Menā’s Daughters and Umā’s Tapas
Chapters 25 and 26 of the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa tell of the three daughters of Himavān and Menā: Rāgiṇī, Kuṭilā and Kālī. Kuṭilā becomes a sacred river, Rāgiṇī becomes Sandhyā, and Kālī receives the name Umā. The account goes on to Umā’s hard tapas (austerity) and to Bhagavān Śiva’s test of her devotion before he shows himself. The Bhadreśvara liṅga arises at that place, and the saptarshis (seven ṛshis) go to arrange the divine marriage.
The three daughters of Himavān and Menā
The pitṛs (ancestors) at Pṛthūdaka tīrtha (holy place) gave Menā to Himavān, and the king of mountains received her as his queen. In time three daughters were born to them.
- Rāgiṇī, the red one, bright and full of rāga (colour and feeling).
- Kuṭilā, the white and curved one.
- Kālī, the dark one, with great tapas-śakti (power of austerity) and deep spiritual strength.
Bhagavān Brahmā would make clear that these three daughters of the mountains were meant for great roles.
Bhagavān Brahmā’s declaration
When the daughters of Himavān and Menā became known among the devas, Bhagavān Brahmā spoke. The three daughters were of rare nature, he said, but none among the ordinary devas could bear the bīja (seed) of Bhagavān Śiva. The plan for the marriage of Bhagavān Śiva needed a being of unusual power, one formed by tapas and not only by divine birth. Each of the three daughters would find the role meant for her.
Kuṭilā becomes a sacred river
Kuṭilā was changed and became the sacred river that flows through the jaṭā (matted hair) of Bhagavān Brahmā. This river, born as the daughter of the king of mountains, is joined both to the waters of the Himālaya and to the Brahmaloka of the creator.
Chapter 31 later tells how the river Kuṭilā receives the śukra (seed) of Bhagavān Śiva that Agni places in her, bears it, and finally places it in the Śaravaṇa reed forest, where Kārttikeya is born.
Rāgiṇī becomes Sandhyā
Rāgiṇī, the red daughter, became Sandhyā, the devī of twilight, who stands between day and night. Sandhyā rules over the sandhis, the meeting points of time, which are dawn and dusk. Her red colour is the colour of the sky at those hours.
The naming of Umā
Kālī, the third and darkest daughter, was to become the wife of Bhagavān Śiva. She told her mother that she wished to do tapas in the forest. Menā was full of a mother’s pain, and she cried out: “U-mā!” This means “Do not (go)!” She wished to keep her daughter from the hardships of life in the forest.
This cry of a mother’s love became the daughter’s name. From that time Kālī was called Umā, the one to whom her mother said “u mā” (do not). Umā went to the forest all the same.
Umā’s tapas
In the forest Umā did tapas of great strength. She turned all her spiritual power toward winning Bhagavān Śiva as her husband. She held to it through heat, cold and rain and long fasting, and her radiance lit the forest. The devas and ṛshis watched her austerities with respect.
Bhagavān Śiva tests Umā
Before showing himself to Umā, Bhagavān Śiva came to her disguised as a wandering bhikshu (mendicant), a man of great presence. In this form he spoke against Bhagavān Śiva himself and listed what he called his faults: his body covered with ash, his company of ghosts and his place in the cremation ground, his matted hair, and the hide of a slain animal that he wore. He asked Umā why a lovely and noble princess of the mountains should want such an ascetic as her husband.
Umā did not waver for a moment. She was not angry or upset. She answered each charge with a deeper praise of the greatness of Bhagavān Śiva. Her certainty, born of tapas, could not be shaken. The disguised Bhagavān Śiva was deeply moved by the steadfastness of her devotion.
Bhagavān Śiva shows himself, and Bhadreśvara
After the tests, Bhagavān Śiva showed Umā his true form and accepted her as his wife. At the place where this recognition happened, a Śiva liṅga arose that is called Bhadreśvara (the auspicious lord). This tīrtha marks the place where Bhagavān Śiva made himself known to Umā, and it is linked with the marriage.
After this Bhagavān Śiva went to Pṛthūdaka, and the saptarshis were called to arrange the divine marriage.
The saptarshis go to Himavān
Chapter 26 opens with the seven great ṛshis, the saptarshis, going to the city of Himavān with their wives and the noble Arundhatī. They came to ask for Umā’s hand for Bhagavān Śiva. Gandhamādana was the doorkeeper of Himavān’s city.
All the great mountains gathered to honour the occasion. These included Meru, Udayāchala, Hemakūṭa, Mandara, Kailāsa and Vindhya, and many others. The great ṛshi Aṅgiras was the chief speaker for the saptarshis. He set before the assembly of Himavān the case that Bhagavān Śiva was a fit bridegroom.
Kālī-Umā gave her own consent. All the mountains and their gathered powers agreed to the proposal. This agreement set in motion the great wedding told in Chapter 27.
Sources
- Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 25 (the three daughters, Bhagavān Brahmā’s declaration, Kuṭilā, Rāgiṇī as Sandhyā, the name Umā, Umā’s tapas, the test, Bhadreśvara)
- Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 26 (the saptarshis go to Himavān)
- Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 27 (the wedding)
- Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 31 (the river Kuṭilā bears the seed of Bhagavān Śiva)