this tradition.

Bring a period of sustained discipline to a generous, well-marked close rather than letting it simply fade out.

विशेषे असे आणिक व्रत । दीपदान असे ख्यात । वर्णिता महिमा अनंत । देवांसी म्हणे बृहस्पति ॥४०॥

viśeṣe ase āṇika vrata | dīpadāna ase khyāta | varṇitā mahimā anamta | devāmsī mhaṇe bṛhaspati ||40||

There is one vow especially renowned above all others — the gift of lamps (dīpadāna); its glory is boundless to describe, said Bṛhaspati to the gods.

Bṛhaspati singles out one vow above all others as supremely renowned: dīpadāna, the gift of a lamp — its glory, he says, is beyond full description.

Value the simplest offerings — a light kept burning for someone — as highly as grand or costly gestures.

दीपदान भाग सोळा । वरकड नसती धर्म सकळा । या कारणे अनंतफळा । दीपदान करावे ॥४१॥

dīpadāna bhāga soḷā | varakaḍa nasatī dharma sakaḷā | yā kāraṇe anamtaphaḷā | dīpadāna karāve ||41||

The gift of a lamp is worth sixteen parts of merit; no other act of merit equals it — for this reason one should give the gift of lamps, of boundless fruit.

The lamp-gift is ranked as worth sixteen times the merit of all other charitable acts combined, underscoring how a small, humble light is prized above elaborate ritual.

Do not underestimate a small act of care; sometimes the simplest gesture matters more than an elaborate one.

माघस्नान माघमासी । करणे सूर्योदयासी । येणेपरी एक मासी । आचरावे भक्तीने ॥४२॥

māghasnāna māghamāsī | karaṇe sūryodayāsī | yeṇeparī eka māsī | ācarāve bhaktīne ||42||

The Māgha bath should be taken at sunrise throughout the month of Māgha; she should observe this for the whole month with devotion.

The Māgha bath at sunrise, kept up faithfully for the entire month, exemplifies the value the text places on consistency — a small act repeated daily with devotion.

Choose one modest devotional habit and keep it every single day for a set period rather than doing it occasionally.

लाडू तिळ खर्जुरेसी । करूनि पक्वान्ने ब्राह्मणांसी । द्यावी तिणे भक्तीसी । दक्षिणेसहित जाणा ॥४३॥

lāḍū tiḷa kharjuresī | karūni pakvānne brāhmaṇāmsī | dyāvī tiṇe bhaktīsī | dakṣiṇesahita jāṇā ||43||

She should prepare sweets of sesame and dates and other delicacies, and give them to brāhmaṇas with devotion, along with a fee.

Sweets of sesame and dates, offered to brāhmaṇas with devotion and a proper fee, show that celebration and generosity are woven into austerity, not opposed to it.

Share something sweet and freely given with others, even during a season of personal restraint.

शर्करा मिरे एळेसी । तळून अपूप घृतेसी । दान द्यावे यतीसी । भोजन द्यावे अतीता ॥४४॥

śarkarā mire eḷesī | taḷūna apūpa ghṛtesī | dāna dyāve yatīsī | bhojana dyāve atītā ||44||

She should fry sweet cakes with sugar, pepper and cardamom in ghee, and give them in charity to a wandering ascetic, and feed the unexpected guest.

Fried delicacies are given to wandering ascetics, and food offered to the unexpected guest — hospitality is to be ready even for those who arrive without warning.

Keep something ready to offer an unexpected visitor, so generosity does not depend on advance notice.

हेमंतऋतु होता जाण । व्हावया शीतनिवारण । काष्ठे द्यावी विप्राकारणे । वस्त्रे द्यावी द्विजांसी ॥४५॥

hemamtaṛtu hotā jāṇa | vhāvayā śītanivāraṇa | kāṣṭhe dyāvī viprākāraṇe | vastre dyāvī dvijāmsī ||45||

When the cold season comes, to relieve the cold she should give firewood to brāhmaṇas, and give them warm garments.

As winter's cold sets in, she is to give firewood and warm garments to brāhmaṇas — charity keyed precisely to the season's hardship.

Notice what hardship the current season brings to others — cold, heat, scarcity — and give accordingly.

पर्यंक द्यावा सुषुप्तीसी । एखाद्या भल्या ब्राह्मणासी । चित्र रक्त वस्त्रेसी । कंबळ द्यावे विप्रवर्गा ॥४६॥

paryamka dyāvā suṣuptīsī | ekhādyā bhalyā brāhmaṇāsī | citra rakta vastresī | kambaḷa dyāve vipravargā ||46||

She should give a comfortable bed to some worthy brāhmaṇa, and give woolen blankets and coloured cloth to brāhmaṇas generally.

A comfortable bed for a worthy brāhmaṇa and blankets for brāhmaṇas generally — again her own austerity of sleeping on the ground becomes another's comfort.

Let your own simplicity free up resources you can pass on to someone who needs warmth or rest more than you do.

व्हावया शीतनिवारण । औषध द्यावे उष्ण उष्ण । तांबूलदान परिपूर्ण । द्यावे एळाकर्पूरेसी ॥४७॥

vhāvayā śītanivāraṇa | auṣadha dyāve uṣṇa uṣṇa | tāmbūladāna paripūrṇa | dyāve eḷākarpūresī ||47||

To relieve the cold she should give warming medicines, and give a full gift of betel-leaf together with cardamom and camphor.

Warming medicines and a full gift of betel round out the winter charities — care for the body is treated as a legitimate part of devotion.

Care for other people's bodily needs — warmth, health, small comforts — as an expression of your devotion, not a distraction from it.

गृहदान द्यावे विप्रासी । सांवत्सरिक ग्रामेसी । जाता तीर्थयात्रेसी । पादरक्षा देईजे ॥४८॥

gṛhadāna dyāve viprāsī | sāmvatsarika grāmesī | jātā tīrthayātresī | pādarakṣā deīje ||48||

She should give the gift of a house to a brāhmaṇa for his yearly stay in the village, and give sandals to one setting out on pilgrimage.

Larger gifts appear too — a house for a brāhmaṇa's yearly stay, sandals for a pilgrim — charity is not only small daily items but substantial support for others' journeys.

When you can, give someone the larger support that lets them undertake their own journey, not just small comforts.

गंध परिमळ पुष्पेसी । पूजा करावी केशवासी । रुद्राभिषेक विधींसी । अभिषेकावा गौरीहर ॥४९॥

gamdha parimaḷa puṣpesī | pūjā karāvī keśavāsī | rudrābhiṣeka vidhīmsī | abhiṣekāvā gaurīhara ||49||

She should worship Keshava with sandal-paste, fragrance and flowers, and perform the Rudra-abhiṣeka rite, bathing Śiva and Gaurī with due ritual.

Worship turns fully toward the divine: Keshava honored, and Rudrābhiṣeka — the ritual bathing of the Śiva-liṅga — performed together with Gaurī-Hara, showing devotion is not confined to one deity.

Let your devotion be generous enough to honor more than one source of good in your life.

धूप दीप नैवेद्यसी । पूजा करावी षोडशी । प्रीति बहु शंकरासी । दीपमाळा उजळिता ॥५०॥

dhūpa dīpa naivedyasī | pūjā karāvī ṣoḍaśī | prīti bahu śamkarāsī | dīpamāḷā ujaḷitā ||50||

She should worship with incense, lamps and food-offering according to the sixteen rites; Shankara is greatly pleased when rows of lamps are lit for him.

Full sixteen-part worship culminates in rows of lit lamps, said to delight Śaṅkara above all; light offered in devotion is again singled out as especially precious.

When honoring someone or something sacred to you, do it thoroughly and completely rather than half-heartedly.

आणिक सुगंध गंधेसी । तांबूलदान विधींसी । कर्पूरलवंगादि विविधेसी । भक्तिभावे अर्पिजे ॥५१॥

āṇika sugamdha gamdhesī | tāmbūladāna vidhīmsī | karpūralavamgādi vividhesī | bhaktibhāve arpije ||51||

With fragrant sandal-paste and offerings such as camphor and cloves, she should give betel-gifts with due ritual and devoted heart.

Fragrant offerings and betel gifts, given ritually and with devoted heart, close out this long catalogue of the widow's observances, emptied of ego and offered as bhakti.

Let the spirit behind a gift — devotion, not display — matter more to you than its size.

आपला पुरुष ध्यावोनि मनी । नारायण तो म्हणोनि । पूजा करावी एके मनी । भक्तिभावे परियेसा ॥५२॥

āpalā puruṣa dhyāvoni manī | nārāyaṇa to mhaṇoni | pūjā karāvī eke manī | bhaktibhāve pariyesā ||52||

Meditating on her own husband in her mind, considering him as Nārāyaṇa himself, she should worship with single-minded devotion.

The whole discipline is anchored in a single practice: meditating on her husband as Nārāyaṇa himself and worshipping with single-pointed mind — grief transmuted into sustained devotion.

Transform grief for someone you have lost into a steady, focused practice of remembrance rather than letting it scatter into despair.

नेमे असावे तिये नारी । न बैसावे बैलावरी । लेवू नये चोळी करी । श्वेतवस्त्र नेसावे ॥५३॥

neme asāve tiye nārī | na baisāve bailāvarī | levū naye coḷī karī | śvetavastra nesāve ||53||

That woman should keep to her vows: she should not ride upon an ox, should not wear a blouse, and should wear only white garments.

Concrete rules of dress and conduct follow — visible markers by which a widow's restrained life could be recognized in that society.

Where a serious commitment calls for it, let your outward appearance reflect your inward discipline honestly.

रक्त कृष्ण चित्र वस्त्र । लेता जाण दोष बहुत । आणिक असे व्रत । पुत्राचे बोल वर्तावे ॥५४॥

rakta kṛṣṇa citra vastra | letā jāṇa doṣa bahuta | āṇika ase vrata | putrāce bola vartāve ||54||

Wearing red, black, or patterned cloth incurs great fault; another observance is this — she should live by her son's word.

Colorful cloth is said to bring fault, and — in a striking shift of authority — she is now told to live by her son's word, transferring guidance from husband to child.

When one source of guidance in your life is gone, be willing to accept guidance from wherever it rightly comes next, even from someone younger.

’आत्मा वै पुत्र नाम’ । म्हणून बोलती वेदागम । पतीपासून पुत्रजन्म । पुत्रआज्ञेत असावे ॥५५॥

’ātmā vai putra nāma’ | mhaṇūna bolatī vedāgama | patīpāsūna putrajanma | putraājñeta asāve ||55||

"The son is verily one's own self" — thus say the Vedas; since the son is born of the husband, she should remain under her son's guidance.

Citing the Vedic teaching that the son is one's own self, the text explains why: since the son is born of the husband, obeying him is still honoring the husband.

Recognize continuity between generations — honoring a child can also be a way of honoring the parent who is gone.

ऐसा आचार विधवेसी । असे शास्त्रपुराणेसी । जरी आचरती भक्तीसी । सहगमनाचे फळ असे ॥५६॥

aisā ācāra vidhavesī | ase śāstrapurāṇesī | jarī ācaratī bhaktīsī | sahagamanāce phaḷa ase ||56||

Such is the conduct laid down for a widow in the scriptures and purāṇas; if she observes it with devotion, its fruit equals that of sahagamana.

The whole catalogue of widow's discipline is summed up: practiced with devotion, it yields the exact same fruit as sahagamana — the quieter path is fully equal to the dramatic one.

Trust that a long, quiet discipline can be just as valuable as one grand, dramatic act.

पापी जरी पति असला । असेल पूर्वी निवर्तला । नरकामध्ये वास्ल केला । पापरूपे भुंजत ॥५७॥

pāpī jarī pati asalā | asela pūrvī nivartalā | narakāmadhye vāsla kelā | pāparūpe bhumjata ||57||

Even if the husband was a sinner and had already died before, dwelling in hell suffering for his sins —

An extreme case is raised — even if the departed husband was himself a sinner suffering in hell for his own deeds —

Do not assume someone is beyond help simply because of past wrongs; redemption can still reach them.

विधवापणे येणेपरी । आचरण करी जे नारी । मरण होता अवसरी । घेवोनि पति स्वर्गी जाय ॥५८॥

vidhavāpaṇe yeṇeparī | ācaraṇa karī je nārī | maraṇa hotā avasarī | ghevoni pati svargī jāya ||58||

— if his wife lives in this manner of widowhood, then when her own death comes, she takes her husband along and goes to heaven with him.

His wife's faithful conduct as a widow is enough, when her own time comes, to lift him out of hell and carry him with her to heaven — devoted living is shown to have power to redeem.

Believe that steady, loving conduct on your part can still help redeem or lighten the burden of someone you love, even after they are gone.

जितुक्या परी बृहस्पति । सांगे समस्त देवांप्रती । लोपामुद्रेची केली स्तुति । पतिव्रताशिरोमणि ॥५९॥

jitukyā parī bṛhaspati | sāmge samasta devāmpratī | lopāmudrecī kelī stuti | pativratāśiromaṇi ||59||

In this way Bṛhaspati told all the gods, and praised Lopāmudrā as the very crown-jewel among devoted wives.

