Hemāṅgī

Hemāṅgī was the virtuous and beautiful queen of King Vīravarman. In her earlier life she was Mohinī, a prostitute (veśyā) of the city of Māhishmatī. Mohinī died after drinking water from the Prayāga tīrtha (holy place) within Indraprastha.

Born again as Hemāṅgī, she remembered her former life. She knew the grace that had saved her, and she led her husband to Prayāga within Indraprastha. Both reached Vaikuṇṭha there.

Former life as Mohinī

In her earlier life, Hemāṅgī was a woman named Mohinī. She lived as a prostitute (veśyā) in the city of Māhishmatī. After a life of pāpa (sin), she was robbed and left in a forest, where she lay dying.

A wandering ascetic gave her water brought from the Prayāga tīrtha within Indraprastha. She drank it at the moment of death. Because of this, she was turned away from the fruits of her karma (action) that would have taken her to naraka (hell). The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 220.

Birth as Hemāṅgī and memory of past lives

In the new birth, Hemāṅgī was born into a good family and became the queen of King Vīravarman. She was well known for her beauty, her virtue and her dharmic (righteous) conduct.

She had jātismaraṇa, the memory of past births. She remembered her life as Mohinī, her pāpa (sinful) acts and her wretched death. She also remembered the holy water that had come to her at the last moment. She remembered too that, as she was dying, she had wished to be born again as a queen. That wish had now come true. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 220.

Leading Vīravarman to moksha

Hemāṅgī told her husband Vīravarman the account of her past life. She urged him to see the power of the Prayāga tīrtha within Indraprastha. She persuaded him to join her on the journey to Indraprastha.

The royal couple travelled together. They bathed at the Prayāga tīrtha within the great holy place and worshipped Bhagavān Vishṇu. Hemāṅgī was taken to Vaikuṇṭha in a divine vehicle arranged through the grace of Brahmā. Vīravarman reached the world of Bhagavān Vishṇu together with her. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 221.

Sources

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