Menā

Menā is the wife of Himavān, the Himālaya in person, and the earthly mother of Pārvatī, who is also called Girijā. She is known for her deep love as a mother. When Pārvatī decided to practise hard tapas (austerity), Menā cried out “U-mā! U-mā!” (“O! Do not!”), and so Pārvatī received the name Umā.

The Purāṇas tell how Menā came to be Pārvatī’s mother. In the Śiva Purāṇa she was one of three celestial sisters who were put under a śāpa (a curse) by Sanatkumāra and were born as human women. In the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa and the Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Brahmā asks Rātri, the devī of night, to enter Menā’s womb so that Pārvatī would be born with a dark complexion. At the wedding of Śiva and Pārvatī, Menā was at first afraid of Śiva’s looks and refused the match more than once. In the end she gave in, and she became a glad and loving mother-in-law to Śiva.

Who she is

Some Purāṇic accounts call Menā the daughter of the pitṛs (ancestors). Others call her the daughter of Mount Meru. Neither the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa nor the Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa dwells on her lineage. They show her as a loving and caring mother.

In the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa she is a woman of soft white radiance, her body faintly shining, surrounded by healing herbs and the sound of holy mantras. She is the mother whose womb was chosen for the birth of Paraśakti herself. In the Kedāra Khaṇḍa she appears mostly as Himavān’s wife and Pārvatī’s loving mother. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20)

The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa calls Himavān the parvata-rāja (king of mountains) and says that Menā lives in the great mountain-city, the most splendid home in the story of Pārvatī. It describes her wearing jewelled ornaments, her face slightly shining, with a mahāmantra called śarpa bound to her body as protection. She sits in her great inner room, lit by lamps of jewels and filled with the sweet scents of a queen’s home.

The śāpa of Sanatkumāra

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa tells why Menā was born on earth. In the celestial realm there were three sisters, daughters of the pitṛs, named Menā, Dhanyā and Kalāvatī. They lived in great happiness and ease. Once the brahmarṣi Sanatkumāra came before them, and the three did not show him the respect due to a great ṛṣi.

Sanatkumāra was deeply offended. By his śāpa all three were to be born as mortal women on earth. The sisters wept.

Then Brahmā came to them and told them of the grace hidden in the śāpa:

• Menā would be born as the wife of Himavān and become the earthly mother of Pārvatī, who is Paraśakti herself.
• Dhanyā would become the mother of Sītā, the consort of Bhagavān Rāma.
• Kalāvatī would become the mother of Rādhā, the beloved of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.

What looked like exile was in truth the highest of appointments. Menā’s human birth was the way by which Paraśakti would come into the world. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 12)

Rātri enters her womb

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa tells how Pārvatī came to be born from Menā. Brahmā had planned the course of events to bring about Kārttikeya and the death of Tārakāsura. He called Rātri, the devī of night and the first of his own creations, and told her to enter Menā’s womb.

Menā’s eyes were just beginning to close in the deep night, before the bhrāmī-muhūrta. This is the early dawn hour sacred to Brahmā, the hour of the highest sattva-guṇa (quality of purity). Rātri entered through Menā’s face and slowly went down into her womb. From within, the glowing complexion of holy Menā changed a little. Her white radiance was altered by the dark (kṛṣṇa) nature of Rātri living within her. This dark nature would give Pārvatī her dark colour at birth. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22)

The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa gives its own account. Brahmā’s plan for bringing about Kumāra needed Pārvatī to be born dark. After the marriage Śiva, in play, would call her “Kṛṣṇā” (the dark one). This would stir her to do tapas to win the Gaura (fair) form. So Brahmā called Vibhāvarī, the first night-devī, in private and told her to enter Menā’s womb.

