4 MANUSHI

designated as kavya, truth perceivedby a kavi, a seer-poet. Hence, inevaluating the characters they havecreated, it is necessary to probeconsciously beneath the surfaceappearance to reach the underlyingmeaning. When such an exhortationhas come down the centuries, itcannot be dismissed as a meaninglessconundrum, specially when itcombines, as this one does, as manyas five myths in one verse.Ahalya: Crime and Punishment

It is the nobility of her character,her extraordinary beauty and the factof her being chronologically the firstkanya that places Ahalya at the headof the five virgin maidens. She hadbeen true to her independent nature,fulfilling her womanhood in a mannerthat she found appropriate, though,finally, she is unable to assert herself.

The name Ahalya itself has adouble meaning: one who is flawless;it also means un-ploughed, that is, onewho is a virgin. Her origin-myth2 statesthat, having created this flawless

these panchakanyas be extolled asredemptive and why, indeed, is theintriguing term kanya applied to them?As we shall see, the key to the mysteryof these five virgin maidens lies inthe type of sexual encounters theyhave with non-husbands, encountersthat are neither rape nor adultery butare, in fact, quite unique.

Of this group three Ahalya, Tara,and Mandodari belong to theRamayana, the epic composed byValmiki, the first seer-poet. Draupadiand Kunti are celebrated in VyasasMahabharata. At the outset, we needto keep in mind that Valmiki andVyasas great compositions are

Five Holy Virgins, Five Sacred MythsA Quest for Meaning Pradip Bhattacharya

When Vyasa asked Ganesha to become his amanuensis, the elephant-headed god agreed,provided the dictation proceed without pause. Vyasa, in turn, laid down a condition of hisown: nothing should be transcribed without comprehension. To wrest breathing space, heoften composed shlokas so abstruse that even the elephant-headed god had to pause,before writing them down, to plumb their meaning.It is not only these Vyasa-kuta in the Mahabharata that challenge comprehension. Even atraditional saying can pose an enigma, raising questions that have no simple answers. Webegin a five-part series on the Panchakanyas of the Indian epics, taking as our starting pointa Sanskrit verse in praise of these five women, all dancers to a different drum. In their stories,in their choices and the consequences these led to, we find upheld a pattern of values quiteother than is conventionally understood to be the case.

There is an ancient exhortation1

naming five maidens aspratah-smaraniya, urging

that they be invoked daily at dawn:Ahalya Draupadi Kunti Tara Mandodari tathaPanchakanya smaranityam mahapataka nashaka

(Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara andMandodari: constantly rememberingthese virgins five destroys greatfailings.)

The verse poses a puzzle worthgrappling with. Two things strike usin this verse: the use of the epithetkanya (virgin, maiden), not nari(woman); and the unusualcombination of names that redeem,of whom at least two Ahalya andDraupadi are ayonijasambhava,not-of-woman-born. Of the fivekanyas, none quite measure up to thestandard of monogamous chastity,commended so overwhelmingly inour culture. Each has had either anextra-marital relationship or more thanone husband. Why should invoking

PART I

No.141 5

beauty from what was unique andloveliest in all creatures (as was laterdone to create Tilottama), Brahmahanded her over to the sage Gautamafor safe custody until she reachedpuberty. When Gautama handed herback to the Creator, he was so pleasedwith the sages self-restraint that hebestowed Ahalya upon him. Indra, lordof the gods, enamoured of her beauty,had presumed that this loveliest ofwomen was meant for him andresented a forest-dwelling asceticbecoming her spouse. In the Adi(Bala) Kanda of the Ramayana,Vishvamitra tells Rama and Lakshmanathat, assuming Gautamas form in hisabsence, Indra approached Ahalyasaying, Those craving coitus cannotwait; I crave union, slim-waisted one!

