Mañjughoshā
Mañjughoshā was an apsarā (a celestial dancer and singer) of great beauty and musical gift. Her name means “sweet voice” or “beautiful sound”: mañju is sweet or lovely, and ghoshā is sound or voice. She is the central figure in the account of the origin of Pāpamochanī Ekādaśī in the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.
Who she was
Mañjughoshā was an apsarā, a being of beauty, music and enchanting presence. Her name points to her main gift. She was a singer and musician of the celestial realms. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46)
Her time with Medhāvin
Mañjughoshā came to the brahmarshi Medhāvin and stayed with him in a long relationship. Caught in the charm of her company, Medhāvin felt that only a few days had passed. In truth, fifty-seven years and some months went by. During all that time his stored tapas (austerity) was used up and his spiritual gains faded. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46)
Medhāvin’s śāpa
Medhāvin at last saw how much time had passed and how fully his tapas was gone. In anger he laid a śāpa (a curse) on Mañjughoshā. She would become a piśācī (a goblin-like spirit) for seven years. The śāpa took hold. She lost her celestial form and became a piśācī. This was a great fall, from a beautiful apsarā to the lowest kind of spirit-being. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46)
Freed by Pāpamochanī Ekādaśī
Medhāvin then taught Mañjughoshā the way to be free of the śāpa. He told her to keep Pāpamochanī Ekādaśī. This is the Ekādaśī of the dark fortnight (kṛshṇapaksha) of the month of Caitra. Its name means “remover of pāpa (sin)”.
Mañjughoshā fasted, was devoted to Bhagavān Vishṇu, and kept this Ekādaśī with all its rules. She was freed from the state of a piśācī and restored to her form as an apsarā. Her release is the account that shows the power of this Ekādaśī to remove even very heavy results of past action. After a day of fasting and devotion, she was freed from a long-held śāpa. The Uttara Khaṇḍa gives this as one of its clearest examples of the freeing power of Ekādaśī. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46)
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 46