Bṛhaspati closes his teaching by praising Lopāmudrā — a sage's wife renowned in the tradition — as the crown-jewel among devoted wives, offering her as the highest exemplar.

Keep a real model of devotion or integrity in mind, someone whose example you can measure your own conduct against.

जितुक्या पतिव्रता नारी । समस्त भागीरथी सरी । त्यांचे पुरुष शंकरापरी । पूजा करावी दोघांची ॥६०॥

jitukyā pativratā nārī | samasta bhāgīrathī sarī | tyāmce puruṣa śamkarāparī | pūjā karāvī doghāmcī ||60||

All faithful wives are equal to the Ganges itself, and their husbands equal to Śaṅkara — both should be worshipped equally.

In a striking final elevation, all pativratās are compared to the sacred river Gaṅgā, and their husbands to Śaṅkara himself — faithful married life is raised to the level of the divine.

See the sacredness that can be present in ordinary, faithful commitment to another person, not only in extraordinary deeds.

ऐसे बृहस्पतीचे वचन । सांगितले मनी विस्तारोन । ऐक बाळे तव मन । ज्यावरी प्रीति तेचि करी ॥६१॥

aise bṛhaspatīce vacana | sāmgitale manī vistārona | aika bāḷe tava mana | jyāvarī prīti teci karī ||61||

Having thus related Bṛhaspati's words in full detail, he said: "Listen, child — whatever your heart desires, that alone should you do."

Having recounted the whole of Bṛhaspati's teaching, the guru now turns directly to the grieving young widow and, with real tenderness, leaves the choice to her own heart.

When advising someone in grief, lay out the full truth for them, then respect their own heart's choice rather than deciding for them.

दुःख सकळ त्यजोनि । मम बोल ठेवी मनी । सांगितले तुजलागोनि । परलोकसाधन ॥६२॥

duḥkha sakaḷa tyajoni | mama bola ṭhevī manī | sāmgitale tujalāgoni | paralokasādhana ||62||

"Set aside all your grief and keep my words in your heart; I have told you the means for attaining the world beyond."

He tells her to set down her sorrow and hold onto his teaching as the means to secure her place in the world beyond — instruction offered to give her grief direction.

When grief threatens to overwhelm you, hold onto a larger purpose that gives your sorrow direction.

धैर्य जरी असेल तुजसी । सहगमन करी पतीसरसी । विधवापणे आचार करिसी । तेही पुण्य तितुकेची ॥६३॥

dhairya jarī asela tujasī | sahagamana karī patīsarasī | vidhavāpaṇe ācāra karisī | tehī puṇya titukecī ||63||

"If you have the courage, perform sahagamana together with your husband; but if you observe a widow's conduct, that too carries the very same merit."

He restates plainly that both paths — sahagamana or a lifetime of disciplined widowhood — carry exactly equal merit, removing any pressure toward the more dramatic choice.

Do not let social pressure push you toward the more dramatic option when a quieter, equally worthy path is open to you.

जे आवड तुझे मनी । सांग माये विस्तारोनि । हस्त मस्तकी ठेवूनि । पुसतसे प्रेमभावे ॥६४॥

je āvaḍa tujhe manī | sāmga māye vistāroni | hasta mastakī ṭhevūni | pusatase premabhāve ||64||

"Tell me at length, daughter, whatever your heart's wish is," placing his hand upon her head, he asked her with loving affection.

In a tender gesture, he places his hand on her head and asks her, with love, to speak her heart's true wish — guidance takes the form of intimate, personal care.

Offer real physical and emotional presence — a comforting touch, patient listening — when someone needs to speak from the heart.

ऐकोनि तया अवसरी । केले नमन तिये नारी । विनवीतसे करुणोत्तरी । भक्तिभावे करूनिया ॥६५॥

aikoni tayā avasarī | kele namana tiye nārī | vinavītase karuṇottarī | bhaktibhāve karūniyā ||65||

Hearing this, the woman at once bowed low, and with devotion pleaded her answer in a piteous voice.

She responds with a full bow and a devoted plea — her answer, when it comes, will be entirely her own, born of deep feeling rather than obligation.

Approach a decision that matters with your whole heart, not with detached calculation.

जय जयाजी योगीश्वरा । तूचि पिता सहोदरा । माझा प्राण मनोहरा । जनक जननी तूचि होसी ॥६६॥

jaya jayājī yogīśvarā | tūci pitā sahodarā | mājhā prāṇa manoharā | janaka jananī tūci hosī ||66||

"Victory to you, lord of yogis! You alone are my father and my brother; you, beloved of my heart, are my father and mother too."

She addresses the guru as her true father, brother, and both parents at once, showing how, in her isolation, the teacher has become her entire family.

Recognize that in times of crisis, the person who truly helps you may become as close as family, whatever their formal role.

आल्ये आपण परदेशात । जवळी नाही बंधुभ्रात । भेटलेती तुम्ही परमार्थ । अंतकाळी सोयरा ॥६७॥

ālye āpaṇa paradeśāta | javaḷī nāhī bamdhubhrāta | bheṭaletī tumhī paramārtha | amtakāḷī soyarā ||67||

"I have come to a foreign land, with no brother or kinsman near me; you alone, the highest reality, have met me — my true kin at this hour of death."

She explains her utter isolation — a stranger in a foreign land — and calls the guru her only true relative at this hour of death, showing spiritual connection filling the gap left by absent family.

When you find yourself far from family in a hard moment, let a trustworthy teacher or mentor become your support.

सांगितले तुम्ही आचार दोनी । कष्ट बहु विधवापणी । अशक्य आम्हा न-टाके स्वामी । असाधारण असे दातारा ॥६८॥

sāmgitale tumhī ācāra donī | kaṣṭa bahu vidhavāpaṇī | aśakya āmhā na-ṭāke svāmī | asādhāraṇa ase dātārā ||68||

"You have told me of two paths; but the sorrows of widowhood are very great — that is impossible for me, my lord; you are indeed an extraordinary giver."

She names the two paths he offered but says the hardships of prolonged widowhood feel impossible for her to bear, even calling his generosity in offering the choice extraordinary.

Be honest about which of two hard paths truly feels beyond your own strength, rather than pretending otherwise.

तारुण्यपण मजसी । लावण्य असे देहासी । निंदापवाद शरीरासी । घडेल केवी वर्तमान ॥६९॥

tāruṇyapaṇa majasī | lāvaṇya ase dehāsī | nimdāpavāda śarīrāsī | ghaḍela kevī vartamāna ||69||

"I am still young, and my body has its beauty; how would it fare in the world, faced with slander and blame against my body?"

She gives her frank reason: still young and beautiful, she fears the slander her body might attract if she lives on as a young widow — a very human fear voiced without shame.

Name your real fears honestly to someone you trust, rather than hiding them behind noble-sounding words.

संतोष होतो माझे मनी । पुण्य अपार सहगमनी । पतीसवे संतोषोनि । जाईन स्वामी निर्धारे ॥७०॥

samtoṣa hoto mājhe manī | puṇya apāra sahagamanī | patīsave samtoṣoni | jāīna svāmī nirdhāre ||70||

"My heart is filled with joy at the boundless merit of sahagamana; gladly, together with my husband, I resolve to go, my lord."

She declares her decision with joy rather than dread: she will go with her husband, viewing it not as loss but as boundless merit and even gladness.

When you make a costly commitment out of love, let it come from genuine resolve and even joy, not resignation.

म्हणूनि मागुती नमस्कारी । माथा ठेवी चरणांवरी । स्वामी माते तारी तारी । भवसागरी बुडतसे ॥७१॥

mhaṇūni māgutī namaskārī | māthā ṭhevī caraṇāmvarī | svāmī māte tārī tārī | bhavasāgarī buḍatase ||71||

So saying, she bowed once more, placing her head upon his feet: "Lord, save me, save me — I am drowning in the ocean of worldly existence!"

She bows once more and cries out for the guru to save her from the bhavasāgara (ocean of worldly existence) — even her firm decision is still made in dependence on grace.

Even after making a hard decision, keep asking for help and guidance rather than assuming you must carry it alone.

करुणाकृपेचा सागर । उठवीतसे योगेश्वर । देता झाला अभयकर । म्हणे पतीसवे जावे ॥७२॥

karuṇākṛpecā sāgara | uṭhavītase yogeśvara | detā jhālā abhayakara | mhaṇe patīsave jāve ||72||

The lord of yogis, an ocean of compassion and grace, raised her up, gave her the gesture of fearlessness, and said: "Go, then, together with your husband."

The guru, an ocean of compassion himself, lifts her up and grants her the abhaya gesture — the blessing of fearlessness — before permitting her to go with her husband.

Before letting someone take on a hard commitment, first lift them up and reassure them, so they go forward without fear.

तोचि ठाव पुरुषासी । जाय माते सांगतेसी । सांगेन तुज विशेषी । ऐक माते एकचित्ते ॥७३॥

toci ṭhāva puruṣāsī | jāya māte sāmgatesī | sāmgena tuja viśeṣī | aika māte ekacitte ||73||

"Go to the very place where your husband lies," he told her, "I shall tell you something particular — listen, mother, with one-pointed mind."

The guru pauses her at the threshold to give further, more specific instruction — real guidance does not stop at granting permission but continues into practical detail.

When guiding someone through something difficult, follow up your blessing with concrete, practical instructions, not just good wishes.

आलात तुम्ही दर्शनी । श्रीगुरुभेटीलागोनि । आरोग्य होईल म्हणोनि । भक्तिभावेकरूनिया ॥७४॥

ālāta tumhī darśanī | śrīgurubheṭīlāgoni | ārogya hoīla mhaṇoni | bhaktibhāvekarūniyā ||74||

"You came here for darśana, to meet Śrī Guru, hoping with devoted heart that he would be restored to health."

The guru reveals the deeper irony of her situation: she had come seeking his darśana hoping it would restore her husband's health — the visit meant to heal instead met with death.

Accept that even the most devoted effort to help someone can be met with an outcome you did not want, without that effort having been in vain.

होणार झाली ब्रह्मकरणी । काळासी जिंकिले नाही कोणी । जैशी ईश्वरनिर्वाणी । तैसेपरी होतसे ॥७५॥

hoṇāra jhālī brahmakaraṇī | kāḷāsī jimkile nāhī koṇī | jaiśī īśvaranirvāṇī | taiseparī hotase ||75||

"But what was destined by Brahmā's decree has come to pass; no one has ever conquered time; whatever is Īśvara's final decree, so it comes about."

He tells her plainly that what has happened was decreed by fate and that no one has ever conquered time — grief is met with clear-eyed teaching about mortality, not false comfort.

When someone you love dies, let honest acceptance of mortality, rather than denial, be part of how you comfort yourself.

ब्रह्मलिखित न चुके जाण । जे जे भोगणे असेल आपण । घडे तैसे श्रुतिवचन । दुःख कोणी करू नये ॥७६॥

brahmalikhita na cuke jāṇa | je je bhogaṇe asela āpaṇa | ghaḍe taise śrutivacana | duḥkha koṇī karū naye ||76||

"Know that what is written by Brahmā never fails; whatever one is destined to suffer comes to pass exactly so, as the scriptures declare — let no one grieve over it."

He affirms that what is written by fate never fails, urging her, and every listener, not to grieve over what could not have been otherwise.

Once you have done everything possible, release blame and grief over an outcome that was truly beyond your control.

हरिश्चंद्र राजा देख । डोंबाघरी वाहे उदका । बळी अजिंक्य ऐका । तोही गेला पाताळा ॥७७॥

hariścamdra rājā dekha | ḍombāgharī vāhe udakā | baḷī ajimkya aikā | tohī gelā pātāḷā ||77||

"Behold King Harishchandra — he carried water in an outcaste's house; and hear of the invincible Bali — even he was sent down to the netherworld."

He cites King Harishchandra, famous for keeping his word to the point of servitude, and the mighty Bali, banished despite his invincibility — even the greatest fall subject to fate.

Remember that even admirable, powerful people face reversals; let that humble rather than despair you.

सहस्त्रकोटि वर्षे ज्यासी । आयुष्य असे रावणासी । काळ तयाप्रति ग्रासी । दुर्योदह्ना काय झाले ॥७८॥

sahastrakoṭi varṣe jyāsī | āyuṣya ase rāvaṇāsī | kāḷa tayāprati grāsī | duryodahnā kāya jhāle ||78||

"Ravana, who had a lifespan of a thousand crore years, was still devoured by time; and what became of Duryodhana?"

Ravana's fabulously long lifespan and Duryodhana's downfall are cited together — vast power or long life offers no exemption from time's grasp.

Do not measure your security by strength or advantage alone; everyone eventually faces the same limits.