Though Ahalya saw through thedisguise, yet out of curiosity(kutuhalat) the same impulse thatimpels Kunti to summon Surya shegranted him sexual favours and said,I am gratified. Now leave this placequickly, best of gods! Protect yourselfand me from Gautama in every way.As Indra was leaving, however,Gautama returned. By his curse, Indrastesticles fell off. Another version inthe Mahabharata (12.342.23) statesthat Indras beard was turned yellowby the curse. Ahalya was condemnedto perform penance in that terribleforest, hidden from all, fasting(subsisting on air), sleeping inashes, tormented by guilt. Gautamaordained that, purified of delusion(lobhamohavivarjita), by offeringhospitality to Rama, she, fairest of all(varavarnini3) would be redeemed torejoin him.

This account is frank regardingAhalyas deliberate choice to satisfyher curiosity. Creations sole beautifulwoman, she is the archetypal feminineresponding to the ardent, urgent, directsexual advances of the ruler of heavenwho presents such a dazzling contrastto her ascetic, aged, forest-dwelling

husband. Mortal woman welcomes theintimate touch of heavens immortal,driven by that irrepressible curiosityfor varied and unusual experience, anda willingness to take risks for it, whichis said to characterise the feminine.

Although Ahalya already had ason, Shatananda, yet the deepest urgesof her femininity remained unfulfilled.The kanya is not just mother but isalso beloved, and it is this aspect thathad not been actualised in herrelationship with Gautama. The firstkanya not-born-of-woman, Ahalyahas the courage to respond to the callof her inner urge, but does notchallenge the sentence pronouncedon her by patriarchal society.

The BacklashThe Uttara Kanda4 version is

exculpatory, as may be expected of alater addition to the epic. HereAgastya states that, infuriated atBrahma bestowing Ahalya uponGautama, Indra raped her, thusabsolving Ahalya of any active rolein the liason. Gautama cursed Indrato suffer imprisonment (byMeghanada), bear half the guilt of

every act of rape and lose all peace ofmind. As for Ahalya, she would ceaseto be unique as the only beautifulfemale other lovely women wouldbe born. (That is why men fall in lovewith different women, projecting theiranima on to them.) When Ahalyaprotested that she could notrecognise the disguised Indra andwas not guilty of wilful wickedness,Gautama relented and said that hewould take her back after she hadbeen purified through Rama acceptingher hospitality.

In popular retelling of the myth,depicted often enough on stage andin films and television serials, Ahalyais turned to stone. She regains herform only when Ram, reluctantly,places his foot on her head. In Valmiki,however, there is no petrifaction nordoes Rama restore the stone-Ahalyato flesh and blood. These are Katha-Sarit-Sagara innovations. Wewitness here a male backlash thatcondemns the woman as soiled eventhough she may not be at fault, asRama does with Sita.

The Ahalya myth in Orissi patachitra

6 MANUSHI

The opposite occurs in theMahabharata version, told in theShanti Parva, where the furiousGautama commands his son Chirakarito slay his polluted mother (asJamadagni ordered Parashurama tobehead Renuka), but later regrets hisrash command, realising that the faultlies not with his wife but with thelustful Indra. The Brahma Purana5

has Gautama turn Ahalya into a drystream and disfigure Indra who,terrified, has become a cat with athousand marks of the vulva. WhenAhalya pleads her ignorance, Gautamagrants her redemption upon hermingling with the Gautami River. Bybathing in the same river, the markson Indras body turn into eyes and hebecomes thousand-eyed like theGreek Argus.

The Shiva Purana6 featuresAhalya in an incident said to haveoccurred in another epoch (yuga).During a hundred year drought,Gautamas ascesis resulted in Varunagifting him an inexhaustible well,because of which his hermitagebecame a refuge for the distressed,including the Seven Sages. The wivesof the Seven Sages abused Gautamasdisciples, insisting on having accessto the well first. When Ahalya wentto resolve the dispute, they abusedher as well and lied to their husbandsabout what had happened. Blindedby passion for their wives, these sagesturned to Ganesha, the vighna-karta,god of obstacles. They had him turninto an illusory cow that fell dead atGautamas touch, whereupon theystoned Ahalya and Gautama, drivingthem out of the hermitage. Shivacursed the sages and their wives tobe outside the Vedic pale, doomingthem to perdition. Here Ahalya is afoil to the wickedness of the sageswives, instead of being the fallenone. The Shiva Purana being laterthan Valmikis composition, it isprobable that here we see a later

What were your dreams,

Ahalya, when you passed

Long years as stone,

rooted in earth, prayer

And ritual gone,

sacred fire extinct

In the dark, abandoned

forest-shram? Earth

Merged with your body; did

you know her vast

Love, did hazy awareness

haunt your stone?

