Mena (wife of Himavat)
Mena ( Sanskrit : मेना) is the daughter of the world mountain Meru and the wife of Himavat , the personification of the Himalayan mountains. From him she conceived the two daughters Ganga and Parvati as well as the son Mainaka. Through Parvati's marriage to the Hindu god Shiva , she became his mother-in-law.
myth
Only a few places in the ancient Indian texts report on Mena. Most popular is her horror - described in Shiva Purana - at the sight of her future son-in-law Shiva, because she could not believe that her lovely daughter would marry such a repulsive, emaciated, long-haired and ash-smeared ascetic . In some versions, Mena even announces a suicide; in others she faints. Ultimately, however, her husband convinced her that Shiva had many aspects and was the god of the universe, which ultimately contributed to her appeasing and consenting to the marital relationship.
Menaka
In Ramayana it is told how God Indra sends the Apsara Menaka to the Brahmin Vishvamitra in order to dissuade him from his meditation , which she also succeeds in doing. It is ultimately unclear whether Mena and Menaka are the same people.
literature
- David Kinsley: Indian Goddesses. Female deities in Hinduism. (Original title: Hindu Goddesses , translated by Rainer Grafenhorst). Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-458-16118-X ; 2000: The Indian Goddesses: Female Deities in Hinduism , ISBN 3-458-34316-4 .