Dhanyā

Dhanyā is one of three sisters in the celestial realm. The other two are Menā and Kalāvatī. The ṛshi Sanatkumāra gave all three a śāpa (curse) to be born as human women. Brahmā then showed them that this śāpa held a hidden grace. Dhanyā’s human birth would make her the mother of Sītā, the divine consort of Bhagavān Rāma.

The curse of Sanatkumāra

Dhanyā was one of three companions, the daughters of the pitṛs (ancestors). Together with Menā and Kalāvatī she lived in great happiness and ease. Once the brahmaṛshi Sanatkumāra came to them. They either did not know him fully or were careless in their ease, and they did not give him the respect due to a great ṛshi of his standing.

Sanatkumāra was deeply offended at this failure of dharma. He cursed all three to be born as human women on earth, cut off from the divine realm where they had lived in joy. The three sisters felt it as a terrible sentence.

Brahmā reveals the hidden grace

When Brahmā heard of the śāpa, he came to the three sisters and showed them its deeper meaning. It was not only a punishment. It was a divine appointment. Each of them would become the mother of one of three great divine consorts who would appear on earth.

Brahmā said:

• Menā would be born as the wife of the mountain Himavān. She would become the mother of Pārvatī, who is Paraśakti herself, the eternal consort of Bhagavān Śiva.
• Dhanyā would be born as an earthly woman. She would become the mother of Sītā, the divine consort of Bhagavān Rāma, the seventh avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
• Kalāvatī would be born as an earthly woman. She would become the mother of Rādhā, the supreme beloved of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

What looked like exile was in truth a great commission: to be the mothers of the three most celebrated divine women.

The meaning of her name

The name Dhanyā means “the blessed one” or “the prosperous one”. Sītā is the incarnate Lakshmī, and her pativratā-dharma (the duty of faithfulness to her husband) became the model for all ages.

Dhanyā appears only briefly in the Pārvatī Khaṇḍa. She is part of the background that explains where Menā came from. The same account explains why Pārvatī was born to these particular human parents, Himavān and Menā.

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 12