Mohinī of Māhishmatī

Mohinī was a veśyā (a woman who lived by selling her beauty and company) in Māhishmatī, a city on the Narmadā. The Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells that she was reborn as Hemāṅgī, the virtuous and devoted queen of King Vīravarman. She had gained puṇya (merit) without knowing it. Her story shows how karma works: even a life that looks full of adharma can hold hidden moments of puṇya that carry the ātmā on toward moksha (liberation).

Her life in Māhishmatī

Mohinī lived in Māhishmatī on the Narmadā. As a veśyā, she gathered a great deal of pāpa (sin) by the Purāṇic reckoning. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 220)

The moment of puṇya

Her change of fortune is tied to one act that gave her great puṇya in the middle of an otherwise life full of pāpa. The act itself is not named. The Uttara Khaṇḍa says again and again that one powerful act of puṇya can wipe out a large store of pāpa, above all when the act is linked to Bhagavān Vishṇu or his servants. By this puṇya, Mohinī rose above her low birth and its pāpa. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 220–221)

Rebirth as Hemāṅgī

After Mohinī died, her puṇya gave her a rebirth in a very different place in life. She was born as Hemāṅgī, queen of King Vīravarman. She was a woman of great virtue and beauty, and of pativratā (devotion to her husband) dharma. The gap between Mohinī the veśyā and Hemāṅgī the ideal queen shows how completely karma can change a life. The ātmā is never fixed for ever in one station, and honest puṇya, however small its start, lifts it higher. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 221)

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 220–221