Surasā
Surasā
Surasā is a divine being, the mother of the nāgas. She appeared in the middle of the ocean while Hanumān was crossing from Bhārata to Laṅkā. She blocked his path and said that the devas had decreed she would test him: no one could pass without first entering her mouth.
What followed was a famous contest of growing forms. Hanumān matched every enlargement of hers. Then he suddenly shrank to the size of a thumb, entered her mouth, came out at once and went on his way. He had done what her condition asked, and she had not swallowed him. Surasā was delighted, blessed him and let him go.
The Vāmana Purāṇa names her among the auspicious married women, with Devamātā Aditi and Surabhi, who adorned Bhagavān Śiva on Kailāsa for his wedding with Devī Pārvatī.
The Agni Purāṇa names her among the wives of Kaśyapa Prajāpati: from Surasā a thousand serpents were born. It also calls on her, with the other devīs, to make complete the abhisheka of a king.
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa names Surasā among the thirteen daughters of Daksha who became the wives of Kaśyapa Prajāpati, the mothers of living beings, and says that the rākshasas were born of her.
Mother of the serpents
Agni Deva, telling Vasishṭha Maharshi of the children of Kaśyapa by the daughters of Daksha, says that from Tāmrā were born the birds, the horses and the camels; from Vinatā, Aruṇa and Garuḍa; and from Surasā, a thousand serpents. Śesha, Vāsuki, Takshaka and the other thousand were the sons of Kadrū, and from Surabhi were born the cows and the buffaloes.
In the abhisheka of a king, Pushkara gives this blessing to Paraśurāma: “May Aśvinī and the other wives of Candra, the wives of Pulaha, the devatās Bhūtā, Kapi, Daṃshṭrā, Surasā, Saramā, Danu, Śyenī, Bhāsī, Krauñcī, Dhṛtarāshṭrī, Śukī and others, and Aruṇa the charioteer of Sūrya, make your abhisheka complete.”
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 19, 219
The commission from the devas
The devas saw Hanumān leap from Mahendra mountain toward Laṅkā, and they sent Surasā to test him. They wished to know whether this great vānara had wit, skill and flexibility of mind. These were needed for more than strength of body. His mission asked him to enter an enemy city, find a hidden prisoner and return without being destroyed. Surasā was the means of that testing.
The contest of forms
Surasā appeared before Hanumān in a huge form that blocked the sky above the ocean. She announced that, by divine decree, she was entitled to eat whoever crossed the sea, and that Hanumān must enter her mouth before going on.
Hanumān first tried to persuade her. He told her that he was going to find Sītā for Rāma and asked her to let him pass. She refused. Then he made his body grow to an enormous height. She opened her mouth wide to take him in. He grew larger, and her mouth grew larger still. Every growth of Hanumān’s form was matched by an equal widening of her mouth, and neither gained anything by size alone.
Then Hanumān suddenly shrank his whole form to the size of a thumb, darted into her open mouth and came out on the other side before she could close it. He bowed before her and said: “I have entered your mouth as you required. Now I go on my way.”
Surasā’s blessing
Surasā at once showed her true nature. She was not an enemy but a divine tester. She praised Hanumān with joy, because he had passed the test not by overpowering her with force but with intelligence and quickness. She blessed him and said: “Go and find Sītā. Return with success. May your mission prosper.” She stepped aside, and Hanumān went on across the ocean.
At the wedding of Bhagavān Śiva
Pulastya Maharshi told Nārada how Maheśvara, with the hosts of the devas, went to the peaks of Kailāsa to carry out the rite of his marriage to Devī Pārvatī. On that mountain the sumaṅgalīs (auspicious married women), Devamātā Aditi, the mother of the devas, Surabhi, Surasā and others, were busy adorning him. Hara wore a tilaka of gorocana on his forehead, a crown of great bones, a lion skin, serpent earrings black as bees, bracelets set with serpent jewels, a necklace, armlets and anklets, and a lofty mass of jaṭā (matted locks); and mounted on his bull he shone with a beauty never seen before, a feast for the eyes. Then the procession set out, with the Śivagaṇas in front and the devas behind him (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 27).
Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa
Śuka tells Parīkshit the names of the mothers of living beings, the wives of Kaśyapa Prajāpati, from whom all the hosts of beings were born, names “which are auspicious”: Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kāshṭhā, Arishṭā, Surasā, Ilā, Muni, Krodhavaśā, Tāmrā, Surabhi, Saramā and Timi. Of their offspring he says: from Timi the water-creatures; from Muni the apsarās; from Krodhavaśā the cobras and other venomous serpents; from Ilā the trees and plants; from Surasā the rākshasas; from Arishṭā the gandharvas; from Kāshṭhā the horses and other one-hoofed animals; and from Danu sixty-one sons.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 6
Per Brahma Purāṇa
Lomaharshaṇa, telling the munis the origin of the devas and the other beings, names the thirteen wives of Kaśyapa Prajāpati: Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishṭā, Surasā, Khanā, Surabhi, Vinatā, Tāmrā, Krodhavaśā, Irā, Kadru and Muni. They belong to the former manvantara.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 3
Sources
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 1
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 27
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 19, 219
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 6
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 3