Kāñcanamalinī
Kāñcanamalinī is one of the five gandharva maidens in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 128. Her name means “she who wears a garland of gold”. She was a daughter of the gandharva Sukhasaṅgīti.
At the Acchoda lake she and her sisters met the celibate young son of the brāhmaṇa Vedanidhi. The meeting ended in a curse on both sides, and all six became piśācas (ghosts). Kāñcanamalinī is known for one act of great kindness. She gave her Māgha puṇya (merit) to another being who was suffering as a piśāca. That freed him, and she stayed in the cursed state for a time. Lomaśa Ṛshi later told all six to bathe at Prayāga in Māgha, and that freed them.
Identity and family
Sukhasaṅgīti means “he whose song is pleasing”. The gandharvas are celestial musicians and semi-divine beings. Kāñcanamalinī was one of his five daughters. Her sisters were:
- Pramodinī, “the joyous one”
- Suśīlā, “of good character”
- Susvarā, “of beautiful voice”
- Sutārā, “the luminous one”
- Candrikā, “moonlight”
All five sisters shared the piśāca curse and were freed at Prayāga.
The curse at Acchoda lake
The five maidens met the celibate son of Vedanidhi at the Acchoda lake, a beautiful mountain lake. A quarrel arose between the brahmacārin (celibate student) and the gandharva maidens. Both sides cursed each other to become piśācas. The curse took effect on all six.
Giving Māgha puṇya to another sufferer
While she was a piśāca, Kāñcanamalinī met another being who was also suffering in the piśāca state. His own pāpa (sin) had put him there. She felt pity for him and gave him the Māgha puṇya she had gathered. This gift of puṇya is called puṇya-dāna. It freed him from the ghost state. Kāñcanamalinī herself stayed bound for a time.
Freedom and marriage at Prayāga
Lomaśa Ṛshi told all six to take the Māgha bath at Prayāga. They were the five sisters and the son of Vedanidhi. All six went to the Triveṇī Saṅgama (the meeting of the rivers) and bathed there in Māgha. The curse ended for all of them. The five came out as shining gandharva maidens, and the young man came out in his human form, made pure by the bath.
Lomaśa approved the marriage of all five maidens to the son of Vedanidhi. Then all six went to the city of Kubera, the celestial home of wealth and of gandharva life.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 128