भीष्मदेव इच्छारमनी । तेही पडले रणांगणी । परीक्षिती सर्पाभेणी । लपता काय झाले तया ॥७९॥

bhīṣmadeva icchāramanī | tehī paḍale raṇāmgaṇī | parīkṣitī sarpābheṇī | lapatā kāya jhāle tayā ||79||

"Bhishma, who could choose his own death, still fell upon the battlefield; and Parikshit, though he hid himself for fear of the serpent, what became of him?"

Bhishma, who had the rare boon of choosing his moment of death, still fell in battle; Parikshit, though he hid to escape a prophesied death, could not evade it either.

Take sensible precautions in life, but hold them humbly, knowing they cannot guarantee control over everything.

अनंत अवतार येणेपरी । होऊनि गेले संसारी । देव दानव येणेपरी । सकळ काळाआधीन ॥८०॥

anamta avatāra yeṇeparī | hoūni gele samsārī | deva dānava yeṇeparī | sakaḷa kāḷāādhīna ||80||

"Countless divine incarnations have thus come and passed away in this world; gods and demons alike — all are subject to time."

The guru widens the lesson to cosmic scale: even divine incarnations have come and gone, gods and demons alike bound by time — mortality is universal, not a personal misfortune.

When facing loss, remember that even the greatest beings in the tradition you honor were not exempt from it either.

या कारणे काळासी । कोणी जिंकिले नाही क्षितीसी । सकळ देवदानवांसी । काळ जिंकी निर्धारे ॥८१॥

yā kāraṇe kāḷāsī | koṇī jimkile nāhī kṣitīsī | sakaḷa devadānavāmsī | kāḷa jimkī nirdhāre ||81||

"For this reason, no one on this earth has ever conquered time; time surely conquers all gods and demons alike."

He restates the conclusion for emphasis: no one on earth has ever conquered time — driving home the teaching before he offers its one exception.

Accept the plain limits of mortal life honestly, without pretending you or those you love are exceptions.

काळा जिंकिता नाही कोणी । एका श्रीगुरुवाचोनि । भाव असे ज्याचे मनी । त्यासी प्रत्यक्ष असे जाणा ॥८२॥

kāḷā jimkitā nāhī koṇī | ekā śrīguruvāconi | bhāva ase jyāce manī | tyāsī pratyakṣa ase jāṇā ||82||

"No one can conquer time — except through Śrī Guru alone; know that to one who holds true faith in his heart, he is present in visible, tangible form."

He then offers the one exception: time cannot be conquered except through Śrī Guru; to one with true faith, the Guru becomes tangibly present, hinting at the miracle soon to come.

Hold onto faith in something greater than fate itself, even while accepting fate's ordinary power over life.

आता तुम्ही ऐसे करणे । जावे त्वरित सहगमने । अंतकाळ होता क्षणे । श्रीगुरुदर्शना जाय म्हणे ॥८३॥

ātā tumhī aise karaṇe | jāve tvarita sahagamane | amtakāḷa hotā kṣaṇe | śrīgurudarśanā jāya mhaṇe ||83||

"Now, do as follows: go quickly to perform sahagamana; the moment your final hour comes, go straight to the vision of Śrī Guru," he said.

He gives her direct instruction: go quickly and perform sahagamana, and at her own moment of death go straight to the vision of Śrī Guru — practical guidance fused with spiritual promise.

When guiding someone through a hard, time-sensitive task, give them a clear, concrete next step, not vague reassurance.

म्हणोनि भस्म तये वेळी । लाविता झाला कपाळी । रुद्राक्ष चारी तत्काळी । देता जहाला तये वेळी ॥८४॥

mhaṇoni bhasma taye veḷī | lāvitā jhālā kapāḷī | rudrākṣa cārī tatkāḷī | detā jahālā taye veḷī ||84||

So saying, he then applied sacred ash to her forehead, and at once gave her four rudrākṣa beads.

He marks her with sacred ash on the forehead and gives her four rudrākṣa beads — small physical tokens meant to carry protection and blessing into the ritual ahead.

Send someone facing a hard undertaking off with a tangible token of your blessing, not just words.

योगी बोले तियेसी । रुद्राक्ष बांधी कंठासी । दोनी प्रेतकर्णासी । बांधोनि दहन करावे ॥८५॥

yogī bole tiyesī | rudrākṣa bāmdhī kamṭhāsī | donī pretakarṇāsī | bāmdhoni dahana karāve ||85||

The yogi told her: "Tie a rudrākṣa about your throat, and tie the other two upon the corpse's ears; then perform the cremation."

He instructs her precisely on tying the beads before the cremation — ritual detail conveys how seriously even small physical acts of devotion are treated.

Attend to small, careful details when carrying out an act of devotion for someone you love; the details are not incidental.

आणिक एक सांगेन तुज । गुरुदर्शना जाई सहज । रुद्रसूक्त म्हणती द्विज । गुरुचरण प्रक्षाळिता ॥८६॥

āṇika eka sāmgena tuja | gurudarśanā jāī sahaja | rudrasūkta mhaṇatī dvija | gurucaraṇa prakṣāḷitā ||86||

"One more thing I shall tell you: go easily to the guru's darśana; let the brāhmaṇas recite the Rudra-sūkta while they wash the guru's feet."

He adds a further instruction to go to the guru's darśana where brāhmaṇas recite the Rudra-sūkta while washing his feet — the water from that washing becomes central to the coming ritual.

Seek out a blessing or sacred practice before undertaking something difficult, rather than proceeding alone and unprepared.

तेचि तीर्थ घेवोनि । आपुला देह प्रोक्षोनि । प्रेतावरी आणोनि । प्रोक्षण करावे भक्तीने ॥८७॥

teci tīrtha ghevoni | āpulā deha prokṣoni | pretāvarī āṇoni | prokṣaṇa karāve bhaktīne ||87||

"Take that very water as sacred tīrtha, sprinkle it on your own body, then bring it and sprinkle it devotedly upon the corpse."

The foot-washing water is treated as tīrtha — she is to sprinkle it first on herself, then on the corpse — connecting the guru's grace directly to both the living and the dead.

Let a blessing you receive flow outward to someone else you love, not stop with yourself alone.

मग जावे सहगमनेसी । वाणे द्यावी सुवासिनींसी । अनेक द्रव्ये वेचूनि हर्षी । विप्रा तोषवावे बहुत ॥८८॥

maga jāve sahagamanesī | vāṇe dyāvī suvāsinīmsī | aneka dravye vecūni harṣī | viprā toṣavāve bahuta ||88||

"Then go to perform sahagamana; give gifts to married women, spend generously on many articles with joy, and please the brāhmaṇas greatly."

Final instructions before the rite: give gifts to married women, spend generously, and please the brāhmaṇas well — even in her final hours, generosity remains part of her devotion.

Even in your hardest hour, find a way to be generous to those around you rather than turning entirely inward.

ऐशा परी तियेसी । सांगोनि गेला तापसी । पतिव्रता भावेसी । करी आयती त्या वेळी ॥८९॥

aiśā parī tiyesī | sāmgoni gelā tāpasī | pativratā bhāvesī | karī āyatī tyā veḷī ||89||

Having thus instructed her, the ascetic departed; and the devoted wife, in that same spirit, began her preparations at once.

The ascetic departs, and the devoted wife, in that same spirit, immediately begins her own preparations — her resolve carried through into concrete action without delay.

Once you have received clear guidance and made your decision, act on it promptly rather than letting resolve fade.

भले ब्राह्मण बोलावूनि । षोडश कर्मे आचरोनि । प्रेतासी प्रायश्चित्त देवोनि । औपासन करविताती ॥९०॥

bhale brāhmaṇa bolāvūni | ṣoḍaśa karme ācaroni | pretāsī prāyaścitta devoni | aupāsana karavitātī ||90||

Calling worthy brāhmaṇas, they performed the sixteen funerary rites, gave the corpse its expiatory rites, and had the fire-offering performed.

Learned brāhmaṇas are called to perform the funerary rites and expiatory offerings for the deceased — the community's ritual expertise supports her through the process.

Draw on the knowledge and support of experienced people around you when facing an unfamiliar, difficult task.

सुस्नात होवोनि आपण । पीतांबर नेसोन । सर्वाभरणे लेवोन । हळदी कुंकू लावितसे ॥९१॥

susnāta hovoni āpaṇa | pītāmbara nesona | sarvābharaṇe levona | haḷadī kumkū lāvitase ||91||

Having bathed thoroughly herself, she put on a yellow silk garment, wore all her ornaments, and applied turmeric and vermilion.

She dresses in yellow silk, wears all her ornaments, and applies turmeric and vermilion — adorning herself as an auspicious, married woman for what she sees as a joyful union.

Approach a solemn commitment with dignity and care in how you present yourself, not with carelessness.

औपासन प्रेतासी । करविताती विधींसी । प्रेत बांधोनि काष्ठेसी । घेवोनि गेले गंगेत ॥९२॥

aupāsana pretāsī | karavitātī vidhīmsī | preta bāmdhoni kāṣṭhesī | ghevoni gele gamgeta ||92||

They performed the fire-rite for the corpse according to proper ritual; then, binding the corpse upon the wooden bier, they carried it to the Ganges.

The fire-rite for the corpse is completed and the body carried to the Ganges bank — the narrative moves steadily and matter-of-factly toward the pyre.

See a difficult process through to completion with steady, practical steps rather than pausing indefinitely.

अग्नि घेऊनि तळहातेसी । निघाली पतिव्रता कैसी । आनंद बहु मानसी । प्रेतापुढे जातसे ॥९३॥

agni gheūni taḷahātesī | nighālī pativratā kaisī | ānamda bahu mānasī | pretāpuḍhe jātase ||93||

Taking fire in the palm of her hand, the devoted wife set forth; with great joy in her heart she walked ahead of the corpse.

She herself carries fire in her palm and walks ahead of the corpse with visible joy — an image meant to show her state of mind as devotion rather than terror.

Face a hard duty you have chosen to accept with as much composure and even willingness as you can bring to it.

सोळा वरुषांचे तारुण्यपण । सुंदर रुप लावण्य । ल्याइलीसे आभरणे । लक्ष्मीसरसी दिसतसे ॥९४॥

soḷā varuṣāmce tāruṇyapaṇa | sumdara rupa lāvaṇya | lyāilīse ābharaṇe | lakṣmīsarasī disatase ||94||

Sixteen years old, in the full bloom of youth, of beautiful form and grace, adorned with ornaments — she appeared like the goddess Lakshmi herself.

The poet lingers on her youth and beauty, likened to the goddess Lakshmi, heightening for the listener the poignancy of what is about to unfold.

Let yourself feel the full weight of a poignant moment rather than rushing past it unmoved.

मिळोनिया नगरनारी । पाहो आल्या सहस्त्र चारी । माथा तुकविती सकळी । पतिव्रता म्हणोनिया ॥९५॥

miḷoniyā nagaranārī | pāho ālyā sahastra cārī | māthā tukavitī sakaḷī | pativratā mhaṇoniyā ||95||

The women of the town gathered, four thousand of them coming to see her; all of them bowed their heads, saying, "What a devoted wife!"

Thousands of the town's women gather to watch, all bowing their heads in reverence — the community publicly honors her devotion even as it witnesses her sacrifice.

Show public respect for people whose devotion or sacrifice you witness, rather than watching in silence.

एक म्हणती काय नवल । पूर्ववयेसी असे बाळ । काय दैव पूर्वफळ । पतीसवे जातसे ॥९६॥

eka mhaṇatī kāya navala | pūrvavayesī ase bāḷa | kāya daiva pūrvaphaḷa | patīsave jātase ||96||

Some said, "What a wonder — she is still but a child in years; what fate, what fruit of past deeds, that she goes with her husband!"

Onlookers marvel at her youth, wondering aloud what fate could account for a mere girl choosing to go with her husband — the crowd's astonishment voices the poem's own wonder.

Let yourself be genuinely moved by extraordinary devotion or courage when you witness it in someone else.

देखिले नाही पतीचे मुख । नाही जहाले की बाळक । कैसा जीव झाला एक । आनंदरूपे जातसे ॥९७॥

dekhile nāhī patīce mukha | nāhī jahāle kī bāḷaka | kaisā jīva jhālā eka | ānamdarūpe jātase ||97||

"She has not even truly seen her husband's face, nor has she borne a child — yet how has her soul become one with his, that she goes in the very form of joy!"

Others note she barely knew her husband and had no child with him, yet her spirit has become one with his — devotion here transcends the ordinary bonds of intimacy or duration.

Recognize that deep loyalty or love does not always require years of history to be genuine.

म्हणती शिकवा इसी । वाया का हो जीव देसी । परतूनि जाई माहेरासी । आपुल्या मातापित्याजवळी ॥९८॥

mhaṇatī śikavā isī | vāyā kā ho jīva desī | paratūni jāī māherāsī | āpulyā mātāpityājavaḷī ||98||

Others said, "Someone counsel her — why uselessly give up your life? Turn back and go to your parents' home, to your own mother and father."