Vibhāvarī came by day to Himavān’s great palace and found Menā sitting in her room. As night fell and the household slowly fell asleep, Menā’s eyes were just closing from tiredness. At that moment Vibhāvarī entered through Menā’s mouth, went into her body and took up her place in the womb. From then on the child in the womb had Vibhāvarī’s dark colour. (Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 153)

The birth of Pārvatī

In the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Menā, who brings good fortune to the world (jagad-maṅgalakarī), gave birth to Pārvatī at the bhrāmī-muhūrta. Great signs of good fortune appeared through all creation at that moment.

• All creatures, moving and unmoving, were filled with joy everywhere.
• The minds of cruel beings became calm and gentle.
• The stars and nakṣatras shone brighter, and healing herbs grew rich in the forests.
• Fruits became sweet and flowers became fragrant. The sky became clear as crystal.
• The wind had a soft, pleasant touch, and all directions became lovely.
• Forgotten śāstras came back to memory, and holy tīrthas appeared anew.
• The devas in the sky, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Indra, Sūrya and Vāyu, rained flowers on Himavān’s home.
• The Maruts appeared in heroic form, and rivers and oceans came flowing toward Himavān’s home.

Pārvatī was born with the dark colour that Rātri’s dark nature had given her. This served the purpose Brahmā had in mind. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22)

In the Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Menā gave birth to Pārvatī at brahma-muhūrta. Pārvatī was to become the ardhāṅginī (half of the body) of Maheśvara and the mother of Kumāra. The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa says that at her birth all beings in the three worlds felt mahāsukha (great joy) at the same moment. Suffering in naraka (hell) stopped. Fierce beings became gentle. The earth became fragrant and fruitful. The tapas of great ṛṣis, which had lain idle without fruit, suddenly bore fruit. The sky became clear, the winds became pleasant and the earth bloomed. (Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 153)

Menā at Nārada’s visit

Nārada came to Himavān’s home to arrange the match between Pārvatī and Śiva. Menā came with Pārvatī and a few attendants to greet the muni. She bowed, veiled. Nārada gave her true āśīrvādas (blessings): “May you be a pativratā (a devoted wife) of good conduct and great aiśvarya (prosperity). May you bear vīra-putrīs (heroic daughters) and daughters who will raise up the family.”

Nārada then described Śiva in a deliberately hidden way, as naked, poor and surrounded by cruel companions. He told Himavān that Pārvatī’s destined husband “has not been born, and if he is present, has all these faults.” Menā wept with Himavān. Her sorrow as a mother was complete and open. Then Nārada explained the true meaning behind each seeming fault of Śiva, and both parents were glad. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

The origin of the name Umā

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa tells exactly how Pārvatī got the name Umā. Śiva burned Manmatha and went back to Kailāsa. Pārvatī had been serving him with flowers, fruits and water, and now she felt lost. She was confused and blamed herself, and she walked to and fro. Himavān saw her, gently took her hands and brought her home. Her parents asked what had happened.

Pārvatī spoke through her sakhīs (friends): “What use is this unlucky body? I shall either give up this body or win the husband I wish for. If what I wish is out of reach, tapas alone is the way left. So, with various niyamas (vows of discipline), I will dry up this body. If you have karuṇā (kindness) for me, give me leave.”

When her parents heard this they cried out “U-mā!” (literally, “O! Do not!”). It was a cry that burst from them to stop her from going. From this cry of “Umā”, the loving and fearful call of her parents, the devī received this as one of her holy names. They tried to turn her back: “Your body is too soft for such austerity. Do not do this. What must come will come in any case.” But Pārvatī kept to her resolve. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 24–25)

Menā at the wedding in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa

In the Kedāra Khaṇḍa’s account of the wedding, Menā was there as a proud and happy mother. But she was also terrified when she saw Śiva’s wedding procession. It included Vīrabhadra, Cāṇḍikā carrying severed heads, and countless gaṇas of horrifying look. She looked from the palace window at the approaching procession and was so afraid that she almost fainted. Only Himavān’s words kept her from running away: “This is our son-in-law’s company. They are all devotees of the highest kind.” (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

Opposition and change at the wedding in the Pārvatī Khaṇḍa

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa gives the fullest account of Menā at the wedding, much fuller than the short mention in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa. In it Menā is the great obstacle that has to be overcome, and her change into acceptance is one of the most moving parts of the whole Khaṇḍa.

