Sanatkumāra’s Śāpa on Menā

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Rudra Saṃhitā in the Śiva Purāṇa begins with the events that came before Pārvatī’s birth. One of them is the earlier life of Menā. She was one of the three daughters of Svadhā. She wronged Sanatkumāra and was given a śāpa (a curse) to be born in the human world. This is why a being of Menā’s high rank was born in the human world, and why she was to have Pārvatī as her daughter.

The three daughters of Svadhā

Menā, Dhanyā and Kalāvatī were the three daughters of Svadhā, the devī of the offerings made to the pitṛ-devatās (the ancestors). As her daughters they had a high place among the devas and lived in the celestial worlds.

The wrong and the śāpa

Sanatkumāra is one of the four mind-born sons of Brahmā. He is a great yogī of perfect wisdom and dignity. He was giving a secret teaching. The three sisters came into his presence in an irreverent way. They did not keep the proper manners that belong in front of a ṛshi of Sanatkumāra’s standing.

Sanatkumāra saw their disrespect and gave a śāpa: the three women would be born in the human world (mānusha-yoni).

Brahmā shows the hidden purpose

The three women were troubled by the śāpa and went to Brahmā. Brahmā saw what Sanatkumāra’s śāpa had in fact set in motion. He comforted them and told them the purpose behind it:

• Menā would be born as the wife of Himavān, the Himālaya in person. Her daughter would be Pārvatī, the avatāra of Paraśakti and the wife of Bhagavān Śiva. So Menā would become the mother-in-law of Śiva himself.
• Dhanyā would be born as the mother of Sītā, the wife of Bhagavān Vishṇu in his avatāra as Rāma. She would become the mother-in-law of Rāma.
• Kalāvatī would be born as the mother of Rādhā, the great devotee and beloved of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. She would become the mother-in-law of Kṛshṇa.

What looked like Sanatkumāra’s punishment was in truth an appointment in the cosmic plan. The three women were sent to the human world because the three greatest divine unions needed earthly mothers of rare character and puṇya (merit).

Himavān’s marriage to Menā

After the śāpa was resolved, the devas and the pitṛ-devatās arranged for Himavān to receive Menā as his wife. The first chapter of the Pārvatī Khaṇḍa describes this marriage. The devas and pitṛ-devatās came together, and Menā, whose divine birth had made her ready for this part, was given to Himavān as his wife. This set the stage for Pārvatī’s birth.

Menā was therefore a divine being who had lived in the celestial worlds, been cursed by a brahmarshi, and been sent by Brahmā himself to do one great work.

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 2
• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1