Anjana

Summary

Anjanā, the cherished daughter of King Mahendrasena and Queen Hr̥dayasundarī, is promised in marriage to Pavanān̄jaya, son of King Prahlāda. After their wedding the proud groom neglects Anjanā for twelve years, never visiting her and rejecting her gifts. She bears his indifference with dignity and continues to hope for reconciliation. When Pavanān̄jaya is sent to lead an army against King Varuṇa, Anjanā comes to see him off; he misinterprets her presence as arrogance and publicly rebukes her. During the campaign he observes a pair of skylarks and realises the pain of separation he has inflicted on his wife. Remorseful, he returns at night to Anjanā’s apartment. Their union results in her pregnancy. In his absence his mother Ketumatī accuses Anjanā of infidelity and banishes her. Veiled and seated on a black chariot, she is driven into a dense forest with only her companion Vasantatilakā. There she gives birth to a son and endures hardship until her maternal uncle, Vidyādhara Pratisūrya, shelters her. Pavanān̄jaya, now victorious, hears of her exile and searches frantically. He vows to immolate himself if he cannot find her within a month. On the thirtieth day an envoy locates her and summons them. Husband and wife meet, confess their faults and forgive each other. Pavanān̄jaya acknowledges his folly; Anjanā graciously pardons him. They return home; Pavanān̄jaya ascends the throne and later renounces worldly pleasures. Anjanā practises severe penances and chooses the Jain way of voluntary fasting unto death, earning a place among India’s paragons of fidelity and spiritual courage.