Sunīthā

Sunīthā was the mānasa-putrī (daughter born from the mind) of Mṛtyu, Death in person. She was the mother of Vena, the king who ruled against dharma. His misrule, and his slaying by the ṛṣis, led to the birth of Pṛthu.

The Mahābhārata (Śānti Parva) and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa both say that Vena’s mother was a daughter of Mṛtyu. They give this as the reason Vena leaned toward cruelty and adharma (what is against dharma) from birth. Sunīthā married Aṅga, who is also called Anaṅga in some accounts. Aṅga was a righteous son of the line of Virajasa. Their son Vena took after his mother and not after his father.

Who she was

The texts name Sunīthā as a mānasa-putrī of Mṛtyu. She was born from the mind of Mṛtyu and not by ordinary birth. She is not shown as someone who did evil by choice. She passed the nature of her father’s line to her son, and nothing shows that she meant any harm.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa says that after the ṛṣis had slain Vena, Sunīthā kept his body safe with mantras and other means. Because of this, the ṛṣis could later churn Vena’s body, and Pṛthu and the Niṣāda were born from it. (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Fourth Skandha)

The Mahābhārata account

In the Śānti Parva, Chapter 59, in the part called Sūtrādhyāya, Bhīṣma traces the line of kings. He starts from Virajasa, whom Viṣṇu created, and comes down through several generations to Atibala. Atibala fell into slavery to his senses. Then Bhīṣma names Atibala’s son Vena.

Bhīṣma says that Vena was born of a mother who was the mānasa-putrī of Mṛtyu. Because of this, Vena leaned toward adharma from the moment of his birth. His father’s line, from Virajasa to Atibala, was divine in origin. His mother’s line came from Death. (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 59)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva (Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva), Chapter 59
• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Fourth Skandha