Maya Dānava

Maya is a Dānava, one of the hundred sons of Danu and Kaśyapa Prajāpati. He is the supreme architect among the asuras, just as Viśvakarma is among the devas. He is the father of Mandodarī, the wife of Rāvaṇa, and of several powerful sons: Māyāvī, Dundubhi, Vṛsha, Mahisha, Maulika and Vajrakarṇa. Maya’s skill as a builder made the palaces and weapons of the asura world, as Viśvakarma’s made those of the deva world.

Birth and lineage

Maya is named among the chief Dānavas, the hundred sons of Danu by Kaśyapa. Danu is one of the thirteen daughters whom Daksha Prajāpati gave to Kaśyapa. This makes Maya a grandson of Daksha through the Dānava line. The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa names him when it lists the most valiant and powerful sons and grandsons of the Dānavas. (Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 7)

Sons and daughter

The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa lists Maya’s children.

Sons:

  1. Māyāvī, the master of māyā (illusion)
  2. Dundubhi
  3. Vṛsha
  4. Mahisha, the asura who takes the form of a buffalo. The name is also that of the asura killed by Durgā in other accounts.
  5. Maulika
  6. Vajrakarṇa, “diamond-eared”

Daughter:

  • Mandodarī, who became the queen of Rāvaṇa, the lord of Laṅkā. She is counted as one of the five pativratās (wives wholly devoted to their husbands) of the Purāṇic tradition.

(Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 7)

Maya as the architect of the asuras

Many Purāṇic texts speak of Maya as the greatest architect of the asura world. He built the great palace of the Pāṇḍavas at Indraprastha, as a return for Arjuna saving him from the fire of Khāṇḍava. His aerial cities and fortresses are famous in the epics. The Vāyu Purāṇa places him in the Dānava line as the master craftsman who matches Viśvakarma. (Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 7)

Maya and the burning of Khāṇḍava

In the Ādi Parva of the Mahābhārata, Maya is a survivor of the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest. Agni consumed the forest while Arjuna and Kṛshṇa guarded it. Maya was among those trying to flee. Kṛshṇa raised the Sudarśana cakra to strike him down. Arjuna stopped Kṛshṇa and said that Maya had come under his protection. Maya was spared.

In thanks, Maya offered to build whatever the Pāṇḍavas wished. On Kṛshṇa’s advice, Arjuna asked for a sabhā, an assembly hall worthy of the Pāṇḍavas. Maya agreed with joy. He built the famous Maya Sabhā at Indraprastha, a hall of great beauty and illusion that rivalled the assembly hall of Indra. He used divine materials from the treasures of Vṛshaparvan, kept near Bindusaras. Its floors were of crystal. Water looked like solid ground and solid ground looked like water. All this was Maya’s Dānava māyā turned into architecture. This sabhā became the place of the dice game that ruined the Pāṇḍavas. (Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 227–228)

Sources

  • Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 7
  • Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 227–228