Some in the crowd try to dissuade her, urging her to return instead to her own parents — the text honestly includes dissenting voices, showing the choice was not without opposition.

Expect that even a well-considered, devoted choice may draw people who try to talk you out of it — stay grounded in your own resolve.

एक म्हणती ज्ञानवंता । सत्य नारी पतिव्रता । बुद्धि दे गा जगन्नाथा । सकळ स्त्रिया ऐसीच ॥९९॥

eka mhaṇatī jñānavamtā | satya nārī pativratā | buddhi de gā jagannāthā | sakaḷa striyā aisīca ||99||

Some say, 'O wise one (Jagannātha), truly this is a devoted wife (pativratā) — grant such understanding, that all women may be like her.'

The onlooking women turn her devotion into a prayer for themselves — witnessing true faith moves bystanders to want it too, not just admire it from a distance.

Let someone else's visible integrity become your own prayer for the same strength, not just a compliment you pay them.

धन्य इची मातापिता । बेचाळीस उद्धरले आता । प्रेतापुढे चालता । एकैक पाउला अश्वमेधफळ ॥१००॥

dhanya icī mātāpitā | becāḷīsa uddharale ātā | pretāpuḍhe cālatā | ekaika pāulā aśvamedhaphaḷa ||100||

'Blessed are her parents; she has redeemed forty-two generations of them. With every step she takes ahead of the corpse, she earns merit equal to an aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice).'

The verse measures her devotion in the era's own currency of merit — each step of steadfast love is reckoned worth an entire royal sacrifice, showing how ordinary fidelity outweighs grand ritual.

Treat each faithful, unglamorous step you take for someone you love as valuable in itself, not less than a grand gesture.

येणेपरी नदीतीरासी । गेली नारी पतीसरसी । कुंड केले अग्नीसी । काष्ठे शेणी अपरिमित ॥१॥

yeṇeparī nadītīrāsī | gelī nārī patīsarasī | kumḍa kele agnīsī | kāṣṭhe śeṇī aparimita ||1||

In this way the woman came with her husband's body to the riverbank; a fire-pit was built there, heaped high with wood and dried dung-cakes without measure.

The narrative turns practical — the funeral pyre is prepared in full, the ordinary machinery of death moving forward even as extraordinary grace is about to intervene.

Do what duty requires fully and without shortcuts, even while holding out hope for something better.

अग्निकुंडसन्निधेसी । ठेविले तया प्रेतासी । बोलावोनि सुवासिनींसी । देई झाली वाण देखा ॥२॥

agnikumḍasannidhesī | ṭhevile tayā pretāsī | bolāvoni suvāsinīmsī | deī jhālī vāṇa dekhā ||2||

The corpse was set down beside the fire-pit; she called for the sumangalī women (those whose husbands were living) and gave them ceremonial gifts.

Before her end she turns outward in generosity, giving dāna (ritual gift-giving) to other married women — grief does not stop her from blessing others.

Even in your hardest hour, find one act of generosity toward someone else before attending only to your own sorrow.

सुपे चोळी कुंकुमेसी । हळदी काजळ परियेसी । तोडर कंठसूत्रेसी । सुवासिनींसी देतसे ॥३॥

supe coḷī kumkumesī | haḷadī kājaḷa pariyesī | toḍara kamṭhasūtresī | suvāsinīmsī detase ||3||

Winnowing fans, blouse-pieces, and vermillion, turmeric and kohl, anklets and the auspicious neck-thread — these she gave to the sumangalī women.

The list of ordinary household gifts shows her generosity was concrete and domestic, not abstract — she gives away the very tokens of married life she is about to leave behind.

Give away what is genuinely useful to others rather than merely symbolic gestures.

गंधपुष्पादि परिमळेसी । पूजा केली सुवासिनींसी । द्रव्य दिधले अपारेसी । समस्त ब्राह्मणा तये वेळी ॥४॥

gamdhapuṣpādi parimaḷesī | pūjā kelī suvāsinīmsī | dravya didhale apāresī | samasta brāhmaṇā taye veḷī ||4||

With sandal-paste, flowers, and fragrance she honored the sumangalī women, and gave abundant wealth to all the brahmins gathered there.

Her final acts combine honoring women and supporting scholars/priests (brāhmaṇa) alike — a complete round of generosity before death.

When settling your affairs, remember to honor both the people close to you and those who serve the community's spiritual life.

नमन करोनि समस्तांसी । निरोप मागतसे हर्षी आपण जाते माहेरासी । लोभ असो द्यावा म्हणतसे ॥५॥

namana karoni samastāmsī | niropa māgatase harṣī āpaṇa jāte māherāsī | lobha aso dyāvā mhaṇatase ||5||

Bowing to everyone, she joyfully asked leave, saying, 'I am going now to my father's house; keep your affection for me.'

She speaks of death as simply 'going home to father' — a gentle euphemism that frames dying not as loss but as a joyful return, softening the grief of those watching.

When facing an ending, choose words that comfort those you leave behind rather than words that deepen their fear.

माझा पिता शूलपाणी । उमा गौरी अंतःकरणी । आम्हा बोलाविले सगुणी । प्रेमभावे करूनिया ॥६॥

mājhā pitā śūlapāṇī | umā gaurī amtaḥkaraṇī | āmhā bolāvile saguṇī | premabhāve karūniyā ||6||

'My father is Śūlapāṇi (Śiva, the trident-bearer); Umā-Gaurī dwells in my heart. They, full of grace, have called me with love.'

She reframes her death as a summons from the divine parents Śiva and Pārvatī — bhakti (devotion) recasts mortality as a family reunion.

Reframe your fears using the language of trust in what you hold sacred, rather than the language of dread.

आली श्रावणी दिपवाळी । आम्ही जातो मातेजवळी । पतीसहित मने निर्मळी । जाते लोभ असो द्यावा ॥७॥

ālī śrāvaṇī dipavāḷī | āmhī jāto mātejavaḷī | patīsahita mane nirmaḷī | jāte lobha aso dyāvā ||7||

'The season of Śrāvaṇa and Divāḷī has come; I am going to my mother, together with my husband, with a clean heart — I go; keep your affection for me.'

She likens her death-journey to going home for the festival season, a time families reunite — even her dying words carry the ordinary warmth of seasonal homecoming.

Let the rhythms of your own faith and festivals give you comfort rather than only marking calendar time.

समागमे लोक आपुले । होते जे का सवे आले । त्यांसी सांगतसे बाळे । परतोनि जावे ग्रामासी ॥८॥

samāgame loka āpule | hote je kā save āle | tyāmsī sāmgatase bāḷe | paratoni jāve grāmāsī ||8||

To her own household people who had come along with her, the young woman said, 'Now return to the village.'

Practical to the last, she sends her own attendants home — she does not want company for what is to come, freeing them from the burden of watching.

Spare others unnecessary hardship even when they would willingly bear it for your sake.

पुसता श्वशुरमामेसी । त्याते न सांगावे परियेसी । प्राण देतील आम्हांसी । हत्या तुम्हा घडेल ॥९॥

pusatā śvaśuramāmesī | tyāte na sāmgāve pariyesī | prāṇa detīla āmhāmsī | hatyā tumhā ghaḍela ||9||

'If my father-in-law or uncle ask, do not tell them what has happened — they would give up their own lives, and the sin of that death would fall on you.'

She anticipates that grief could kill the elders and asks for a protective lie — a case where compassion for the living outweighs literal truth-telling in the story's own moral logic.

Weigh the real emotional cost of blunt truth against gentler timing when breaking hard news to the vulnerable.

त्यासी तुम्ही सांगावे ऐसे । क्षेम आहे तीर्थवासे । भीमातीरस्थान ऐसे । श्रीगुरूचे सन्निधानी ॥११०॥

tyāsī tumhī sāmgāve aise | kṣema āhe tīrthavāse | bhīmātīrasthāna aise | śrīgurūce sannidhānī ||110||

'Tell them instead: we are well, staying at a holy place (tīrtha) on the bank of the Bhīmā river, in the presence of Śrī Guru.'

She composes a message that is technically true in spirit — she will indeed be 'well' and 'in the Guru's presence,' even if not in the way the family expects.

When you must soften news, choose words that remain honest in spirit even if incomplete.

आलो श्रीगुरुदर्शनासी । आरोग्य झाले पतीसी । राहिलो आपण संतोषी । म्हणोनि सांगा घरी आमुचे ॥११॥

ālo śrīgurudarśanāsī | ārogya jhāle patīsī | rāhilo āpaṇa samtoṣī | mhaṇoni sāmgā gharī āmuce ||11||

'Say that we came for Śrī Guru's darśana (sacred sight), that my husband's health was restored, and that we are staying on here content — tell this at our home.'

Her cover story is really her deepest hope stated as fact — she speaks her prayer for her husband's healing into being, ahead of the miracle that will follow.

Speak your hopes in the present tense as an act of faith, not only as wishful thinking.

ऐसे सांगा श्वशुरमामींसी । आमुचे मातापितयादिकांसी । इष्टजन सोयरियांसी । सांगा येणेपरी तुम्ही ॥१२॥

aise sāmgā śvaśuramāmīmsī | āmuce mātāpitayādikāmsī | iṣṭajana soyariyāmsī | sāmgā yeṇeparī tumhī ||12||

'Tell this same thing to my father-in-law and uncle, to my parents, and to our friends and relatives — say it exactly this way to all of them.'

She is meticulous that the story remain consistent to everyone, protecting the family from the shock of the truth all at once.

When you must manage difficult news, be consistent with everyone rather than telling different people different things.

ऐसे वचन ऐकोन । दुःख पावले सकळ जन । आपण असे हास्यवदन । प्रेताजवळी उभी देखा ॥१३॥

aise vacana aikona | duḥkha pāvale sakaḷa jana | āpaṇa ase hāsyavadana | pretājavaḷī ubhī dekhā ||13||

Hearing these words all the people grieved, yet she herself stood beside the corpse with a smiling face.

The contrast between the weeping crowd and her calm smile marks her as already living from śraddhā (faith) rather than fear — her serenity is itself a form of witness.

Let your composure in hard moments be a quiet comfort to those around you, rather than adding to their alarm.

अग्निकुंडी तये क्षणी । घालिताती काष्ठ शेणी । तो आठवण झाली झणी । योगेश्वराचा उपदेश ॥१४॥

agnikumḍī taye kṣaṇī | ghālitātī kāṣṭha śeṇī | to āṭhavaṇa jhālī jhaṇī | yogeśvarācā upadeśa ||14||

Just as they were putting wood and dung-cakes into the fire-pit, she suddenly remembered the yogi's teaching.

At the very last moment before the flame, memory of a teacher's earlier instruction interrupts the momentum of the ritual — a reminder that guidance received earlier can save us exactly when we most need it.

Keep the wise counsel you've received close enough in memory that it can surface right when a crucial moment demands it.

मग रुद्राक्ष काढोनिया दोनी । बांधिले प्रेताचिया श्रवणी । कंठसूत्री दोन ठेवोनि । पुसतसे ब्राह्मणांसी ॥१५॥

maga rudrākṣa kāḍhoniyā donī | bāmdhile pretāciyā śravaṇī | kamṭhasūtrī dona ṭhevoni | pusatase brāhmaṇāmsī ||15||

Then, taking out two rudrākṣa beads, she tied them to the corpse's ears, and placed two more on its sacred neck-thread; then she turned to question the brahmins.

She acts on the yogi's earlier instruction exactly as given, adorning the body with rudrākṣa (sacred beads of Śiva) before proceeding further — faithful obedience to instruction, even in grief.

Follow trusted guidance to the letter, even when your own grief makes you want to skip a step.

विनवीतसे द्विजांसी । संकल्प केला म्या मानसी । श्रीगुरुमूर्ति आहे कैसी । आपल्या दृष्टी पाहीन ॥१६॥

vinavītase dvijāmsī | samkalpa kelā myā mānasī | śrīgurumūrti āhe kaisī | āpalyā dṛṣṭī pāhīna ||16||

She entreated the brahmins: 'I have resolved in my mind that I wish to see with my own eyes what the form of Śrī Guru looks like.'

Before dying she asks for one thing only — a final darśana (sacred viewing) of the guru — showing that longing for the divine outweighs even her wish for a swift end.

Before closing any chapter of your life, make time for the one encounter or sight that truly matters to you.

दृष्टी देखोनिया स्वामीसी । त्वरित येईन अग्निकुंडापासी । आज्ञा झालिया वेगेसी । त्वरित येईन म्हणतसे ॥१७॥

dṛṣṭī dekhoniyā svāmīsī | tvarita yeīna agnikumḍāpāsī | ājñā jhāliyā vegesī | tvarita yeīna mhaṇatase ||17||

'Once I have seen the Master with my own eyes, I will return quickly to the fire-pit; as soon as I have his blessing, I will hurry straight back,' she said.