The first refusal

Menā had been against the match from the start. However Śiva was described to her, it could not fully calm a mother’s heart. When the Saptarṣis (seven ṛṣis) came as envoys for the wedding, Vasiṣṭha gave Himavān long counsel, but Menā still held back. Arundhatī spoke to her as one woman and mother to another. She softened Menā’s resolve somewhat, and the formal consent was given. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 32–36)

The sight of Śiva’s procession

The great wedding procession from Kailāsa arrived, with 1120 crore gaṇas, many of them terrible and strange to see. Menā watched from the palace window with Nārada beside her and asked him to name each great being in the procession. Gandharvas, yakṣas, Agni, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Indra, Candra, Sūrya, Bṛhaspati, Brahmā and Viṣṇu passed one after another. Each time Menā mistook the one passing for Śiva, because all of them looked splendid, and each time Nārada corrected her: “Not yet.”

Then Śiva himself came, surrounded by his gaṇas of fearful (bhayaṅkara) look and carrying the signs of his power as an ascetic. Menā saw him in his awe-inspiring form and fainted. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 41–43)

Stronger refusal

When Menā woke, she refused the wedding with fresh and even fiercer will. She said she would rather take Pārvatī’s life than give her to such a being. She shouted at Nārada, at the Saptarṣis and at Arundhatī. Her fear as a mother had swept away all the acceptance she had reached before.

Pārvatī herself stepped forward and spoke to her mother with clear understanding and a daughter’s love. She defended Śiva’s nature, explained that he is supreme, and said she had chosen Śiva in mind, speech and action and would take no other. Brahmā gave Menā a direct teaching on Śiva-tattva (the truth of Śiva). Bhagavān Viṣṇu gave a full teaching on Śiva’s nature as Parameśvara, who is both saguṇa (with qualities) and nirguṇa (without qualities). The Siddhas also appealed to her.

Menā at last gave way, but on one condition: she would agree only if Śiva appeared in a beautiful form. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 44)

The change

Nārada went to Śiva and told him Menā’s condition. Śiva, ever kind, took a form of wonderful beauty. He shone like millions of suns. He wore ornaments of gold and gems and a garland of jasmine. Bhagavān Viṣṇu and Brahmā went with him as his companions, and he rode his decorated bull. Gaṅgā and Yamunā were his cāmara-bearers (fly-whisk bearers), and the eight siddhis danced before him.

When Menā saw this form she was wholly changed. She said: “My daughter is blessed. My toil in tapas was not wasted. This is the one Pārvatī earned.” The women of the whole city ran from their homes to see Śiva’s shining form.

Menā performed the āratī (the lamp greeting) for the bridegroom as the procession arrived. She rejoiced with all the divine women at the wedding. Her journey, from a mother’s terror and fierce refusal to thankful acceptance and joy, was complete. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 45)

Farewell to Pārvatī

When it was time for Pārvatī to leave for Kailāsa, Menā wept and fainted again. She put her daughter in Śiva’s care and reminded him of Pārvatī’s lifelong devotion: how she had wept at any blame of Śiva and glowed at any praise of him. All who were present wept at the farewell. Even Śiva wept. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 53–55)

Menā in the Matsya Purāṇa

After the birth, Menā brought up Pārvatī in her great mountain-city with deep love. Later Pārvatī left in anger after Śiva’s teasing and set out for hard tapas to win the Gaura form. Menā grieved at her leaving. (Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 153–157)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 22–25
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 20–26
• Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 12, 32–36, 41–45, 53–55
• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 153–157