And keep you blindly, dimly,

half-awake?

When lifes excited zest

Rushed along branching paths

in numerous forms

To conquer the desert, did it

rise in outrage,

Circle your stone and crush

your sterile curse?

Didnt its pounding blows

shake you awake?

Did you, long asleep on her

breast, enter

That place of oblivion, cool as

endless night,

Where millions sleep forever

without fear,

Resting their lifes exhaustion

in the dust,

Where withered flowers fall in

the days heat,

Burnt-up stars and meteors,

crumbled fame,

Sated pleasure, grief too tired

to sting?

There, Earth smoothed with

her soothing hand

Your lines of sin and stress. Today

you shine

Like a newly woken princess, calm

and pure.

You stare amazed at the dawn

world. The dew

Which moistened your stone at

night shimmers now

On your black, loosely-flowing

hair. The mosses

Which clothed you with the green

mantle of Earth,

Thickened and brightened by each

fall of rain,

Are now a sari lightly placed by a

mothers

Loving hand on your glorious

naked limbs.

The world smiles; you

recognise that smile.

You gaze; your heart swings

back from the far past,

Traces its lost steps. In a

sudden rush,

All round, your former

knowledge of life returns

Like first

Created dawn, you slowly rise

from the blue

Sea of forgetfulness. You stare

entranced;

The world, too, is speechless;

face to face

Beside a sea of mystery none

can cross

You know afresh what you

have always known. Extracts from Ahalya

Rabindranath Tagore(trans. William Radice)

Tagores Ahalya

No.141 7

redactors attempt to re-write theAhalya myth to remove the stigma ofadultery.

The Katha-Sarit-Sagara7 versionprovides a clue to the psychologicalcondition of Ahalya. The story is toldto illustrate how evil acts lead tosuffering for evildoers. On Gautamasreturn, as in the Brahma Purana, Indraflees in the form of a cat and is cursedto be covered with the marks of thevulva he had so coveted. Replying tothe sages enquiry about who hadbeen in the cottage, Ahalyadissimulates, saying that it was amajjara (in Prakrit meaning both cator my lover, because of which asynonym for Indra is Ahalyayaijara).She is punished by being turned tostone, reflecting the social ostracismof transgressing women and theirconsequent psychological trauma. Inthe Adi Kanda of the Ramayana,Vishvamitra, who praises Ahalya toRama, condemns the apsara Rambhato a similar fate for disturbing hisascesis at Indras behest. He cursesher to become a stone until somesage of great spiritual prowessshould redeem her. These are notsimply physical transformations (as inthe Grimms fairy tale of FaithfulJohn or Hatim Tais Seven Riddles),but a deep psychological trauma, inwhich oppressive guilt virtuallythrottles the vital spirit, freezing theemotions and making the womansocially into a non-person. Ahalyabecomes an automaton, denying heremotions, feelings and self-respect,shunned by all. Even as a mother, shefinds no fulfilment. Shatananda, herson, abandons her in the forest, despitereferring to her as renowned (mamamata yashasvini).

Ahalyas RedemptionOn the other hand, Rama, at

Vishvamitras behest, regards her asblameless and inviolate, as her name

Among the panchakanyas ,Ahalya remains unique because ofthe nature of her daring and itsconsequence. Her singletransgression, for having done whather femininity demanded, calls downan awful curse. Because of herunflinching acceptance of hersentence, both Vishvamitra andValmiki glorify her. Chandra Rajan,a sensitive modern-day poetess,catches the psychological nuancesof her situation:

Gautama cursed his impotenceand ragedshe stood petrifieduncomprehendingin stony silencewithdrawn into the secret caveof her inviolate inner selfshe had her sheltersanctuarybenedictionwithin, perfect, inviolatein the one-ness of spiritwith rock rain and windwith flowing treeand ripening fruitand seed that falls silentlyin its timeinto the rich dark earth. 8