She promises to return to complete her vow, showing this detour is not evasion of duty but a devotee's irresistible pull toward her guru even at the edge of death.

Pursue what your heart needs most without abandoning the responsibilities you have already committed to.

ऐकोनि तियेचे वचन । बोलताती विद्वज्जन । दहन होता अस्तमान । त्वरित जाउनी तुम्ही यावे ॥१८॥

aikoni tiyece vacana | bolatātī vidvajjana | dahana hotā astamāna | tvarita jāunī tumhī yāve ||18||

Hearing her words, the learned men said, 'The cremation must happen by sunset — go quickly and return at once.'

The brahmins set a practical deadline shaped by ritual custom (cremation before dark), even as, unknown to them, fate is about to be rewritten entirely.

Honor practical deadlines and customs even while leaving room for the unexpected to unfold.

पुसोनिया विप्रांसी । निघाली नारी संगमासी । जेथे होता ह्रषीकेशी । श्रीनरसिंहसरस्वती ॥१९॥

pusoniyā viprāmsī | nighālī nārī samgamāsī | jethe hotā hraṣīkeśī | śrīnarasimhasarasvatī ||19||

Taking leave of the brahmins, the woman set out for the confluence (saṅgam), where Hṛṣīkeśa — Śrī Narasiṁha Sarasvatī — was staying.

She heads toward the saṅgam (river confluence), a place of literal and symbolic joining — the meeting point where her fate and the guru's grace are about to converge.

Go directly toward the source of guidance you trust when you are at a crossroads, rather than deciding alone.

सर्व येती नरनारी । विप्रमेळा नानापरी । कौतुक पाहती मनोहरी । पतिव्रता स्त्रियेची ॥१२०॥

sarva yetī naranārī | viprameḷā nānāparī | kautuka pāhatī manoharī | pativratā striyecī ||120||

All the men and women, gatherings of brahmins of every kind, came along to witness the wonder of the devoted wife.

A crowd forms around her act of devotion, turning private grief into public witness — her fidelity becomes a teaching moment for the whole community.

Let your quiet integrity be visible; it often teaches others more than any sermon could.

जाता मार्गी स्तोत्र करी । म्हणे स्वामी नरकेसरी । अभाग्य आपुले पूर्वापरी । म्हणोनि आम्हा अव्हेरिले ॥२१॥

jātā mārgī stotra karī | mhaṇe svāmī narakesarī | abhāgya āpule pūrvāparī | mhaṇoni āmhā avherile ||21||

As she went along the road she sang his praise, saying, 'O Master, lion among men (narakesarī), it must be my own past misfortune that made you turn away from me.'

Even mid-lament she blames only her own past karma, never the guru's compassion — a devotee's instinct to keep faith intact even while voicing disappointment.

When disappointed by an outcome, examine your own part in it before doubting the goodness of those who tried to help you.

तूचि दाता सर्वेश्वर । शरणागतांचा आधार । ऐसे तुझे ब्रीद थोर । कामी आपण न लाधेची ॥२२॥

tūci dātā sarveśvara | śaraṇāgatāmcā ādhāra | aise tujhe brīda thora | kāmī āpaṇa na lādhecī ||22||

'You alone are the giver, the Lord of all, the refuge of those who surrender to you — such is your great renown, yet in my need I did not obtain it.'

Her praise and her complaint sit side by side — genuine devotion can hold both trust in someone's goodness and honest disappointment at the same time.

Allow yourself to voice honest disappointment to someone you trust without it canceling your trust in them.

हेळामात्रे त्रिभुवनासी । रची स्वामी रजोगुणे सृष्टीसी । सत्त्वगुणे सृष्टीसी । प्रतिपाळिसी तूचि स्वामी ॥२३॥

heḷāmātre tribhuvanāsī | racī svāmī rajoguṇe sṛṣṭīsī | sattvaguṇe sṛṣṭīsī | pratipāḷisī tūci svāmī ||23||

'With mere ease, O Master, you create the three worlds through rajoguṇa (the quality of activity), and through sattvaguṇa (the quality of goodness) you alone sustain creation.'

She recites the classical framework of the three guṇas (qualities: rajas-activity, sattva-goodness, tamas-inertia) as attributes of the guru, elevating him to cosmic creator and sustainer.

Recognize the constructive and sustaining effort behind someone's steady support, not just the visible results.

तमोगुणे निश्चयेसी । प्रलय समस्त जीवांसी । त्रिगुण तूचि होसी । त्रिमूर्ति तूचि देवा ॥२४॥

tamoguṇe niścayesī | pralaya samasta jīvāmsī | triguṇa tūci hosī | trimūrti tūci devā ||24||

'Through tamoguṇa (the quality of inertia) you surely bring dissolution to all beings; you are the three qualities yourself, you alone, O God, are the Trimūrti (Brahmā-Viṣṇu-Śiva).'

She completes the triad, naming the guru as the power behind both destruction and creation — nothing in the cycle of life and death lies outside his reach, in her eyes.

Trust that even the losses in your life are held within a larger, purposeful order, not outside it.

तुजपाशी सर्व सिद्धि । ओळंघिती तव विधी । देखिली आमुची कुडी बुद्धि । जाणोनि माते अव्हेरिली ॥२५॥

tujapāśī sarva siddhi | oḷamghitī tava vidhī | dekhilī āmucī kuḍī buddhi | jāṇoni māte avherilī ||25||

'All powers are yours, and nothing can overstep your ordinance; you must have seen my flawed understanding, and knowingly turned me away.'

She interprets her unanswered prayer as a mirror held up to her own imperfection rather than a failure of grace — humility framed as self-examination.

When a prayer or effort seems to go unanswered, use it as an occasion for humility rather than blame.

एखादा नर बाधा करी । जाणोनि सांगती राजद्वारी । क्षण न लागता अवसरी । राजा साह्य करी तयांचे ॥२६॥

ekhādā nara bādhā karī | jāṇoni sāmgatī rājadvārī | kṣaṇa na lāgatā avasarī | rājā sāhya karī tayāmce ||26||

'If a man is wronged and it is reported at the king's gate, the king comes to his aid without a moment's delay.'

She uses the analogy of swift royal justice to voice her expectation that a true protector should act instantly — setting up the implicit question of why her plea seemed unanswered.

Hold the people and powers you trust to a standard of prompt care, and voice it honestly when you feel forgotten.

रोग होता मनुष्यासी । जाऊनिया वैद्यापासी । औषध करी तात्काळेसी । आरोग्य तया होतसे ॥२७॥

roga hotā manuṣyāsī | jāūniyā vaidyāpāsī | auṣadha karī tātkāḷesī | ārogya tayā hotase ||27||

'When a man falls ill, he goes to a physician; medicine is given at once, and he is restored to health.'

A second everyday analogy — the doctor curing illness — reinforces her expectation of swift remedy, building toward her plea that the guru, greater than any physician, should have healed her husband just as readily.

Seek help promptly and expect timely care, while also trusting that healing sometimes unfolds on its own timetable.

तू त्रिमूर्तीचा अवतार । ख्याति झाली अपरंपार । सर्व भक्तजना आधार । म्हणोनि सेविती सकळ जन ॥२८॥

tū trimūrtīcā avatāra | khyāti jhālī aparampāra | sarva bhaktajanā ādhāra | mhaṇoni sevitī sakaḷa jana ||28||

'You are the avatāra (incarnation) of the Trimūrti, whose fame is boundless, the support of all devotees — that is why everyone serves you.'

She restates her faith in the guru's cosmic stature even while lamenting her own case, refusing to let one disappointment undo her larger conviction.

Keep your overall trust in a good teacher or tradition intact even when one particular outcome disappoints you.

अपराध आपण काय केले । भेटीसी वीस गावे आले । मातापिता विसरले । तुझ्या ध्याने स्वामिया ॥२९॥

aparādha āpaṇa kāya kele | bheṭīsī vīsa gāve āle | mātāpitā visarale | tujhyā dhyāne svāmiyā ||29||

'What offense have I committed? I came a distance of twenty villages for your darśana; lost in meditation on you, I even forgot my own parents, O Master.'

She recounts the scale of her devotion — physical distance traveled and even filial duty set aside — as evidence that her heart was wholly given, deepening the pathos of her plea.

Let the depth of your own effort remind you honestly of your sincerity when you doubt whether you've done enough.

होसी तूचि मातापिता । म्हणोनि आल्ये धावता । भेटी होता आरोग्यता । पतीस व्हावी म्हणोनिया ॥१३०॥

hosī tūci mātāpitā | mhaṇoni ālye dhāvatā | bheṭī hotā ārogyatā | patīsa vhāvī mhaṇoniyā ||130||

'You yourself are my mother and father; that is why I came running, hoping that meeting you would bring health to my husband.'

She names the guru as more intimate than her own parents — the deepest human bonds become metaphors for the bond between devotee and teacher.

Approach your spiritual teacher or trusted guide with the same urgency you would bring to family in crisis.

आपुले समान असती नारी । त्या नांदता पुत्रपौत्री । आपण झाल्ये दगडापरी । पुत्र नाही आपणासी ॥३१॥

āpule samāna asatī nārī | tyā nāmdatā putrapautrī | āpaṇa jhālye dagaḍāparī | putra nāhī āpaṇāsī ||31||

'Women of my own age live happily with sons and grandsons, while I have become like a stone — I have no child of my own.'

Her grief widens beyond her husband's illness to childlessness, a second sorrow layered onto the first — the verse gives voice to a woman's full social pain, not just widowhood.

Acknowledge the full weight of someone's grief; rarely is sorrow about only one loss.

पति आपुला सदा रोगी । कैचा पुत्र आपणालागी । तरी याचि काम्यालागी । निघोनि आल्ये स्वामिया ॥३२॥

pati āpulā sadā rogī | kaicā putra āpaṇālāgī | tarī yāci kāmyālāgī | nighoni ālye svāmiyā ||32||

'My husband has always been sick — how then could a son come to me? It was for this very hope that I set out, O Master.'

She names her original purpose plainly: she came seeking a cure for her husband precisely so a family, a child, might yet be possible.

Be honest about the concrete hope driving your prayer or effort, rather than leaving it vague even to yourself.

आरोग्य होईल पतीसी । पुत्र होतील आपणासी । आशा धरून मानसी । आल्ये स्वामी कृपासिंधु ॥३३॥

ārogya hoīla patīsī | putra hotīla āpaṇāsī | āśā dharūna mānasī | ālye svāmī kṛpāsimdhu ||33||

'Holding this hope in my heart — that my husband would be healed and I would have sons — I came, O Master, ocean of compassion.'

She restates her hope once more just before the ironic turn to come, letting the weight of what seems, at this point in the story, to have been denied register fully.

Name your hopes clearly to the ones you trust, even if the outcome is still uncertain.

पुरले माझे मनोरथ । आरोग्य झाला प्राणनाथ । पुत्र झाले बहुत । नवल झाले स्वामिया ॥३४॥

purale mājhe manoratha | ārogya jhālā prāṇanātha | putra jhāle bahuta | navala jhāle svāmiyā ||34||

'My heart's desire is fulfilled — my beloved husband became well, many sons were born; what a wonder, O Master!'

Spoken in bitter irony as she walks toward the pyre, this is not literally true — her lament shows how deep faith can still voice grief through the very language of blessing, even sarcastically, without losing devotion.

Let yourself grieve honestly, even through irony or dark humor, without treating it as a betrayal of your faith.

मनोरथ पावला सिद्धीसी । म्हणोनि आल्ये पुसावयासी । जाते आता परलोकासी । कीर्ति तुझी घेवोनि ॥३५॥

manoratha pāvalā siddhīsī | mhaṇoni ālye pusāvayāsī | jāte ātā paralokāsī | kīrti tujhī ghevoni ||35||

'Since my wish is thus fulfilled, I have come only to ask leave; now I go to the other world, carrying your glory with me.'

Her irony deepens into acceptance — whatever the outcome, she resolves to carry praise of the guru with her even into death, refusing bitterness the final word.

Let gratitude, not grievance, be the last word you carry forward, even after disappointment.

ऐशा परी ध्यान करीत । आली अमरजासंगमी त्वरित । वृक्ष असे अश्वत्थ । देखती झाली स्वामिया ॥३६॥

aiśā parī dhyāna karīta | ālī amarajāsamgamī tvarita | vṛkṣa ase aśvattha | dekhatī jhālī svāmiyā ||36||

Meditating in this way, she quickly arrived at the Amarajā confluence, and saw there the aśvattha (peepul) tree where the Master was.

She finally reaches the sacred meeting place, an aśvattha (peepul tree, itself considered sacred) marking the guru's presence — the narrative pauses at the threshold before the turn of the story.

Recognize the sacred markers — a place, a person, a tradition — that signal you have arrived where you need to be.

