Article Written By EIH Reseacher And Writer
Jisa Ann Thomas
The legend of Putana and Lord Krishna is narrated in many texts such as the Bhagavata Purana, the Harivamsa (appendix of the Mahabharata), the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, the Vishnu Purana, the Garga Samhita and the Prem Sagar. Putana, the “killer of infants”, was sent by Lord Krishna’s uncle Kamsa to kill him. Putana assumed the disguise of a young, beautiful woman and came to Gokul (Vraj) – Lord Krishna’s home-town. Stunned by her beauty, Krishna’s foster-mother Yashoda allowed Putana to take the infant Krishna into her lap and breast-feed him. Putana’s milk contained a poison which was meant to kill Lord Krishna. However, Lord Krishna squeezed her breasts and took her life away, as well as her milk. In pain, Putana screamed, pleading for her release, but in vain. She ran out of the town with Krishna still clinging to her and finally fell dead and assumed her demonic form. The people of Vraj cut Putana’s body, burying her bones and feet and burning the flesh and skin. The fragrant smoke rose out of the flames, as Putana was cleansed of all sin by breast-feeding Krishna and she attained the same heaven that Yashoda acquired. Thus, Putana, like Yashoda, is also considered as a foster-mother of Krishna as she breast-fed him.
The Garga Samhita (a work on the life of Krishna) and the Brahma Vaivarta Purana further tell of the previous birth of Putana as Ratnamala, the daughter of demon king Bali. When she saw Vamana, the previous avatar of Krishna as a dwarf, she felt a desire to have him as her son and suckle him. She soon changed her mind and decided to kill Vamana, after he overpowered her father and acquired his possessions. Krishna knew her desires and allowed her to fulfill both of them – to suckle him and to attempt to take his life.
Putana translates as ‘stinky’, and relates it to pustulant sores, the eruption of which is a symptom of chickenpox. Putana is also the name of the weapon of or a form of the goddess of smallpox, Sitala. The Ayurvedic medical text Sushruta Samhita describes Putana as “black in color, with a gaping mouth and projecting teeth and disheveled hair, clad in filthy garments, very smelly, and dwelling in empty broken-down buildings.” It further prescribes an offering of crow dung, fish, a rice dish, ground sesame and alcohol to Putana and recitation of hymns to Putana, urging her to protect the baby, along with other treatments. Kumaratantra (Rituals related to childhood), a branch of Ayurveda, specifically mentions that it aims to heal diseases that arise from “poisoned milk of Seizures” (Grahini), Putana being one. As per Kumaratantra, all childhood diseases falling on the third day, the third month, or the third year of a child’s life are attributed to Putana, regardless of the disease’s symptoms.
References-
1. Mahabharat- C. Rajagopalachari.