Tara: Bold StatecraftTara,9 wife of Vali and daughter of

the vanara physician Sushena, is thenext kanya we meet in the Ramayana.She is a woman of unusualintelligence, foresight and self-confidence. In the Mahabharata sheis called sarvabhutarutajna, able tounderstand the language of allcreatures. In the Kishkindha Kandaof the Ramayana, we see her warningVali against Sugriva when he comesto challenge Vali for the second time.Appearances are deceptive, shepoints out; normally no contestantreturns to the field so soon afterhaving been soundly thrashed.Moreover, she says, she has heardthat Rama, prince of Ayodhya, has

connotes. When he and Lakshmanatouch her feet in salutation, thisrecognition restores her self-respectand her status in society, so thatshe truly lives again. (It is ironicthat though Ramas visit redeemsAhalya, it is because of hissuspicions that Sita decides tosuffer fire and later enters exile andoblivion.) Vishvamitra repeatedlyrefers to Ahalya as mahabhaga,most virtuous and noble. In the eyesof this mighty rebel who proved that

Ahalya meeting Ram, Deogarh, 5th c.

a kshatriya could transform himselfinto the greatest of seers, whopresented the world the Gayatrimantra, saved Sunahshepa frombeing sacrificed and created asecond heaven for the outcasteTrishanku, Ahalya was not a fallenwoman. Valmikis description ofAhalya as Rama sees her needs tobe noted (my translation):

The Creator, it seems, withutmost carehad perfected this form,divine, enchanting.Like a tongue of flamesmoke-shrouded,Like the full moons gloryice-reflected,Like blinding sunlightmirrored in water.

8 MANUSHI

befriended him. She urges Vali toanoint Sugriva as the crown princeand live in peace with him. Vali,in the Mahabharata account,suspects that Tara might befavouring Sugriva andtherefore rejects her advice.By brushing aside her wisewarning, he walks intoRamas arrow, as he himselfadmits while he lies dying.He pays a fine tribute to hiswife, imploring Ram toensure that tapasvinim Tarais not insulted by Sugriva andadvising Sugriva to followTaras advice unquestioningly.She is skilled, he says, in assessinga situation and deciding what actionshould be taken; she never judgesthe merit of anything wrongly.

After Valis fall, Tara not onlyrallies the fleeing subjects, but alsoshows great political sagacity.When Hanuman asks her to stopgrieving and place her son Angadaon the throne, she refuses, since,with his uncle Sugriva alive, thiswould be inadvisable. Then sherushes to Rama and, in an extremelyforceful speech, demands that he killher too. The strength of herpersonality in facing up to the princeof Ayodhya is strikingly portrayed.In Krittibas Bengali Ramayana,Tara curses Rama to be slain by Valiin a future birth. This is confirmedin the Mahanataka and the AnandaRamayana where the hunter whocauses Krishnas death is Valireborn. In several vernacularversions of the epic, Tara alsocurses Rama that he will not be ableto enjoy the company of Sita forlong. Taras upbraiding elicitsRamas assurance that Sugriva willprotect both her and her sons

as Sugrivas shield while ensuringthat her son Angada becomes the

crown prince.In the Mahabharata there

is an interesting statementin the Vana Parva that Valiand Sugriva fought overa woman. Surely thatwoman was theremarkable Tara for, theRamayana tells us,when attendants report

Lakshmanas arrival,Sugriva is so engrossed in

Tara (and not his originalwife Ruma) that he remains

oblivious to the news. Thisidea is reinforced when we find

that, in the Balinese dance Kebyar,Rama helps Sugriwa get his lover,Dewi Tara, back from his brother,SuVali. 10 In both the NrisimhaPurana (50.21-27) and theMahanataka (5.51), Tara is actuallySugrivas wife whom Vali forciblytook away.