उभी ठाकोनिया दुरी । तया साष्टांग नमन करी । श्रीगुरु म्हणे त्या अवसरी । सुवासिनी होय ध्रुव ॥३७॥

ubhī ṭhākoniyā durī | tayā sāṣṭāmga namana karī | śrīguru mhaṇe tyā avasarī | suvāsinī hoya dhruva ||37||

Standing at a distance, she made full prostration (sāṣṭāṅga namaskāra) to him; at that moment Śrī Guru said, 'Be steadfast, a suvāsinī (a woman whose husband is alive).'

The guru's blessing seems to contradict the facts on the ground — he addresses her as a woman whose husband still lives, planting the first hint that reality is about to bend to his word.

Trust that a wise word spoken over you may be truer than your present circumstance, even before you can see how.

ऐसे म्हणता मागुती । नमन करी एकभक्ती । पुनरपि स्वामी तेणेच रीती । अष्टपुत्रा होय म्हणतसे ॥३८॥

aise mhaṇatā māgutī | namana karī ekabhaktī | punarapi svāmī teṇeca rītī | aṣṭaputrā hoya mhaṇatase ||38||

As he said this she bowed again in single-minded devotion; once more the Master, in the same way, said, 'Be the mother of eight sons.'

The guru repeats and intensifies his blessing, doubling down on what seems impossible — her humble repeated bowing shows she receives the blessing rather than arguing with it.

Receive a generous blessing or encouragement with humility rather than immediately protesting that you don't deserve it.

ऐसे ऐकोनिया वचन । हास्य करिती सकळ जन । सांगताती विस्तारोन । गुरूलागी सत्वर ॥३९॥

aise aikoniyā vacana | hāsya karitī sakaḷa jana | sāmgatātī vistārona | gurūlāgī satvara ||39||

Hearing these words, all the people present laughed; they quickly explained the situation in full to the Guru.

The crowd's laughter marks the gap between the guru's words and the known facts — a natural human reaction before the miracle reveals the deeper truth behind his blessing.

Stay open to being wrong about what seems obviously impossible; laughter at a claim is not proof against it.

विप्र म्हणती स्वामीसी । इचा पति पंचत्वासी । पावला परंधामासी । सुवासिनी केवी होय ॥४०॥

vipra mhaṇatī svāmīsī | icā pati pamcatvāsī | pāvalā paramdhāmāsī | suvāsinī kevī hoya ||40||

The brahmins said to the Master, 'Her husband has already passed away, gone to the other world — how can she be a suvāsinī (a woman with a living husband)?'

The learned men state the plain fact as they understand it, setting up the guru's coming demonstration that his word operates on a plane above ordinary fact.

State facts plainly when you must, but remain humble that a deeper truth may yet unfold beyond what you currently know.

प्रेत नेले स्मशानासी । ही आली सहगमनासी । निरोप घ्यावया तुम्हापासी । आली असे स्वामिया ॥४१॥

preta nele smaśānāsī | hī ālī sahagamanāsī | niropa ghyāvayā tumhāpāsī | ālī ase svāmiyā ||41||

'The corpse has been taken to the cremation ground; she has come here to take her sahagamana vow, and to take leave of you, O Master.'

The brahmins fill in the full context — her intent to die on the pyre is now openly explained to the guru, raising the stakes of what he will say next.

Give full context when explaining a serious situation to someone whose guidance you are seeking.

तुमचा निरोप घेवोनि । अग्निकुंडा जावोनि । समागमे पतिशयनी । दहन करणे तियेसी ॥४२॥

tumacā niropa ghevoni | agnikumḍā jāvoni | samāgame patiśayanī | dahana karaṇe tiyesī ||42||

'Having taken your leave, she means to go to the fire-pit and be cremated lying beside her husband's body.'

The narrative states plainly what she intends to do next, letting the gravity of the moment register fully before the guru intervenes.

Do not shy from naming a hard truth plainly when someone's safety or life is truly at stake.

ऐकोनि त्याचे वचन । श्रीगुरु म्हणती हासोन । इचे स्थिर अहेवपण । मरण केवी घडे इसी ॥४३॥

aikoni tyāce vacana | śrīguru mhaṇatī hāsona | ice sthira ahevapaṇa | maraṇa kevī ghaḍe isī ||43||

Hearing this, Śrī Guru said, smiling, 'Her state as an ahevā (a woman with a living husband) is fixed — how then could death come to her?'

The guru's calm smile signals that he already knows the outcome; his blessing is not wishful but a statement of what he intends to make true.

Speak your firm intentions calmly rather than anxiously when you are confident in the good you mean to do.

गुरु म्हणती जा वेळी । आणा प्रेत आम्हाजवळी । प्राण गेला कवणे वेळी । पाहू म्हणती अवधारा ॥४४॥

guru mhaṇatī jā veḷī | āṇā preta āmhājavaḷī | prāṇa gelā kavaṇe veḷī | pāhū mhaṇatī avadhārā ||44||

The Guru said, 'Go at once and bring the corpse to me; let us see, mark well, at what hour the life left him.'

Rather than simply pronouncing a miracle from afar, the guru asks for the body brought to him — grace here works through direct engagement, not distance.

Show up in person for the crisis you want to help resolve, rather than offering only distant reassurance.

श्रीगुरु म्हणती द्विजांसी । आमुचे बोल जहाले इसी । अहेवपण स्थिर इसी । संदेह न धरावा मनात ॥४५॥

śrīguru mhaṇatī dvijāmsī | āmuce bola jahāle isī | ahevapaṇa sthira isī | samdeha na dharāvā manāta ||45||

Śrī Guru said to the brahmins, 'My word has already been given to her; her ahevapaṇa (married state) is fixed — hold no doubt in your minds.'

He asks the skeptical brahmins to set aside doubt and trust the word already spoken — faith is asked to precede visible proof.

Give someone the benefit of trust when they have already shown themselves reliable, even before proof arrives.

या बोलाचा निर्धारू । करील आता कर्पूरगौरू । नका प्रेत संस्कारू । आणा प्रेत आम्हांजवळी ॥४६॥

yā bolācā nirdhārū | karīla ātā karpūragaurū | nakā preta samskārū | āṇā preta āmhāmjavaḷī ||46||

'The Camphor-white One (Śiva) himself will now make this word certain; do not perform the last rites — bring the corpse to me.'

He invokes Śiva's own authority behind his promise and halts the funeral rites just in time — divine word overrides the momentum of ritual custom.

Be willing to pause a plan already in motion when a better path becomes clear.

श्रीगुरूचा निरोप होता । आणो गेले धावत प्रेता । पहाती लोक कौतुका । अभिनव म्हणताती ॥४७॥

śrīgurūcā niropa hotā | āṇo gele dhāvata pretā | pahātī loka kautukā | abhinava mhaṇatātī ||47||

At Śrī Guru's command, people ran to fetch the corpse; onlookers watched in wonder, calling it an extraordinary thing.

The crowd's astonishment builds anticipation — an unprecedented act is now expected, though its outcome is still unknown to them.

Move promptly when someone whose wisdom you trust gives clear instruction, even if you don't yet understand why.

इतुके होता ते अवसरी । आले विप्र तेथवरी । पूजा करिती मनोहरी । श्रीगुरुची भक्तीने ॥४८॥

ituke hotā te avasarī | āle vipra tethavarī | pūjā karitī manoharī | śrīgurucī bhaktīne ||48||

Meanwhile the brahmins who had come along there devotedly performed a beautiful worship of Śrī Guru.

Even amid urgency, ritual worship continues — devotion and action proceed together rather than one crowding out the other.

Hold your practice of gratitude and worship steady even in the middle of an urgent, unresolved situation.

रुद्रसूक्त म्हणोनि । अभिषेक करिती श्रीगुरुचरणी । षोडशोपचारी विस्तारोनि । पूजा करिती भक्तीने ॥४९॥

rudrasūkta mhaṇoni | abhiṣeka karitī śrīgurucaraṇī | ṣoḍaśopacārī vistāroni | pūjā karitī bhaktīne ||49||

Chanting the Rudra-sūkta (hymn to Rudra/Śiva), they performed abhiṣeka (ritual bathing) at Śrī Guru's feet, worshiping him fully with the sixteen ceremonial offerings (ṣoḍaśopacāra).

The full formal pūjā (worship ritual) is described in detail, showing the community's reverence reaching its highest ceremonial expression just before the miracle.

Give your fullest effort and care to an act of devotion, rather than a hurried or partial version of it.

तीर्थपूजा नानापरी । पूजा करिती उपचारी । इतुकीया अवसरी । घेउनी आले प्रेतासी ॥१५०॥

tīrthapūjā nānāparī | pūjā karitī upacārī | itukīyā avasarī | gheunī āle pretāsī ||150||

They worshiped with holy water in various ways, offering every rite; and just then they arrived, bringing the corpse.

The timing is deliberate — worship and the corpse's arrival converge in the same moment, dovetailing ritual devotion with the coming act of grace.

Let your devotion and your practical action move forward together rather than treating them as separate tracks.

प्रेत आणोनिया देखा । ठेविले श्रीगुरुसंमुखा । श्रीगुरु म्हणती विप्रलोका । सोडा वस्त्र दोर त्याचे ॥५१॥

preta āṇoniyā dekhā | ṭhevile śrīgurusammukhā | śrīguru mhaṇatī vipralokā | soḍā vastra dora tyāce ||51||

Having brought the corpse, they laid it before Śrī Guru; Śrī Guru told the brahmins, 'Untie the cloth and cords binding him.'

The guru's first instruction is simple and practical — remove the binding of death (the funeral wrappings) — a small physical act that prepares the way for the greater one to come.

Take the small, practical first step toward a hoped-for change rather than waiting for the whole solution at once.

चरणतीर्थ त्यावेळी । देती तया विप्रांजवळी । प्रोक्षा म्हणती तात्काळी । प्रेत सर्वांगी स्नपन करा ॥५२॥

caraṇatīrtha tyāveḷī | detī tayā viprāmjavaḷī | prokṣā mhaṇatī tātkāḷī | preta sarvāmgī snapana karā ||52||

Then he gave them the caraṇatīrtha (water that had washed his feet), saying, 'Sprinkle it at once — bathe the whole body of the corpse with it.'

Caraṇatīrtha (foot-wash water, treated as sanctified) becomes the medium of grace here — an ordinary substance made holy by contact with the guru is what restores life.

Value the ordinary things blessed by contact with what you hold sacred; grace often works through simple means.

श्रीगुरुनिरोपे ब्राह्मण । प्रेतासी करिती तीर्थस्नपन । अमृतदृष्टीसी आपण । पाहती प्रेत अवधारा ॥५३॥

śrīgurunirope brāhmaṇa | pretāsī karitī tīrthasnapana | amṛtadṛṣṭīsī āpaṇa | pāhatī preta avadhārā ||53||

On Śrī Guru's word the brahmins bathed the corpse with the holy water, while he himself looked upon the corpse with his amṛta-dṛṣṭi (nectar-like gaze).

The combination of ritual action by the brahmins and the guru's own compassionate gaze (amṛta-dṛṣṭi, 'nectar-glance') together bring the miracle — human effort and grace act as one.

Pair your own diligent effort with an open, hopeful attention, rather than expecting either alone to be enough.

पाहता सुधादृष्टीकरून । प्रेत झाले संजीवन । उठोनि बैसे तत्क्षण । अंग मुरडीत परियेसा ॥५४॥

pāhatā sudhādṛṣṭīkarūna | preta jhāle samjīvana | uṭhoni baise tatkṣaṇa | amga muraḍīta pariyesā ||54||

The moment his nectar-glance fell upon it, the corpse came back to life; he sat up at once, stretching his limbs, mark well.

Life returns instantly and physically — the vivid detail of him sitting up and stretching grounds the miracle in bodily reality rather than leaving it abstract.

Trust that real restoration, when it comes, can be immediate and complete, not only partial.

नग्न म्हणुनी लाजत । प्रेत झाले सावचित्त । नवे वस्त्र नेसत । येवोनि बैसे एकीकडे ॥५५॥

nagna mhaṇunī lājata | preta jhāle sāvacitta | nave vastra nesata | yevoni baise ekīkaḍe ||55||

Feeling shy at being naked, the revived man, now fully conscious, put on new clothes and came and sat down to one side.

His first instinct on returning to life is ordinary human modesty, not awe — a touch of humor and humanity grounding the miraculous moment.

Allow ordinary human responses — even small embarrassments — their place even in extraordinary moments.

बोलावोनि स्त्रियेसी । पुसतसे विस्तारेसी । कोठे आणिले मजसी । यतीश्वर कोण सांगे ॥५६॥

bolāvoni striyesī | pusatase vistāresī | koṭhe āṇile majasī | yatīśvara koṇa sāmge ||56||

Calling his wife, he asked in detail, 'Where have you brought me? Tell me, who is this lord of ascetics (yatīśvara)?'

He wakes with no memory of dying, treating it as if he had merely slept — the text lets the miracle unfold through his own bewildered, very human questions.

Meet someone's confusion after a hard experience with patient, full explanation rather than impatience.

