Menaka

Case 1335: Vishvamitra vs. Menaka: Restraining Order

Brahma: Sage Vishvamitra, you want a restraining order to separate you from the apsara Menaka and your child, is that correct?

Vishvamitra: Yes, judge.

Brahma: Why?

Vishvamitra: My baby momma duped me, your honor.

Brahma: Can you say more about that, Vishvamitra?

Vishvamitra: Sure, your honor. I was doing my austerities one day when a beautiful dame came frolicking through the fields buck naked.

Menaka: Objection, for sketchy facts, your honor.

Brahma: Sustained?

Menaka: I was actually dancing and picking flowers in the field when the wind snatched my dress away. I wasn’t just walking around naked for the fun of it. Ask Vayu the wind god for corroboration.

Brahma: Thank you, Menaka. You may continue, Vishvamitra.

Vishvamitra: *glares at Menaka*

Anyway, after seeing her like that, I figure I’ve been working on these penances for years. I can afford to take a break and live a little. We enjoyed each other’s company for a bit, and then she ends up pregnant. A few days before she gave birth, I asked her what made her go out in the field that day, and she told me everything. She told me she loved me, and she cared. But she also told me Indra wanted to distract me from doing my rituals. He feared the power in my austerities, so he sent her to derail me. Not only that, but he sent Vayu, the god of wind, to blow her dress off and Kamadeva, the god of love, to shoot arrows in my heart.

Understandably, I was pissed. I was hurt. The “love of my life” came to mess up my life. Not only her, but they were all out for me. They wanted to keep me from my spiritual life!

Menaka: At first, I did come to distract you as Indra ordered, but everything changed after I got to know yo…

Brahma: Menaka, be quiet unless you have a specific objection.

Menaka: You know I love you! And you know you love me too, Vishvamitra!

Brahma: Menaka, be quiet! Scribes, remove Menaka’s interjections from the minutes.

Vishvamitra: I didn’t want anything to do with her or the baby, so I left… Am I wrong, oh Brahma, to curse this evil wench to stay far from me!? She put my very soul in jeopardy by interfering with my austerities whether I love her or not!

Brahma: Please calm down, Vishvamitra. Let’s recenter. Why do you need this restraining order now?

Vishvamitra: Despite all of this pain and hurt *sniffs*, I’m on the road to recovery. I’ve been hiking through the Himalayas and getting my spirit right. I want our distance to be official so I can get back to focusing on my austerities.

Brahma offered a five-minute recess so everyone could calm down. He saw Menaka straighten her clothes and take some deep breaths for composure. It was her turn to speak.

Menaka: Oh Great and Powerful One, please accept my apology for all of my interjections. This is all very emotional for me.

Brahma: Thank you, Menaka. Please go on. Tell us your story.

Menaka: I would first like to say that all of those things Vishvamitra hates me for were not my fault. You have already heard the testimonies of Indra, Vayu, and Kamadeva. My own presence was not what made Vishvamitra interested in me but rather the intervention of the gods. Vishvamitra’s anger is misplaced. Indra wanted me to go distract the sage, so I was obedient and loyal to my Lord. The gods of wind and love were obedient unto him, not unto me, and they took my clothes and struck Vishvamitra’s heart. I should not be punished in this way for the desires and actions of the gods. Oh Brahma, Kamadeva has struck me too.

Vishvamitra: Oh, you love me do you?! Who’s to say you won’t leave me again to go distract someone else with your body?! Who’s to say you won’t jump at Indra’s next command?!

Brahma: Please silence yourself, Vishvamitra!

Menaka: I do love you, and I’m bound to you by our child now! I don’t plan on doing anything else for anyone else but you. But you are the one trying to rip us apart!

Brahma: *bangs gavel* Everyone please calm down!

Menaka: *brushes away a few tears and takes a few more deep breaths*

I’m sorry, your honor. I recognize his dedication to his spiritual practices, and our daughter and I won’t distract him from that.

You, oh most holy Brahma, recognize the importance of family. Your eyes have seen instances where sages rear children and don’t lose their holiness. Think back to the time of Rama when Sage Valmiki helped rear Sita’s children. Was Valmiki any less holy in your eyes, Lord Brahma? Brahma, I plead with you. Keep our family together. We have a child, and holy rituals can still continue even with a family, even with love.

After Brahma listened to both sides, he sat thinking about all of the other “sage meets god-directed apsara” situations. Did the apsaras really deserve to be punished? Were the sages really that holy if they became distracted and were willing to leave the families they made? The just answer is blurry, but what is clear is that sages can become threateningly powerful. But how powerful must an apsara be to confound a sage?

Brahma slammed his gavel waking both himself and the crowd out of deep contemplation.

Brahma: I, Judge Brahma, hereby declare Menaka worthy of the restraining order.

Brahma gave no further explanation as Menaka cried and pleaded. His heart sorrowed at the hard decision.

Menaka couldn’t stand to be in this earthly realm without love or justice. How could she stand to raise her child, Shakuntala, in such an evil world without her lover? She decided to leave her baby, who now only represented hurt, and she ascended gracefully but sadly back to Indra’s heaven.

Author's Note:

This is a story about the apsara Menaka and her relationship with the sage Vishvamitra. This is based loosely off of their story as seen in the Mahabharata, and there is also a reference to the Ramayana. I referred to an online direct translation of the Mahabharata as well as Wikipedia articles for things I had trouble locating in the actual book. There is a bit of inconsistency as to what actually happened between them in the Mahabharata. Some versions say they actually loved each other, and she told him about Indra’s plot against him and the other gods involved. Others never mentioned Menaka’s love for Vishvamitra, and they believe he determined on his own how Menaka came to him. I took to the side that they loved each other because I can’t imagine spending nine months fooling around without developing a little something. Anywhoo, following that storyline, Vishvamitra still cursed Menaka to stay away from him, even though he recognized that the love was there. The daughter, Shakuntala, ended up being abandoned on a riverbank, protected by vultures, and raised by what? A pious sage named Kanva. She actually grew up to be Bharata’s mom. Bharata was an emperor and the ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Hence, the Mahabharata. How crazy. Also, I made the judge the god Brahma, which is a god of creation according to Wikipedia.

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by Vyasa. Source: Sacred Texts

Source: Wikiquote.

Source: Wikipedia.

Banner Image: Vishvamitra enticed by Menaka. Source: Wikimedia.

Other Image: Menaka observing Vishvamitra's austerities. A painting by Ravi Varma adorned with sequins. Source: Wikimedia.