The Story of Surya and Sangya
This is the story of the great Vishwakarma. He was a divine architect and had a daughter named Sangya who was mesmerized by the Sun. Despite the intense heat, she remains captivated by him. As she grows older, her parents notice her deep affection for the Sun and decide to arrange a marriage between them. Vishwakarma approaches Surya (the Sun) with Sangya's proposal, which Surya accepts on the condition that Sangya can sustain his heat. Confident in her ability, Sangya marries Surya and moves to his realm. The couple has a son named Manu, who is foretold by sages to become an exceptional scholar.
Sages and scholars came to bless the newborn.
"This boy will be the scholar among scholars," they prophesied.
The prophecy was to come true. When Manu grew out of infant years he started receiving education from gurus. The gurus found Manu a promising student whose thirst for knowledge was remarkable. Surya and Sangya prided over their son.
One summer Surya blazed extraordinarily. Everything was getting scorched. Sangya felt the heat. Her skin suffered from sunburn.
Surya called her to his side. Sangya went to him with her eyes covered with her palms.
Surya said, "Sangya, look at me. Why have you covered your eyes? Open your eyes. I am your husband. Don't turn a blind eye to me."
"You are too ablaze for my eyes to take," Sangya pleaded.
"It means you are distancing yourself from me. I had asked you before our marriage if you could tolerate my brilliance or heat and you had claimed that you could. That is how I married you. But now you are going back on your word," Surya spoke somewhat angrily. "My Lord! I am not to be blamed. You are so blindingly..."
Surya was now furious. He said, "Look Sangya, I am the one who provides the energy to keep all the living beings alive. But you turned a blind eye to me. So, the son you are going to bear will be Yama, the god of death."
Sangya wanted to flee but the affection for her children kept her tied to sun domain. Sangya had a companion named Chhaya (Shadow) who was her exact duplicate. She decided to get the help of Chhaya. Sangya confided her problem to the companion and sought her help.
"How can I help you?" Chhaya asked.
"Go to Lord Surya posing as me 'Sangya'. Play the role of his wife and the mother of my children," Sangya revealed her idea.
"If he questions me...?"
"Tell him you are Sangya. Don't betray the truth."
"All right, I will do it for you on one condition. If ever Lord Surya gets angry at me or starts to put a curse on me then I will reveal the truth," Chhaya said.
Sangya nodded her head, "Accepted. Now go and take care of my kids."
"It is a tall order you give me, Sangya. But I will try my best," Chhaya promised and departed. After her departure Sangya thought, 'Now I can go to my parents. They will be happy to see me come. For a long time, I have not seen them. They must have missed me. I will stay with them. But after some time they will start questions...then whatever..."
Sangya started for her parental home. On the way misgivings began to trouble her mind, 'When the father and the mother ask me to go back to Surya what shall I do? Perhaps go to a jungle and leave me to fate...
Sangya was warmly received by her loving father who had really missed her, "Welcome daughter. Is everything alright with Surya?"
"He is alright. This summer he is blazing too hot. So, I decided to take a summer break."
For a month Sangya lived with her parents happily. Then, one day her father said, "Sangya! We are happy to have you here forever. But you have now other responsibilities, namely a husband and three children. Shouldn't you be going back to them since the summer is also over?" "You are right father. I was also thinking on the same lines. I must go."
Sangya set out from her parental home and reached a forest. She said to herself, 'Now I can't go back to Lord Surya. What should I do?
I can transform into a mare and live on in this jungle until some better idea strikes me. As a mare no one will recognize me.' In the mare form, Sangya started doing penance to reduce the heat and the blaze of the sun.
On the other hand, Chhaya had established herself in the place of Sangya. Surya took her for Sangya. He said, "So, you have come back."
"I seek your pardon, my lord. I have vanquished my weakness," Chhaya said apologetically.
"Sangya! I have pardoned you already. Now go and take charge of the household and the care of the children," Surya said magnanimously.
Chhaya went in and began her role as the wife of Surya and the mother of Manu, Yama and Yama's twin sister Yamuna.
