Sandhyā
Sandhyā was born from the mind of Brahmā at the time of creation. The Śiva Purāṇa tells her account in the Satī Khaṇḍa. When she appeared, Brahmā and the ṛṣis felt sudden desire. Only Śiva stayed unmoved. Sandhyā felt deep shame and practised tapas (austerity) on the Candra-parvata. She gave her body to the sacred fire, and she became the dawn, the dusk and the twilight hours. She was then born again as Arundhatī, the wife of the ṛṣi Vasiṣṭha.
Her account is the account behind Sandhyā-vandana, the prayer at dawn, noon and dusk that all the twice-born (dvija) must perform.
Birth from the mind of Brahmā
At the beginning of creation, Brahmā was bringing forth the universe. Among the beings born from his mind (mānasī sṛṣṭi) was Sandhyā. She was extremely beautiful, bright and calm, and she looked like a young woman in the prime of youth.
Her look was so strong that at the moment she appeared, Brahmā himself felt kāma-vikāra (sudden, unwanted desire) toward his own mind-born creation. So did the Prajāpatis and ṛṣis who were present.
Śiva was the one exception. He was there as a witness. He watched the whole scene, the Creator and the ṛṣis overcome by desire, and he laughed. His laughter made Brahmā aware of what had happened. Brahmā withdrew at once and was deeply ashamed of what had arisen in himself. The ṛṣis also recovered and were ashamed.
The Śiva Purāṇa tells this in Rudra Saṃhitā, Satī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 2.
Her shame and her resolve
Sandhyā knew what had happened. Her appearance had stirred kāma even in her own father and in the ṛṣis. She felt great shame (hrī) and distress. She decided that she would not stay in a form that caused such disturbance. She would perform tapas and seek a change of form.
She went to the Candra-parvata, the Mountain of the Moon, and began severe tapas. In time Brahmā noticed that she was gone. He came to persuade her to return. She refused and explained her decision.
This is told in Chapter 3.
Tapas and change of form
Śiva accepted the tapas of Sandhyā. When its fruit ripened, she made the last offering. She gave her own body to the sacred fire. As her body dissolved in the flame, each part became a part of the world around us:
- The glow and light of her form became the colours of dawn (prātaḥ-sandhyā) and the colours of dusk (sāyaṃ-sandhyā).
- Her radiance spread out as the soft light of the twilight hours that join day and night.
- The moment of her dissolving became the threshold that returns every day, the sandhyā itself.
So the word sandhyā (a junction, a joining, a threshold) took its wider meaning. She gave up her form and became the very moments where light and darkness meet. Sandhyā-vandana is done at these three junctions of the day. It honours and remembers her at each of her appearances.
This is told in Chapter 3. The account also explains why the thrice-daily rite is done at these particular times, and why the word sandhyā names a divine figure and not only a time of day.
Rebirth as Arundhatī
After her change into the dawn and dusk, Sandhyā was born again with a body as Arundhatī. She was the daughter of the ṛṣi Kardama and Devahūti, so she was the sister of Kapila. Arundhatī is praised as one of the greatest pativratās (devoted wives) in the Purāṇic tradition. She was married to the great ṛṣi Vasiṣṭha, one of the Saptarṣis, the Seven ṛṣis. Arundhatī is placed among the stars, in the constellation of the Saptarṣis, where people can see her and honour her each day.
This is told in Chapter 4.
What the account shows about Śiva
In the scene where the Creator and all the ṛṣis are overcome by kāma, Śiva alone stays untouched. This shows that Śiva is Mahāvairāgī (the great renouncer), beyond the power of kāma.
Sources
- Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Satī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 2–4