The Telegu RanganathaRamayana (4.4) has an even moreinteresting account of Taras originsthat aligns her more closely withAhalya, by also depicting her as notborn of woman. In this account, Tarais said to have emerged along withthe other apsaras during thechurning of the ocean for amrita, thenectar of immortality. Tara was thengifted to Vali and Sugriva for the helpthey had given the gods.Subsequently, Sugriva marriedSushenas daughter Ruma. The ThaiRamkien states that Vali was given atrident and Sugriva got Tara, but Valisnatched her away and married her.11 Dr. Ratna Roy, in her performanceof the Pancha Kanya dance in theMahari Odissi tradition, interpretsTaras predicament as a story thatreflects our present crisis, telling ofthe plight of women during war.

rights. To ensure that her sonAngada is not deprived of hisfathers throne, she becomes herbrother-in-law Sugrivas consort.

When Lakshmana storms intothe inner apartments of Kishkindha,to upbraid Sugriva who has renegedon his promise to track down Sita, itis Tara who is sent by the terrifiedSugriva to tackle this rage-incarnate.Approaching Lakshmana withintoxicated, half-closed eyes andunsteady gait, lovely, slim,unashamed, Tara effectively disarmshim. She gently reprimands him forbeing unaware of lustsoverwhelming power thatoverthrows the most ascetic ofsages, whereas Sugriva is a merevanara (a forest dweller). When heabuses Sugriva, Tara fearlesslyintervenes, pointing out that therebuke is unjustified and details allthe efforts already made to gatheran army. Once again, as whentendering advice to Vali, Taradisplays her superb ability tomarshal information and tointervene in a crisis. Thus, she acts

No.141 9

Brihaspatis TaraThe earliest bearer of the name

Tara is the wife of Brihaspati whoruns away with his disciple Chandra,causing the Tarakamaya war betweenthe devas and their stepbrothers, theasuras. The name Tara, therefore,carries an aura of internecine strife.Tara, like Helen with Paris, let herselfbe ruled by her preferences, ignoringsocial conventions in choosing toleave her ascetic husband for theyoung and irresistibly handsomeChandra. Even after the war, when thedevas and the asuras fight again overpossession of her son, it is she whohas the last word. As this second waris inconclusive, Brahma himselfrequests Tara to declare who is thefather of her son. Once again, Tarachooses to announce the truthinstead of hiding behind the safetyof conventions and declares thatChandra, not Brihaspati, is the father.That is how she becomes theancestress of the Lunar dynasty, theChandra Vamsa, whose fortunes arethe stuff of Vyasas epic.

Let us not forget that Tara is thename of the second of the TenMahavidyas (the ten TranscendentalWisdoms). Erich Neumann, whilediscussing the highest form ofthe feminine archetype, theGoddess of Spiritual Transformation,views Tara as the highestevolution of this universal aspectof consciousness. Her namesignifies both star and the pupilof the eye, conveying the ideaof a focal point, which suggeststhat Tara is in some manner avery concentrated essence. Wecan also interpret her name ascoming from the causative form ofthe verb t.r, meaning to cross, totraverse or to escape. LikeDraupadi, as we shall see later, Tarais she who ferries across, she whosaves. Indeed, by her intrepid

actions Tara, the wife of Vali, savesthe kingdom and her son from ruin.Mandodari: The Frog Princess

It is with Mandodari, Ravanaswife and the last kanya portrayed byValmiki, that we face a problem. Thereis hardly anything special that Valmikihas written about her except that, likeTara, her assessment of the enemy isshrewd and correct. She warns herhusband to return Sita to avoiddestruction and has enough influenceto prevent him from raping her. Of herbirth, the dananva Maya states in theUttara Kanda (canto 12) that she isborn to him from the apsara Hemawho left him after giving birth (asapsaras do). The MahariPanchakanya dance composition,however, provides the following mythof her origin:

A snake poisons the milk of ahermit as a frog watches. Realisingthe consequences, the frog jumps intothe bowl of milk and diesinstantaneously. The hermit, on hisreturn, sees the frog in the milk andcurses it for its gluttony. The cursereverses a former curse and the frogturns into the beautiful maiden,

Mandodari, who is pure, fair, slenderand sharp, with voice like that of avina (somber and majestic), with thegait of a white swan, flashing andrestless eyes, and desired of allmen.12

