Kañjākshī Nāgakanyā
Kañjākshī, also called Kañjanetrā, is a nāgakanyā (nāga princess). She was one of seven daughters of a nāga-rāja (king of the nāgas). Devī Jaladevī held the seven sisters prisoner at the Pañcappa lake, and Bhagavān Rāma freed them. Her name means “lotus-eyed”: kañja is a lotus, and akshī or netrā is an eye.
Vasishṭha Maharshi gave Kañjākshī to Aṅgada, a son of Lakshmaṇa and Ūrmilā, as his nāga bride. She was married to him at Ayodhyā during the great year of weddings.
Freed from the Pañcappa lake
The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa says that Jaladevī imprisoned the seven daughters of a nāga-rāja at the Pañcappa lake. Bhagavān Rāma’s divine will set them free.
Marriage to Aṅgada
After the sisters were freed, Vasishṭha Maharshi assigned Kañjākshī to Aṅgada, the son of Lakshmaṇa. Their wedding took place at Ayodhyā at a muhūrta (auspicious time) in the Vaiśākha kṛshṇa paksha (dark half of the month).
Aṅgada also married a gandharva daughter, Candrikā, in the month of Māgha.
Children
The genealogical account says that Kañjākshī bore Aṅgada eight sons and one daughter.
Sources
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 5–7, 9