Kubjā

Kubjā was a hunchbacked woman in Mathurā who carried sandal paste for the royal household. She met Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the streets of the city when he came for the Dhanuryāga (the bow sacrifice of King Kaṃsa). At the touch of his grace, her old and bent body became that of a radiant girl of twelve.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa says that Kubjā was Śūrpaṇakhā born again. She had done sincere tapas (austerity) for Kṛshṇa even in the form of a rākshasī, and now she received its fruit. She reached moksha (liberation) and went up to Goloka at dawn. The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa tells how Kṛshṇa cured her. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa gives a different past birth for her.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa account

Meeting Kṛshṇa in Mathurā

Kṛshṇa was walking through the streets of Mathurā toward the arena of Kaṃsa. He saw an old woman bent double with age. She carried sandalwood paste (chandana) scented with kastūrī (musk) and kuṅkuma (saffron). Though she was in this state, she came to Kṛshṇa with clear devotion and with her own hands put the chandana on him with reverence.

By the grace of the glance and touch of Kṛshṇa, she was wonderfully changed. She became a beautiful girl of twelve. She had lips red as the bimba fruit, a body bright as gold (kāñcanāṅga), a perfectly shaped figure, jewelled anklets, and hair decked with mālatī flowers. Kṛshṇa comforted her and moved on.

Her house had changed too. It became a padmālaya (a lotus-like palace) with a jewelled bed, burning lamps (dīpas), servants and every comfort of a divine home. She laid out tāmbūla (betel), chandana and mālatī flowers for Kṛshṇa and waited.

Her earlier life as Śūrpaṇakhā

Later that night Kṛshṇa came to Kubjā and told her who she truly was. He said: “You were Śūrpaṇakhā in the Rāma-avatāra. Even in that life, in that form, you did tapas and sought me with longing. Now, in this Kṛshṇāvatāra, you have gained the fruit of that tapas.” Kṛshṇa spent the night with her.

Liberation to Goloka

At dawn Kubjā went up to Goloka in a divine chariot.

This account is from the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 70.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa account

The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa tells of Kubjā in the Pañcamāṃśa, Chapter 20. Kṛshṇa was walking through Mathurā toward the Dhanuryāga. Kubjā is called trivakrā here (the text says trivakreṇa): a woman bent in three places, the neck, the back and the legs. She carried a vessel of scented sandal paste made for the royal household.

When she saw Kṛshṇa she was charmed. She offered him her best chandana with both hands.

Kṛshṇa took the offering and then cured her with one exact movement. He pressed her feet down with his toe and at the same time lifted her chin with two of his fingers. This straightened her triple-bent body in one motion. The three bends were gone at once. Her limbs became straight and well shaped, her face became bright, and her whole body became that of a beautiful woman. Kubjā asked Kṛshṇa to her home with clear affection.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa keeps the detail of the two-fingered lift, with the press at the feet and the lift at the chin. It does not tell of her earlier birth as Śūrpaṇakhā.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa account

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells of an earlier birth of Kubjā in its Vilāsa Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8. In this account Kubjā was formerly Piṅgalā, a veśyā (courtesan) of Ayodhyā. Piṅgalā was full of desire (kāma) for Rāma. During the Rāma-rājya she entered his private bedchamber at night.

Rāma refused her, because he was bound by his ekapatnī-vrata (vow to have one wife). But he gave her a vara (boon). She would be born as the hunchbacked woman Kubjā in Mathurā and serve in the palace of Kaṃsa. When Kṛshṇa had killed Kaṃsa and walked through the city, she would offer him sandal paste in the street. At that moment Kṛshṇa would take her by the chin and lift her. Her body would become beautiful and she would be freed.

When Sītā learned of the trespass of Piṅgalā, she had her beaten and spoke a śāpa (curse): “Be born as trivajrā (a triple-bent hunchback) in Mathurā.” Sītā’s strong compassion also moved her to add: “Kṛshṇa will liberate you.”

Both the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa and the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa say that Kṛshṇa freed Kubjā in Mathurā. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa names Śūrpaṇakhā as her past birth. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa names Piṅgalā.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 70
• Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Pañcamāṃśa, Chapter 20
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vilāsa Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8