Surya, Sanjna and Chhaya

She could not bear the Sun's heat, so she left her shadow to be his wife — and a son answered his mother's kick

Surya, Sanjna and Chhaya is chapter 9 of Matsya Purana. Source: Matsya Purana, chapter 11. It is told in 6 scenes — The Sun's Three Wives; Chhaya; Yama and Chhaya; Yama's Penance; The Search for Sanjna; What Became of the Children — followed by 10 quiz questions.

The Sun's Three Wives

The sages said to Suta, "Tell us the history of the solar and lunar lines."

"From Kashyapa and Aditi the Sun was born," said Suta. "The Sun had three wives: Sanjna, Rajni and Prabha. Rajni was the daughter of Raivata, and her son was Revata. Prabha gave birth to Prabhata. And Sanjna, Vishvakarma's daughter, became the mother of Vaivasvata Manu. She also bore Yama and Yamuna, who were twins."

Chhaya

But Sanjna could not bear the Sun's heat. It was hard to go near him, and harder still to stay. So she made a woman from her own body, whose name was Chhaya, the shadow. When Chhaya stood before her, Sanjna said, "Serve my lord, and look after my children as their mother would."

"So be it," said Chhaya. And Sanjna went away somewhere.

The Sun took Chhaya to be Sanjna. From her he had children: Savarni Manu, so called because he was of the same class as Vaivasvata Manu, Shani, and two daughters, Tapati and Vishti.

Yama and Chhaya

After she had children of her own, Chhaya began to give most of her attention to them. But she showed far less affection towards Sanjna's children. Manu paid no special attention, but Yama took it hard. One day in anger he lifted his right foot to kick Chhaya.

Chhaya's anger flared. "This foot of yours will be eaten by worms," she cursed him, "and pus and blood will flow from it always."

Yama went to his father and said, "This is not how a mother behaves. One who curses her own child cannot be his real mother." And he told him what had been done to him.

"Who does not fall into trouble by an act of folly?" said the Sun. "Not to speak of others, even Lord Shiva has reaped the fruit of his own actions. I cannot take the curse back, but I give you a bird that will eat the worms in your foot and take away the pus and blood from the wound."

Yama's Penance

His father could offer no greater relief from the curse. Yama went to the holy place Gokarna and did hard penance there. He lived only on fruit, leaves and air. For a hundred thousand years he did penance. Then Shiva appeared and said, "Ask a boon."

Yama asked for three things: the power to protect the world, the kingdom of the ancestors, and the ability to tell virtue from vice.

"So be it," said Shiva, and vanished. So Yama became the judge of dharma and the lord of the ancestors.

The Search for Sanjna

Meanwhile the Sun frightened Chhaya, and she told the truth. The Sun learned that Sanjna had left him and gone to her father's house. He was very angry. He went to his father-in-law Vishvakarma and asked him to send Sanjna back.

Sanjna had gone to her father Vishvakarma in the form of a mare, but Vishvakarma refused to let her stay. She went off in that same form to the desert. Vishvakarma, with a device, reduced the Sun's unbearable radiance so that his form would be gentler. From the radiance taken off, weapons of the gods were made, among them Vishnu's discus, Shiva's trident and Indra's thunderbolt. The Sun took the form of a horse and came to Sanjna. She did not recognise him and was frightened. In this episode the Ashvins were born when the Sun's radiance came out of her nostril. Both Ashvins became famous as Nasatya and Dasra: the name Nasatya is connected with their birth from the nose, and the name Dasra is explained by their birth as sons. Then Sanjna recognised her husband and, glad, went with him in a heavenly car to heaven.

What Became of the Children

Savarni Manu is still doing penance on Mount Meru, the Purana says. Shani, by his penance, won a place among the planets. Yamuna and Tapati became rivers. Vishti's colour turned deep blue.

Vaivasvata Manu had ten strong sons. The eldest was Ila, born of a sacrifice for a son. The rest were Ikshvaku, Kushanabha, Arishta, Dhrishta, Narishyanta, Karusha, Sharyati, Prishadhra and Nabhaga. Manu made Ila king and went to do penance in the forest of Mahendra.

Note: This chapter follows chapter 11 of the Matsya Purana. Further in this chapter is the story of Ila changing from man to woman, which is not taken in this retelling. Some parts of this episode are obscure in the old English translation; the order of Sanjna's return has been matched against a check of the Sanskrit text (11.25–37).

Source: The Matsya Purana — the English translation by a Taluqdar of Oudh, Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. 17 (1916–17), Surya, Sanjna and Chhaya