The story appears to be a versionof the Oriya Dharma Purana (canto5). 13 Two hermits, Mandar and Udar,refuse to share with the earth any partof their cows milk. Angered, shedespatches her son Maninaga topoison the milk. A female frog residentin their ashram notices this and jumpsinto the vessel of milk to save thesages. By their curse, she turns into akanya whom they name Vengavatiand affiance to Vali. He, however, hassexual intercourse with her beforemarriage and she becomes pregnant.Ravana asks the hermits for her hand.When they refuse, he assumes Valisform (like Indra with Ahalya) andspirits her away. Pulled in oppositedirections by Ravana and Vali, shesplits into two, giving birth to AngadYama and Vayu revive her. Thus, sheis a double of Tara. Being obtainedthrough ill means, she was namedMandodari; or perhaps she was

Ravana and Mandodari, Rajasthani traditional painting

10 MANUSHI

womb. So also manda udari slow,womb...lady with slowconception... Mandodari gives birthto one Indrajit, son of Ravana, anextraordinary fighter, and all-conquering warrior. Had Mandodarigiven birth to one or two moreIndrajits, a dozen Ramas have to takeincarnation.16

In Rajasthan, the Sri Alvar Tirthof the Jains celebrates the power ofMandodaris chastity:

Ravana, the king of Lankaobserved the vow of taking meals onlyafter worshipping God. Once he wasgoing in a plane [sic] to a foreigncountry. When it was time for lunch, helanded near Alvar to take rest. Heremembered the vow of worshippingGod but he had forgotten to bring theidol with him. In order to keep the vow,Mandodari made an idol of sand andinvested it with life by reciting themantra of Namaskar. Havingworshipped God with devotion, Ravanand Mandodari kept their vow. Byvirtue of the vow and Mandodarischastity, the presiding deity made theidol adamantine. Thus, the idol ofParshvanathji worshipped byMandodari and Ravan began to beknown as Shri Ravan Parshvanath. 17

Not Her Husbands ShadowMandodaris importance for

Ravana is highlighted in certainrecensions which describe Ravanaperforming a sacrifice after his sonIndrajits death. Vibhishana advisesRama to prevent him from completingthe ritual. When Hanuman fails todisturb Ravanas meditation, Angadadrags Mandodari by her hair toRavana, tearing off her bodice andgirdle so that her skirt slips.Upbraiding her husband forshamelessly countenancing all this,she exclaims that such a husband werebetter dead and calls on her dead sonto protect her honour. That arousesRavana who attacks Angada to freehis wife, leaving the ritual incompleteand sealing his fate. 18

The Khmer Ramakerti accounthas Hanuman snatch awayMandodaris clothes to breakRavanas meditation. The ThaiRamakien provides a fascinatingparallel with the Ahalya story and themyth of Vishnu assumingShankhachuda or Jalandhars form toseduce his wife Tulsi. According tothis telling, Mandodari had learnt thesecret of preparing amrita from Uma.Assuming Ravanas form, Hanumanembraces her. By thus sullying herpurity, her sanjivani yajna ,performed to make her husbandimmortal, is rendered fruitless. 19

Like Tara, Mandodari acceptsVibhishana, her husbands

enemy and brother, asspouse, either at Ramasbehest or because it wasthe custom among non-Aryans for a new ruler to

wed an enthroned queen. Inthe Mahabharata , the

rakshashi Hidimba has nohesitation in pursuing her desire

for Bhima, who has just killed herbrother, and she even has a son

by him. In the Mahanataka, whenMandodari asks Rama what her fate

named after the two sages who turnedher from a frog into a woman.

The Ananda Ramayana account(1.9.33-57) has Vishnu create her fromthe sandalwood paste smeared on hisbody to delude Ravana into believingthat she is Parvati, whom he has askedfor from Shiva. According to theRanganath Ramayana, it is Parvatiwho makes the doll and Shivabreathes life into it. The doll isMandodari, whose beauty causesParvati concern; she has Shiva turnMandodari into a frog. When Mayabegs for children, Shiva restores thefrog to human form and gives her tothe danava as his daughter. LikeAhalya, Tara and Draupadi,Mandodari is also ayonijasambhava,once again, not-of-woman-born.