Chhaya was happy in Surya family. She would often pity Sangya, 'Poor Woman! How she had to abandon such a nice family setup! Will she never return? In due course of time she too become mother of a son. She was now worried a bit, 'I must remember that infact I am only the shadow of Sangya. Later, Chhaya gave birth to a girl also. After the birth of her children Chhaya's behaviour suddenly changed. She would give loving treat only to her own children. She no more liked Sangya's children and they were meted out ill treatment. She would rebuke them for no reason. Manu ignored her discriminatory treatment. But Yama protested. He particularly didn't like his twin sister Yamuna being thrashed by the mother. Being a girl child Yamuna was easiest for Chhaya to torment.
Yama would grumble, "Mother should not be so merciless to poor Yamuna. She is so affectionate to the youngest pair. Why can't she be also loving to us three as she used to be? Why does mother hate us?"
One day it crossed all limits. Chhaya held Yamuna by her hair and thrashed her with a cane cursing, "Why do you make life hell for me? Even the death does not want to touch you three miserables. May all the epidemics break out on you all!"
Yama could not take it. He grabbed the caning hand of Chhaya and growled, "Enough mother! No more torments to poor Yamuna or...."
Chhaya became a raging fury screaming, "Yama here threatens me, huh? The cheek! I will tell your father that you tried to kill me. He surely will beat the daylight out of you. You will see...yes, it is going to happen.'
It was an empty threat. Of course, she was not going to complain about fear of her reality getting exposed. But Yama and Yamuna had enough of the tormenting by Chhaya. They complained to Surya, "Father, the mother has lately been so cruel to us. We can't believe that she is our mother really. There is some glitch. She is not our mother. Our youngest brother and sister are treated with motherly affection but not us three, the elder ones. How come?"
Surya said patting them, "Come on kids, cheer up. I will see what is going on. You don't have to worry about it. Go and play. Leave the matter to your father who loves you like his own life."
Surya also had noticed the strange behaviour of his wife who he thought was Sangya. She was no longer the same.
There was something wrong.
He wondered, 'Is this woman a sorceress duplicating for Sangya?'
Surya felt outraged.
He marched to the queen's chamber in rage and confronted Chhaya, "Woman! Tell me who you really are. Come out with the truth or I will put a curse on you. You are not the real Sangya I can guess."
"Wait, O Lord!" Chhaya said trembling with fear and confessed, "I am Chhaya, the shadow of Sangya, her exact look alike. She did not want to leave without leaving behind anyone to take care of you and her three children. So, she sent me here to play her role."
"Where did she go?" Surya asked.
"To her parents."
Surya went straight to Vishwakarma and asked, "Where is Sangya?" "She had come here to escape from your heat," the father revealed.
"Where is she now?"
"I can see her through my divine vision living as a mare doing penance to reduce your heat and the blaze," Vishwakarma informed.
"Alright. Please reduce my blaze. Then we will go in search of her," Surya said.
With the help of his divine craft, Vishwakarma reduced the sun's brilliance by 1/8. Then, the two arrived at the jungle area where Sangya roamed about as a mare.
They enquired from locals, "Have you seen a mare here?"
"Yes, she is mostly seen grazing near the river," One man revealed. "A truly baffling creature!"
"In what way?" Surya curiously asked. "She speaks like a human being!"
'Then she certainly is our Sangya!' Surya presumed.
Surya and Vishwakarma located the mare. Surya said to her, "Sangya! I am Surya, your husband. Give up that mare form."
"I won't until my penance is rewarded," the mare Sangya spoke.
"Your wish has been fulfilled already," Surya said.
"He is right Sangya," Vishwakarma affirmed and added, "Eighth part of his heat has been cut down."
Sangya reverted to human form. She clung to her father overwhelmed with happiness and sobbed. Then she touched the feet of her husband and asked, "Are our children safe and sound?"
"They are. But Manu, Yama and Yamuna must get back their mother." Surya smiled at her.
"Now I will never again leave our home," Sangya promised and pleaded, "Please forgive my Chhaya. Allow her to stay with us as one of the family." The reunion of Surya and Sangya gladdened Vishwakarma. He blessed them, "Go and be happy ever."
They reached the sun domain and lived with all the children and Chhaya.
