Not much is written about the daughter of Lord Yama (or, the hindu god of death). However, two puranas – Padma Purana and Bhagavata Purana mention her as the eldest daughter of Mrityu. Don’t be confused; Lord Yama is also sometimes addressed as mrityu (or, death) in serevel hindu texts. According to these puranas, Sunita (or, Sunitha) was the name of Lord Yama’s daughter.
She is described as a ugly woman who from her childhood enjoyed hurting and tormenting people and other living beings. As per the legend, because of her such notorious behavior she once got cursed by a gandharva kumar (unmarried man) called Sushankha.
Sunita Got Cursed By Sushankha (a Gandharva Kumar)
The story goes like this; one day Sunita was roaming around a forest with her friends when she found a good-looking man doing his penance under a tree. Sunita was quite infatuated by his look, and started disturbing and teasing him.
When she found herself unsuccessful in breaking his meditation after repeatedly teasing and dancing before him, she finally gave up and hit him from behind. Getting angry at such annoyances for no reason Sudhankha had no other option left but to curse Sunita for her repeated mischief.
He cursed her that whenever she would give birth to a son; he would be as notorious and misguided as his mother. He would be a scoffer of devas and brahmins, who would be an allround sinner, and harass the world as an evil king.
Everyone Refused To Marry Sunita
Hearing this, Sunita for the first time got frightened and reported all the story to his father Mrityu (or, Lord Yama). The news of her curse spread like wildfire. Thus, when the time came to her marriage everyone refused to marry her.
Kings and saints rejected her saying they don’t want to become the father of a son who would only bring trouble in their lives. Lord Yama then advised Sunita to do high repentance and penance to Lord Vishnu.
As advised by her father, Sunita spent years to please Lord Vishnu through her severe penance. Then one day, Apsara Rambha found her in a forest doing her penance. She went to Sunita and listened to all her past events which brought her to this situation.
Apsara Rambha Came To Rescue Sunita
Rambha assured her to not worry much. And said she could help Sunita by teaching her the secret tricks to enamor any male. Rambha also stated that there are certain latent qualities that she naturally inherited from her family that should be promoted and nurtured instead of worrying over what happened.
Later Sunita used those tricks to entice a king named Anga, who was the grand-grand son of Manu. Sunita succeeded in attracting Anga and they finally got married under the custom of Gandharva Vivah.
Birth Of The Evil King – Vena (Son Of Sunita)
Anga was a religious ruler, but unfortunately due to the curse of Sunita they later had a son named Vena, who inherited none of the good qualities of his father. In fact, Vena (the son of Sunita and King Anga) was the direct result of the curse Sunita had been carrying all her life.
From childhood Vena turned unrighteous, acting like a wild beast who tomenting innocent people. Seeing his wicked behavior Anga and his mother Sunita named him – “Vena” which means “The Tormentor”.
As Vena was growing older, his demonic qualities only multiplied, forcing his father to leave his kingdom and live in a forest. However, his mother Sunita was still living with him for quite a long time. Later when Vena got crowned the king, he prohibited all kinds of Vedic sacrifices, and declared himself as the only lord who’s worthy consumer of all prayers and sacrifices.
Sunita Realized Her Mistake But Was Helpless
Sunita realized that all this was the direct result of her unthoughtful actions of the past, but she was helpless. When Veena’s atrocities reached its peak, a group of hermits joined and killed him.