There is an analogous mythabout her origin in the Telegu UttaraRamayana.14 Once, when Parvati wasaway, Shiva had intercourse with theapsara Madhura, who came toKailash to worship him. On her return,Parvati turned Madhura into a frog.After twelve years, by Shivas grace,the frog took the form of Mandodariwho was adopted by Maya and Hemaand became the wife of Ravana. Thesperm of Shiva which remaineddormant in the womb of Mandodariwhen she was a frog began todevelop, and finally gavebirth to Indrajit. Thus, theso-called son of Ravana Indrajit of Lanka was anintelligence son [sic] ofShiva.15

Here we find anotherclue to the reason behindher name. DesirajuHanumanta Rao, translatingand commenting on the epic,writes, When Shurpanakha wasclaiming herself a befitting female forRama, and belittling Seetha she useswords like krishodari, shaatodarimeaning a female with feeble

Kadambari Misra

No.141 11

will be after the war and the deathof her husband, he prohibits herfrom committing sati and advisesher to rule by Vibhishanas side. TheBengali Krittibas Ramayan, theOriya Balaramdas Ramayan, theThai Ramkien and the Mahari dancecomposition all refer to Mandodarimarrying Vibhishana.20 Vernacularversions of the epic haveMandodari curse Sita that she willbe abandoned by her husband,complementing Taras curse onRama.

The Adbhut Ramayana (canto 8)provides more insight. Ravanahad stored blood drawn fromascetics in a pot and kept it withMandodari, telling her that itcontained deadly poison. Furiouswith his violating women duringhis conquests, she broke hisinjunction not to drink from the pot.By doing what she felt moved todo, Mandodari shows she is nother husbands shadow. Theconsequence is that she becomespregnant, and, like Satyavati andKunti later, discards the newborninfant in the field Janaka ploughsto discover the orphan Sita. 21 Thisis perhaps the reason why we seeHanuman in the Sundara Kandaof the Ramayana mistakingMandodari (resplendent inbejewelled ornaments, fair, golden-complexioned, beautiful, mistress ofthe royal inner apartments,embellishing the palace with herloveliness) for Sita in Ravanaspalace.

Tara and Mandodari areparallels. Both offer sound adviceto their husbands who recklesslyreject it and suffer the ultimate 1responsible for the deaths of theirhusbands. Thereby, they are able tokeep their kingdoms strong andprosperous as allies of Ayodhya,and they are able to continue tohave a say in governance. Tara andMandodari can never be described

as shadows of such strongpersonalities as Vali and Ravana.

To be continued

The author has written 22 books andnumerous papers on Indology andComparative Mythology. He is aPrincipal Secretary to the Govt. of WestBengal and International HRD Fellow,ManchesterUniversity.

Endnotes1 Ahinik Sutravali, cf. BharatiyaSanskriti Kosh by Liladhar SharmaParvatiya, (Delhi: Rajpal & Sons, 2ndedition, 1996) p. 502. Sharma also citesthe Brahmanda Purana, 3.7.219, but hasnot seen it himself (personalcommunication). The verse was not foundin the editions of this Purana available inCalcutta. Sudhirchandra Sarkars PauranikAbhidhan (Calcutta: M.C. Sarkar & Sons,1963) has an entry on Panchakanya(p.287) giving these five names. Thisshloka forms part of Orissas dying Maharidance composition, kept alive by PadmaSri Guru Pankaj Charan Das, his discipleDr. Ratna Roy and Ritha Devi. The Gurutold Dr. Roy that the text was by RatnakarBandhu (personal communication). Dr. JanE.M. Houben notes (http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302&L=indology&D=1&F=P&O=D&P=8493) a similar slokain the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Prakritikhanda (16.68), celebrating famouswomen as emanations of the goddessesLakshmi, Sarasvati, Durga, Savitri,Radhika, etcetera. All these are aspects ofthe supreme Prakriti herself, not createdby Brahma, and they are the cause of allthat is auspicious. Three of the five kanyas(Ahalya, Tara, Mandodari) are mentioned