इतुके लोक असता का । का वो तू न करसी चेता । निद्रा आली मदोन्मत्ता । म्हणोनि सांगे स्त्रियेसी ॥५७॥

ituke loka asatā kā | kā vo tū na karasī cetā | nidrā ālī madonmattā | mhaṇoni sāmge striyesī ||57||

'With so many people here, why didn't you wake me? Sleep must have overcome me like intoxication,' he said to his wife.

His innocent misunderstanding — thinking he merely overslept — underscores how completely death has been undone; he has no sense of having died at all.

Recognize that those who have been through crisis may need time and patience before they can grasp its full magnitude.

ऐकून पतीचे वचन । सांगती झाली विस्तारून । उभी राहून दोघेजण । नमन करिती श्रीगुरूसी ॥५८॥

aikūna patīce vacana | sāmgatī jhālī vistārūna | ubhī rāhūna doghejaṇa | namana karitī śrīgurūsī ||58||

Hearing her husband's words, she explained everything to him in full; then the two of them stood and bowed to Śrī Guru.

She becomes the one to tell him the truth of what happened — the wife who was ready to die for him now becomes the one who explains his own resurrection to him.

Be willing to be the one who gently tells a loved one the hard truth of what they went through.

चरणी माथा ठेवून । स्तोत्र करिती दोघेजण । पहाती लोक सर्व जन । महा आनंद प्रवर्तला ॥५९॥

caraṇī māthā ṭhevūna | stotra karitī doghejaṇa | pahātī loka sarva jana | mahā ānamda pravartalā ||59||

Placing their heads at his feet, the two of them sang hymns of praise together; all the people watching were filled with great joy.

Husband and wife unite in gratitude at the guru's feet, and their private joy becomes communal — the whole gathered crowd shares in their relief.

Let your gratitude be expressed openly enough that others can share in your joy.

म्हणती पापरूपी आपण । पाप केले दारुण । पापापासाव अनुसंधान । जन्म जहालो परियेसी ॥१६०॥

mhaṇatī pāparūpī āpaṇa | pāpa kele dāruṇa | pāpāpāsāva anusamdhāna | janma jahālo pariyesī ||160||

They said, 'We ourselves are made of sin, having committed grievous wrongs; through the chain of that sin we were born into this suffering.'

In their gratitude the couple turn self-critical, reading their earlier suffering as the fruit of past pāpa (wrongdoing) — humility follows hard on the heels of relief.

Let a moment of rescue or relief deepen your humility rather than your pride.

दुर्बुद्धीने वर्तलो । पापसागरी बुडालो । तुझे चरण विसरलो । त्रयमूर्ती जगद्‍गुरु ॥६१॥

durbuddhīne vartalo | pāpasāgarī buḍālo | tujhe caraṇa visaralo | trayamūrtī jagad‍guru ||61||

'We acted with poor judgment and sank into a sea of sin, forgetting your feet, O World-Guru who is the very Trinity.'

They confess forgetfulness of the divine as the root of their trouble — restored life becomes an occasion to renew devotion, not just relief at survival.

Use a moment of rescue as an occasion to renew a forgotten commitment, not just to feel grateful and move on.

सकळ जीवमात्रांसी । रक्षिता शंकर तू होसी । ख्याति तव त्रिभुवनासी । शरणागता रक्षिसी ॥६२॥

sakaḷa jīvamātrāmsī | rakṣitā śamkara tū hosī | khyāti tava tribhuvanāsī | śaraṇāgatā rakṣisī ||62||

'You, O Śaṅkara, are the protector of all living beings; your fame is known through the three worlds, that you protect those who take refuge in you.'

They restate the theology of divine protection now proven true in their own lives, moving from abstract praise to personal testimony.

Let your own experience of being helped become a source of encouragement you can share with others.

त्राहि त्राहि जगद्‍गुरु । विश्वमूर्ति परात्परु । ब्रह्मा विष्णु शंकरु । सच्चिदानंदस्वरूप तू ॥६३॥

trāhi trāhi jagad‍guru | viśvamūrti parātparu | brahmā viṣṇu śamkaru | saccidānamdasvarūpa tū ||63||

'Save us, save us, O World-Guru, form of the universe, beyond the beyond; you are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śaṅkara, the very nature of sat-chit-ānanda (being-consciousness-bliss).'

The repeated cry 'trāhi trāhi' (save us, save us) is a classical form of urgent devotional plea, here voiced in gratitude rather than desperation, since the saving has already happened.

Voice heartfelt thanks with the same intensity you once used to voice your need.

त्राहि त्राहि विश्वकर्ता । त्राहि त्राहि जगद्‍भर्ता । कृपासागरा जगन्नाथा । भक्तजनविश्रामा ॥६४॥

trāhi trāhi viśvakartā | trāhi trāhi jagad‍bhartā | kṛpāsāgarā jagannāthā | bhaktajanaviśrāmā ||64||

'Save us, save us, Creator of the universe; save us, save us, Sustainer of the world, O Jagannātha, ocean of compassion, resting-place of your devotees.'

Their praise piles title upon title, expressing that ordinary language feels insufficient for what they have just witnessed.

Don't be afraid of overflowing, repetitive gratitude when the occasion truly warrants it.

जय जयाजी गुरुमूर्ति । जटाजूट पशुपति । अवतरलासी तू क्षिती । मनुष्यदेह धरूनिया ॥६५॥

jaya jayājī gurumūrti | jaṭājūṭa paśupati | avataralāsī tū kṣitī | manuṣyadeha dharūniyā ||65||

'Glory, glory to you, O embodiment of the Guru, matted-haired Paśupati (Lord of all creatures) — you have descended to earth taking on a human form.'

They name the guru as an avatāra (divine descent) in human shape, the theological heart of the whole Gurucaritra tradition — the human teacher before them is understood as God himself.

See the divine potential present in a genuinely wise and compassionate teacher, without losing sight of their humanity.

त्राहि त्राहि पिनाकपाणि । त्राहि देवा तू शिरोमणि । भक्तजन पाळोनि । रक्षितोसी निरंतर ॥६६॥

trāhi trāhi pinākapāṇi | trāhi devā tū śiromaṇi | bhaktajana pāḷoni | rakṣitosī niramtara ||66||

'Save us, save us, wielder of the Pināka (Śiva's bow); save us, O foremost of gods — you ever nurture and protect your devotees.'

The refrain continues, cementing the identification of the guru with Śiva through his traditional weapon, the Pināka bow.

Keep returning, in your own words, to gratitude for those who have protected and nurtured you.

सर्वा भूती तूचि वससी । नमन तुझे चरणांसी । मज ऐसे गमलासी । मातारूप वर्तत तू ॥६७॥

sarvā bhūtī tūci vasasī | namana tujhe caraṇāmsī | maja aise gamalāsī | mātārūpa vartata tū ||67||

'You dwell in every being; I bow to your feet. To me you have appeared in the form of a mother, caring for me.'

She singles out the maternal quality of the guru's care — protection experienced not as distant power but as intimate, mothering tenderness.

Notice and honor the tender, maternal quality of care you receive, not only its strength or authority.

त्रिभुवनी तव करणी । माथा ठेविला तुझे चरणी । निश्चय केला माझे मनी । पुनर्जन्म नव्हे आता ॥६८॥

tribhuvanī tava karaṇī | māthā ṭhevilā tujhe caraṇī | niścaya kelā mājhe manī | punarjanma navhe ātā ||68||

'The three worlds are your work; I have placed my head at your feet, and resolved in my mind that there will be no rebirth for me now.'

She declares that this encounter has settled her spiritual fate — devotion of this depth, in the tradition, is said to end the cycle of rebirth (saṁsāra).

Let a moment of profound gratitude anchor a lasting resolve, not just a passing feeling.

विश्वकारण करिसी । हेळामात्रे सृष्टि रचिसी । मज ऐसे गमलासी । अज्ञानरूपे वर्तत ॥६९॥

viśvakāraṇa karisī | heḷāmātre sṛṣṭi racisī | maja aise gamalāsī | ajñānarūpe vartata ||69||

'You bring about the universe, fashioning creation with mere ease; yet to me, in my ignorance, you seemed an ordinary being.'

She confesses her earlier failure to recognize greatness hidden in ordinary appearance — a humbling admission that deepens her devotion.

Stay humble about how easily you might overlook real wisdom disguised in an unassuming person.

तुझे न ऐके एखादा जरी । कोपसी त्वरित त्यावरी । माझे मनी येणेपरी । निष्कलंक तू दिसतोसी ॥१७०॥

tujhe na aike ekhādā jarī | kopasī tvarita tyāvarī | mājhe manī yeṇeparī | niṣkalamka tū disatosī ||170||

'If someone does not heed your word, you grow swiftly angry with him — yet to my mind you appear utterly without blemish.'

Even naming the guru's capacity for anger, she insists on seeing him as faultless — devotion here holds both respect for authority and unconditional trust together.

Respect a teacher's firmness without letting it undermine your trust in their fundamental goodness.

क्रोध नाही तुझे मनी । आनंदमूर्ति तूचि सहस्त्रगुणी । भक्तजना संरक्षणी । कृपासागर स्वामिया ॥७१॥

krodha nāhī tujhe manī | ānamdamūrti tūci sahastraguṇī | bhaktajanā samrakṣaṇī | kṛpāsāgara svāmiyā ||71||

'There is no anger in your heart; you are the embodiment of bliss a thousandfold, ocean of compassion, protector of your devotees, O Master.'

She resolves her own contradiction from the previous verse, concluding that beneath any apparent severity lies only boundless compassion.

Look past a stern exterior to recognize the compassion that may be guiding it.

जीवमात्रा कृपा करिसी । शरणागताते रक्षिसी । इहपर सौख्याते देसी । चतुर्विध पुरुषार्थ ॥७२॥

jīvamātrā kṛpā karisī | śaraṇāgatāte rakṣisī | ihapara saukhyāte desī | caturvidha puruṣārtha ||72||

'You show mercy to every living being, you protect those who take refuge in you, and you grant well-being in this world and the next — the four goals of human life.'

She invokes the puruṣārtha (four traditional aims of life: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) as fully granted through the guru's grace — spiritual and worldly good together.

Pursue both practical well-being and spiritual growth together, not one at the expense of the other.

तूचि करुणेचा सागरू । चिन्मात्रा अगोचरू । श्रीनरसिंहसरस्वती गुरु । क्षमा करणे स्वामिया ॥७३॥

tūci karuṇecā sāgarū | cinmātrā agocarū | śrīnarasimhasarasvatī guru | kṣamā karaṇe svāmiyā ||73||

'You alone are the ocean of compassion, pure consciousness beyond perception, O Guru Śrī Narasiṁha Sarasvatī — forgive us, Master.'

Her praise closes with a plea for forgiveness, naming the guru directly by his full name — gratitude and repentance together mark the height of her devotion.

Pair your gratitude toward someone with an honest request for forgiveness where you owe it.

ऐसी नानापरीसी । स्तोत्रे केली श्रीगुरूसी । श्रीगुरुमूर्ति संतोषी । आश्वासिती तये वेळी ॥७४॥

aisī nānāparīsī | stotre kelī śrīgurūsī | śrīgurumūrti samtoṣī | āśvāsitī taye veḷī ||74||

Having praised Śrī Guru in this way with many hymns, the couple saw him pleased, and he comforted them at that moment.

The guru's pleasure at their devotion leads him to offer further reassurance — sincere praise is met with tender response, not indifference.

Respond to genuine gratitude from others with reassurance and warmth rather than brushing it off.

अष्ट पुत्र पूर्णायुषी । होतील सत्य तुजसी । हो का श्रीमंत अतिहर्षी । गेले तुमचे पूर्वदोष ॥७५॥

aṣṭa putra pūrṇāyuṣī | hotīla satya tujasī | ho kā śrīmamta atiharṣī | gele tumace pūrvadoṣa ||75||

'You shall truly have eight sons of full lifespan; be prosperous and greatly joyful — your past faults are now gone.'

The earlier blessing is now confirmed as literal promise, not empty words — and their past troubles are declared forgiven along with it.

Let a fresh start genuinely release you from the guilt of the past, rather than carrying old faults forward.

चतुर्विध पुरुषार्थ । लभ्य झाले तुम्हांसी यथार्थ । सांडोनि संदेह त्वरित । सुखे असा म्हणती गुरु ॥७६॥

caturvidha puruṣārtha | labhya jhāle tumhāmsī yathārtha | sāmḍoni samdeha tvarita | sukhe asā mhaṇatī guru ||76||

'You have truly obtained all four goals of life (puruṣārtha); cast off doubt at once and live in happiness,' said the Guru.

He closes his blessing with a direct command to release doubt — the practical instruction that follows every promise of grace: now go and live it.

Once you have received good news or grace, act on it by releasing lingering doubt rather than second-guessing it.

