Pramlocā
Pramlocā
Pramlocā is one of the apsarās, the divine women of svarga (the world of the devas). The Agni Purāṇa names her as the mother of Mārishā, the daughter of the tapasvin Kaṇḍu muni. Mārishā became the wife of the ten Pracetases, and from her was born Daksha, the Prajāpati who increased the people of the world. So through her daughter Pramlocā stands at the root of Daksha’s line. The Agni Purāṇa also names her among the divine apsarās who are called on to protect a king at his abhisheka (consecration bath).
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa tells the same birth: the maiden born to Pramlocā from Kaṇḍu Maharshi was left by her in the forest, received by the trees and fed by Candra, and Śrī Hari himself told the Pracetas to marry her. The Bhāgavata also names Pramlocā as the apsarā who, with Sūrya, conducts the month of Śrāvaṇa.
Mother of Mārishā
Agni Deva tells the account as he gives the line of Daksha. Savarṇā, the daughter of Samudra, bore ten sons to Prācīnabarhis, all bearing the one name Pracetas. They lived in the water of the ocean and performed great tapas for ten thousand years, received the rank of Prajāpati from Bhagavān Vishṇu, and rose from the ocean rejoicing. They found the earth and sky covered with trees, and with fire and wind born from their mouths they began to burn the trees.
Then King Soma went to the Prajāpatis and said: “Withdraw your anger. I, who know the future, caused the excellent maiden Mārishā to be born, the daughter of the tapasvin Kaṇḍu muni by Pramlocā. I give her to you. Let her be the wife who increases your line. Daksha, born of her, will increase the people.”
The Pracetases accepted Mārishā, and to her was born a son, Daksha. By his mind Daksha created the unmoving and the moving beings, those with two feet and those with four, and then he gave his many daughters in marriage to Dharma, Kaśyapa, Soma and others, from whom the devas, the nāgas and all beings were born.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 18
Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Maitreya tells Vidura that Śrī Hari appeared to the ten Pracetas after their tapas and spoke to them of the maiden: “O princes! To the apsarā Pramlocā, from Kaṇḍu Maharshi, a lotus-eyed little girl was born. But she left the child in the forest, and the trees received the infant.” The infant cried with hunger, and Candra, the prabhu (master) of the healing plants, full of compassion, placed in her mouth his index finger that flows with amṛta. Śrī Hari told the Pracetas that their father Prācīnabarhis had commanded them to beget offspring, and that this maiden, of dharma and character equal to theirs, would be their wife. When the Pracetas came up from the ocean and began to burn the trees that covered the earth, Brahmā came and calmed them, and the trees that remained gave them their daughter. At Brahmā’s command the Pracetas married her, Mārishā, and Daksha was born again of her.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 30
In the abhisheka of a king
Pushkara teaches Paraśurāma the mantras for the abhisheka of a king. Each line is a blessing that calls on the devas, the ṛshis, the gandharvas and all beings to bathe the king, protect him and give him victory. Among them the divine apsarās are asked to protect him: Anavadyā, Anukeśī, Menakā, Sahajanyā, Kratusthalā, Ghṛtācī, Viśvācī, Puñjikasthalā, Pramlocā, Urvaśī, Rambhā, Pañcacūḍā, Tilottamā, Citralekhā, Lakshmaṇā, Puṇḍarīkā and Vāruṇī.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 219
With Sūrya in the month of Śrāvaṇa
Sūta tells Śaunaka that Bhagavān Sūrya, in the form of time, moves through the twelve months with a gaṇa of seven in each month: an Āditya, a maharshi, an apsarā, a rākshasa, a nāga, a yaksha and a gandharva. In Śrāvaṇa they are Indra, the Sūrya of that month; Viśvāvasu, the gandharva; Śrotā, the yaksha; Elāpatra, the sarpa; Aṅgiras, the maharshi; Pramlocā, the apsarā; and Varya, the rākshasa. While the gandharvas sing his glory, the apsarās dance before him. These are the vibhūtis of Bhagavān Vishṇu in the form of Sūrya, and the pāpas of those who remember them every day at the sandhyās go away.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 11
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 18, 219
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 30; Skandha 12, Chapter 11