Suśaṃkha, the Gandharva Who Cursed Sunīdhā

Suśaṃkha was a gandharva and a tapasvin (one who practises tapas, austerity) in the Bhūmi Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa. The Purāṇa describes him as kāma-krodha-rahita (free from desire and anger) and dharma-vatsala (devoted to dharma). He was deeply absorbed in tapas and in the path toward Parabrahman.

He is the one whose curse on Sunīdhā, the daughter of Mṛtyu, set off the events that led to the birth of the wicked king Vena. Sunīdhā struck Suśaṃkha without cause in a forest. Even with his great self-control, Suśaṃkha pronounced a śāpa (a curse) on her: any son she bore would be a mahāpāpī (a great wrongdoer) and a destroyer of his family line. The curse proved true in Vena. Yet Vena’s arm also gave birth to Pṛthu, the greatest dharmic king.

Character and spiritual stature

The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa shows Suśaṃkha as a tapasvin who has reached high attainment. He was free from kāma and krodha, which cloud right judgement. He followed the path of tapas and was absorbed in Parabrahman.

Mṛtyu himself spoke of him with respect when he told Sunīdhā what she had done. He said: “That Suśaṃkha is śānta (peaceful), jitendriya (a conqueror of the senses), and even when struck he will not strike back.” (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, chapters 32 and 33)

The blow and the śāpa

Sunīdhā struck Suśaṃkha in a forest. The text does not describe the exact circumstances of the meeting. Mṛtyu’s words make clear that the act was wholly unjust. Suśaṃkha was blameless and absorbed in tapas, and he had given Sunīdhā no cause. Still she struck him.

Suśaṃkha then pronounced the śāpa. The son born of Sunīdhā would be a mahāpāpī, and his taint would corrupt or destroy any noble family line into which he was born. (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, chapter 33)

The partial relief

Mṛtyu told Sunīdhā that half of her pāpa (sin) had already passed back to Suśaṃkha through the act of cursing. A curse spoken in the heat of wounded dharma returns part of the pāpa to the one who speaks it, even when the first wrong justifies the curse. So Sunīdhā had to purify only the other half, through tapas and satsaṅga (the company of the holy).

This did not undo the effect of the curse, because Vena was still born as a great wrongdoer. But it gave Sunīdhā a way to work through what had come upon her. (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, chapter 33)

Sources

Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, chapters 30 to 34 (with chapters 32 and 33 cited above)