इतुके होता ते अवसरी । मिळाल्या होत्या नरनारी । जयजयकार अपरंपारी । प्रवर्तला तये वेळी ॥७७॥

ituke hotā te avasarī | miḷālyā hotyā naranārī | jayajayakāra aparampārī | pravartalā taye veḷī ||77||

At this, the men and women who had gathered there raised a boundless shout of victory (jayajaykār) at that moment.

The private miracle becomes a shared public celebration, the crowd's roar marking the whole community's joy at witnessing grace in action.

Celebrate openly and communally when good fortune or grace touches someone near you.

नमन करिती सकळ जन । स्तोत्र करिताती गायन । करिताती नीरांजन । जयजयकार प्रवर्तला ॥७८॥

namana karitī sakaḷa jana | stotra karitātī gāyana | karitātī nīrāmjana | jayajayakāra pravartalā ||78||

All the people bowed, sang hymns, waved the ārati lamps, and the shout of victory continued.

The community's response takes ritual form — ārati (the waving of lamps in worship) — turning spontaneous joy into structured reverence.

Give your spontaneous joy some ritual or structured expression so it can be shared and remembered.

तयामध्ये विप्र एक । होता धूर्त कुबुद्धिक । आपुले मनी आणोनि तर्क । श्रीगुरूसी पुसतसे ॥७९॥

tayāmadhye vipra eka | hotā dhūrta kubuddhika | āpule manī āṇoni tarka | śrīgurūsī pusatase ||79||

Among them was one brahmin, cunning and of poor understanding, who formed a doubt in his own mind and questioned Śrī Guru.

Even amid universal celebration, one skeptic remains — the story makes room for honest doubt even at the height of collective faith.

Allow room for honest questions even in a community united in celebration or belief.

विप्र म्हणे श्रीगुरूसी । विनंती स्वामी परियेसी । संशय आमुचे मानसी । होत आहे स्वामिया ॥१८०॥

vipra mhaṇe śrīgurūsī | vinamtī svāmī pariyesī | samśaya āmuce mānasī | hota āhe svāmiyā ||180||

The brahmin said to Śrī Guru, 'A request, Master, please hear — a doubt has arisen in my mind.'

He voices his doubt respectfully and directly to the guru rather than whispering it to others — an example of bringing uncertainty to the source rather than gossiping about it.

Take your genuine doubts directly to the person or source who can address them, rather than only murmuring them to others.

वेदशास्त्रे पुराणे । बोलताती सनातने । ब्रह्मलिखित सत्य जाणे । म्हणोनि वाक्य निर्धारी पा ॥८१॥

vedaśāstre purāṇe | bolatātī sanātane | brahmalikhita satya jāṇe | mhaṇoni vākya nirdhārī pā ||81||

'The Vedas, śāstras, and purāṇas all declare as ancient and sacred truth that what is written by Brahmā (fate) is certain.'

He grounds his doubt in scripture itself — invoking the doctrine of brahmalikhita (fate written by Brahmā) as fixed and unchangeable, the very premise the miracle seems to challenge.

Bring your best reasoning and tradition to a hard question rather than doubting vaguely or dismissively.

घडला नाही अपमृत्यु यासी । दिवामरण परियेसी । आला कैसा जीव यासी । ब्रह्मलिखित सत्य मिथ्या ॥८२॥

ghaḍalā nāhī apamṛtyu yāsī | divāmaraṇa pariyesī | ālā kaisā jīva yāsī | brahmalikhita satya mithyā ||82||

'This man's was no untimely death but a death in broad daylight, mark well — how then has life returned to him? Is what is written by fate true, or false?'

He states the theological tension plainly: if fate is truly fixed, how can even a guru undo a natural, non-accidental death — the sharpest form of his challenge.

State the core of your disagreement clearly and specifically rather than leaving it vague.

न कळे याच्या अभिप्राया । निरोपावे गुरुराया । गुरु म्हणती हासोनिया । तया मूर्ख ब्राह्मणासी ॥८३॥

na kaḷe yācyā abhiprāyā | niropāve gururāyā | guru mhaṇatī hāsoniyā | tayā mūrkha brāhmaṇāsī ||83||

'I do not understand the meaning of this — please explain, O Guru-king.' The Guru, smiling, spoke to that foolish brahmin.

The guru's smile before answering signals patience rather than offense at being questioned — wisdom meeting doubt with warmth, not defensiveness.

Meet a sincere challenge to your beliefs with patience and a smile rather than defensiveness.

गुरु म्हणती तयासी । सांगेन तुज विस्तारेसी । पुढील जन्माच्या आयुष्यासी । उसने घेतले परियेसा ॥८४॥

guru mhaṇatī tayāsī | sāmgena tuja vistāresī | puḍhīla janmācyā āyuṣyāsī | usane ghetale pariyesā ||84||

The Guru said to him, 'I will explain it to you in full — his lifespan for his next birth has been borrowed in advance, mark well.'

The guru resolves the apparent contradiction not by denying fate but by revealing a transaction within it — a future allotment of life has simply been brought forward, leaving destiny itself intact.

Look for a deeper resolution when two truths you hold seem to conflict, rather than abandoning either one.

आम्ही तया बह्मदेवासी । मागून घेतले करुणेसी । पुढले जन्मी परियेसी । वर्षे तीस संख्या पै ॥८५॥

āmhī tayā bahmadevāsī | māgūna ghetale karuṇesī | puḍhale janmī pariyesī | varṣe tīsa samkhyā pai ||85||

'We asked Brahmadeva out of compassion and obtained from him thirty years, mark well, that belonged to his next birth.'

The guru specifies the mechanism precisely — thirty years borrowed from a future life through compassionate intercession with Brahmadeva, the keeper of destiny.

Trust that compassionate intercession on your behalf, even when unseen, can be a real force in your life.

भक्तजन रक्षावयासी । मागून घेतले ब्रह्मदेवासी । म्हणून सांगती विस्तारेसी । तया विप्रवर्गाते ॥८६॥

bhaktajana rakṣāvayāsī | māgūna ghetale brahmadevāsī | mhaṇūna sāmgatī vistāresī | tayā vipravargāte ||86||

'To protect this devotee we asked and obtained it from Brahmadeva' — thus he explained fully to that group of brahmins.

The guru names the motive plainly: protection of a devotee, not display of power — the miracle serves love, not spectacle.

Let your motive for helping someone be their genuine well-being, not the display of your own ability.

तटस्थ झाले सकळ जन । साष्टांग करिती नमन । गेले आपुलिया भुवना । ख्याति झाली चहू राष्ट्रा ॥८७॥

taṭastha jhāle sakaḷa jana | sāṣṭāmga karitī namana | gele āpuliyā bhuvanā | khyāti jhālī cahū rāṣṭrā ||87||

All the people stood stunned into silence, made full prostration, and returned to their own homes; the fame of this spread through all four directions.

The skeptic's question is answered so thoroughly that even doubt is silenced — the news travels outward, becoming part of the wider tradition of witnessed miracles.

Let a well-answered doubt actually settle in your mind rather than lingering as unresolved suspicion.

पतिव्रतेने पतीसहित । स्नान केले संगमात । अंतःकरणी संतोष बहुत । पूजा करिती भक्तीसी ॥८८॥

pativratene patīsahita | snāna kele samgamāta | amtaḥkaraṇī samtoṣa bahuta | pūjā karitī bhaktīsī ||88||

The devoted wife, together with her husband, bathed at the confluence; with great joy in her heart, she performed worship with devotion.

The couple's first shared act as reunited husband and wife is a ritual bath and worship together — gratitude expressed through shared practice, not just private relief.

Mark a moment of restored blessing with a shared act of gratitude alongside those you love.

अपार द्रव्य वेचोनि । विप्र तोषवोनि आराधनी । सूर्य जाता अस्तमानी । येती गुरूच्या मठासी ॥८९॥

apāra dravya veconi | vipra toṣavoni ārādhanī | sūrya jātā astamānī | yetī gurūcyā maṭhāsī ||89||

Spending abundant wealth, they pleased the brahmins with worship and gifts; as the sun set, they came to the Guru's maṭha (hermitage).

Their gratitude becomes generous and concrete, given freely to the wider community of brahmins, before they return to settle near the guru's own dwelling.

Turn gratitude into generosity toward the wider community, not only toward the one who helped you directly.

स्त्रीपुरुष नमस्कार । करिताती वारंवार । पूजासामग्री उपचार । आरती करिती श्रीगुरूसी ॥१९०॥

strīpuruṣa namaskāra | karitātī vāramvāra | pūjāsāmagrī upacāra | āratī karitī śrīgurūsī ||190||

The husband and wife bowed again and again, and with the materials of worship performed ārati to Śrī Guru.

Their devotion is not a single grand gesture but repeated, ongoing bowing and worship — gratitude expressed as an enduring practice rather than a one-time thank-you.

Turn a moment of gratitude into a lasting practice rather than a single act you soon forget.

सिद्ध म्हणे नामधारका । पुढे अपूर्व वर्तले ते ऐका । कथा असे अपूर्व देखा । सांगेन ऐका एकचित्ते ॥९१॥

siddha mhaṇe nāmadhārakā | puḍhe apūrva vartale te aikā | kathā ase apūrva dekhā | sāmgena aikā ekacitte ||91||

Siddha said to Nāmadhārak: 'Hear now what wondrous thing happened next; the story is truly extraordinary — listen with a single-pointed mind, and I will tell it.'

The narrator frame returns, with Siddha (the storyteller) promising Nāmadhārak (the listening disciple) more to come — a reminder that this chapter's tale sits within a longer chain of teaching.

Stay attentive and receptive when a trusted teacher signals that something important is about to be shared.

म्हणे सरस्वतीगंगाधर । सांगे गुरुचरित्र विस्तार । ऐकता पावन मनोहर । सकळाभीष्टे पावती ॥९२॥

mhaṇe sarasvatīgamgādhara | sāmge gurucaritra vistāra | aikatā pāvana manohara | sakaḷābhīṣṭe pāvatī ||92||

Sarasvatī-Gaṅgādhar says: he told the Gurucaritra's story at length; hearing it, purifying and beautiful, all one's heartfelt wishes are fulfilled.

The chronicler steps forward by name — Sarasvatī Gaṅgādhar, the traditional author of the text — and states its own promise: that hearing this story with faith grants one's heartfelt wishes.

Approach a sacred or meaningful story not just as information but as something capable of shaping your own life if received with an open heart.

इति श्रीगुरुचरित्रामृत । उठविले विप्राचे प्रेत । सौभाग्य देवोनि अद्‌भुत । परम तयासी तोषविले ॥१९३॥

iti śrīgurucaritrāmṛta | uṭhavile viprāce preta | saubhāgya devoni ad‌bhuta | parama tayāsī toṣavile ||193||

Thus, in the nectar-like Śrī Gurucaritra, [the Guru] raised up the brahmin's corpse; granting the wonder of restored good fortune, he brought that couple the greatest joy.

This closing line summarizes the chapter's central act in a single sentence, naming saubhāgya (auspicious married fortune, restored to the wife) as the specific gift granted, alongside life itself.

Recognize that true restoration often means renewing not just survival but the fullness of a person's life and dignity.

इति श्रीगुरुचरित्रामृते परमकथाकल्पतरौ । श्रीनृसिंहसरस्वत्युपाख्याने सिद्धनामधारकसंवादे प्रेतसंजीवनं नाम द्वात्रिंशोऽध्यायः ॥३२॥

iti śrīgurucaritrāmṛte paramakathākalpatarau | śrīnṛsimhasarasvatyupākhyāne siddhanāmadhārakasamvāde pretasamjīvanam nāma dvātrimśo'dhyāyaḥ ||32||

Thus ends, in the Śrī Gurucaritra — the wish-fulfilling tree of supreme tales, in the discourse of Śrī Nṛsiṁha Sarasvatī, in the dialogue between Siddha and Nāmadhārak — the thirty-second chapter, named 'The Revival of the Corpse' (Pretasañjīvana).

The formal Sanskrit colophon names and seals the chapter, calling it Pretasañjīvana ('revival of the corpse') and situating it within the frame-story of Siddha teaching Nāmadhārak — the traditional closing formula of each adhyāya (chapter).

Recognize and honor the formal closing of an important teaching, marking it as complete rather than leaving it open-ended.

श्रीगुरुदत्तात्रेयार्पणमस्तु ॥ श्रीगुरुदेव दत्त ॥

śrīgurudattātreyārpaṇamastu || śrīgurudeva datta ||

May this be offered to Śrī Guru Dattātreya. Śrī Gurudeva Datta.

This traditional dedication offers the entire chapter's merit back to Dattātreya, the guru's divine source — even the telling of the story is returned as an offering, not claimed as one's own achievement.

Offer the credit for your good work back to its true source rather than claiming it entirely as your own.

(ओवीसंख्या १९३)

(ovīsamkhyā 193)

(Total number of ovīs: 193)

This closing note is a scribal tally, recording the verse-count of the chapter as it was transmitted and copied down.

Value the quiet, careful work of preservation and record-keeping that lets a teaching endure for future generations.