Sudeha

Sudeha was the elder wife of the brāhmaṇa Sudharmā. She was also the elder sister of Ghuśmā. The Śiva Purāṇa tells her story as part of the account of how the Ghuśmeśvara Jyotirliṅga came to be.

Sudeha and Sudharmā

Sudeha had no child. She grieved that she could not give her husband Sudharmā an heir. She herself arranged for her younger sister Ghuśmā to become Sudharmā’s second wife. The Śiva Purāṇa shows this as an act of self-giving, but it also carried the first seeds of jealousy.

Jealousy

Ghuśmā worshipped the pārthiva liṅga (the earthen liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva) every day. Through this pūjā she received a son, and her family flourished. This was the gift Sudeha had hoped for from the marriage she had arranged. Sudeha could not bear to see it come to another woman in her own house. Her jealousy, held down for years, broke out.

The killing of Ghuśmā’s son

Sudeha killed Ghuśmā’s son. She then threw his body into the sacred lake where Ghuśmā immersed her pārthiva liṅgas each day. The Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā tells this in Chapter 32.

Ghuśmā’s forgiveness

Bhagavān Śiva appeared and brought the son back to life. He then offered to destroy Sudeha for her crime. Ghuśmā pleaded for her completely, and Sudeha was spared. The Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā tells this in Chapter 33. Ghuśmā’s forgiveness of Sudeha is the heart of the account of the Ghuśmeśvara Jyotirliṅga.

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 32–33