here, along with Arundhati, Mena,Damayanti, Vedavati, Ganga and Yamuna(Manasa in the Bengal recension) Ahalyarundhati mena tara mandodaripara Damayanti vedavati ganga camanasa tatha.2 Ramayana: Adi Kanda 48.15-34(Aryashastra recension, Kolkata 1964)also known as Bala Kanda. Brahma Purana87.7 specifically mentions puberty as thetime when Ahalya is to be returned toBrahma.3 Ramayana: Uttara Kanda 30.46. InHarivamsa 31. 31-34 she is one ofthe twins (king Divodasa being the other)born to Vadhryashva and Menaka.Vadhryashya is the son of Maudgalya whois one of the five sons of Vahyashva afterwhom the kingdom was named Panchala.There is no encounter with Indra in thisstory, nor is Menaka called an apsara, sothis must be another Ahalya.4 Ramayana: Uttara Kanda 30. AlsoBrahma Purana 87.44, 62 where Ahalyacites the ashram guards as witnesses thatIndra deceived her by assuming the sagesform and therefore she is not at fault.5 Brahma Purana, canto 87(Aryashastra recension, Calcutta, 1983).6 Shiva Purana, 4.25-27 summarised byW.D. OFlaherty in The Origins of Evil inHindu mythology (Delhi: MotilalBanarsidass, 1988) p. 298.7 Somadevas Katha Sarit Sagara,Taranga 17 translated by V.Balasubrahmanyam (Calcutta: M.P. BirlaFoundation, 1994), p.113.8 Chandra Rajan: Re-visions (Calcutta:Writers Workshop, 1987) p. 12.9 Not to be confused with Tara, wife ofBrihaspati, preceptor of the gods whoelopes with his disciple Chandra, or withTaramati, wife of king Harishchandra insome Puranas and an example of a sati.

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10 h t t p : / / w w w . m u r n i s . c o m /Valinesedances.htm11 op.cit. p.469.12 Parts III and IV of Guru Pankaj CharanDas repertoire presented by Dr. Ratna Roy.She states that the five elements earth,water, fire, air and ether represent thefive virtuous women (www.olywa.net/ratna-david/ panchakanya.htm) and that theemphasis is on the purity of these womenbecause they did not break any humanisticcodes, only the strictures of an orthodoxpatriarchal society. Rama sanctifies Ahalya,Tara and Mandodari at the climacticmoment of the dance drama.13 Fr. Camille Bulcke: Ramkathautpattiaur vikas (Hindi Parishad Prakashan,Prayag Vishvavidyalay, 3rd edition., 1971),pp. 636-7.14 Vettam Mani: Puranic Encyclopaedia(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975) p. 476.

15 Dr. Abraham Kovoor: Gods, Demonsand Spirits, quoted www.uni-giessen.de/~ g k 1 4 1 5 / a m o r o u s - g o d s - a n d -goddesses.htm.16 www.valmikiramayan.net/kishkindha/s a r g a 5 8 / k i s h k i n d h a _ 5 8 _ p r o s e . h t mHowever, Vettam Manis PuranicEncylopaedia states on p. 476 thatMandodari has 3 sons: Meghanada, Atikayaand Akshakumar.17 www.jaintirth.org This ancient templesurvived till the fifteenth century.The new temple was built in the year 1654of the Vikram era, and the idol wasreinstalled in the year 1983 ofthe Vikram era. Ravan Parshvanathis mentioned in many ancient scripturesand tirthmalas written from 1422 to 1689of the Vikram era.18 Adhyatma Ramayana 6.10. Bulckeop.cit. (p. 579) refers to the Telegu

Dvipada Ramayana 6.133-135, AnandaRamayana 1.11.229, Padma PuranaUttara khanda, canto 269 as having theincident as well.19 Bulcke ibid.20 Bulcke op.cit. p. 540; S.D. Singh,Polyandry in Ancient India (Delhi: MotilalBanarsidass, 1978) p. 141. Dr. Ratna Roywrites that, in Part Xof the Mahari Panchakanya dance:In celebration of his victory, Rama placesBibhisana, Ravanas brother, on the throneof Lanka and blesses Mandodari as his brideand queen, virtuous in spite of her secondmarriage.21 Bulcke (p.362-4) provides severalreferences to Jain versions and theMahabhagavata Purana canto 42that tell of Sita as the daughterof Mandodari.

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