Panchakanya (the five virgins), also known as Panchasati, is a group of five women from the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, who had more than one partner (except Goddess Sita). They were not actually virgins, but are still considered so because of their contribution to establishing dharma (righteousness) in the world. Hindus worship these five women, although their worship is not prevalent except for Goddess Sita and Draupadi.
Meaning of the word Panchakanya:
The word “Panchakanya” comprises two words, viz. “Pancha” and “Kanya”. The word “Pancha” means five, and “Kanya” means a girl, daughter, or virgin. In this context, the word virgin is more appropriate. Therefore, Panchakanya means “the five virgins”.
Names of Panchakanya:
Sita, Draupadi, Mandodari, Tara, and Ahalya are the names of the five virgins. There is a famous Sanskrit hymn that mentions the names of Panchakanya.
ahalyā draupadī sītā tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīḥ ॥
But there is another variant of this hymn that replaces Sita with Kunti.
ahalyā draupadī kuṃtī tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīm ॥
Therefore, there is a little confusion about the names of Panchakanya. But if you think about their lives, Kunti fits the profile more than Goddess Sita.
Panchakanya:
From Ramayana:
Goddess Sita:
Goddess Sita was the wife of Lord Rama. She was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. In her previous birth, she was Vedavati and had pledged to be the reason for the destruction of Ravana and the Asura community because Ravana had tried to molest her.
She was reborn as the princess of Mithila. Lord Rama married her after fulfilling the condition of wielding the bow of Lord Shiva in her Swayamvara. After some time, Lord Rama had to spend 14 years in the forest because his father had promised Lord Rama’s stepmother, Kaikeyi. Goddess Sita and Lakshmana (the younger brother of Lord Rama) also accompanied him. Goddess Sita was abducted by the Asura king Ravana, who wished to marry her, but Sita was a chaste woman and declined his offer.
After some time, with the help of Sugriva’s army and Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama attacked Lanka and killed Ravana. Then, he returned to Ayodhya, where they lived happily for some time. Despite giving Agni Pariksha (an ancient ritual of walking through fire to prove one’s chastity), some of Lord Rama’s subjects were unhappy with his decision to give Goddess Sita the status of his wife because she had stayed at a stranger’s home for a long time. Therefore, Lord Rama banished pregnant Sita from Ayodhya, and she started living in Sage Valmiki’s hermitage. She gave birth to twins, Luv and Kush, who became great warriors.
After some years, some dramatic events took place, and Lord Rama learned about Goddess Sita and his sons, Luv and Kusha, and decided to bring them back to Ayodhya. Goddess Sita was again asked to give Agni Pariksha as she had lived away from her husband for many years. Goddess Sita was very disappointed by this and decided to end her incarnation on Earth by entering the womb of Earth.
Tara:
Tara was the wife of King Vali and the queen of Kishkindha. She was the daughter of Sushena, the vanara physician. Once, Vali was involved in a fight with a demon, Mayavi, and did not come out of the cave for years. His younger brother, Sugriva, closed the cave opening, thinking that his brother was dead. He returned to the kingdom and announced himself as the king. He also married Tara, the widow of his brother.
But Vali did not die and returned after some time. He thought that Sugriva had betrayed him. So, he wounded him badly and banished him from the kingdom. He also married Sugriva’s wife, Ruma.
After some years, Sugriva collaborated with Lord Rama and decided to fight a duel with Vali. Tara warned Vali against doing so, but Vali disagreed. Vali lost and died in the duel. After Vali’s death, Sugriva acquired his kingdom and Tara, whom he had married previously.
Mandodari:
Mandodari was the queen of Lanka and the wife of the Asura king, Ravana. She was the daughter of Mayasura and Hema. Hema was a celestial nymph. Mandodari was so beautiful that when Lord Hanuman reached Lanka in search of Goddess Sita, he mistook her for Sita.
When Ravana abducted Goddess Sita and brought her to Lanka, Mandodari was very upset with him and scolded him for doing so. When Goddess Sita refused to marry Ravana, he tried to kill her, but Mandodari prevented him by holding his hand and reminding him about the dharma.
Per legend, when Ravana lost all his sons, brothers, and warriors, he organized a yajna to ensure his victory. It was necessary to disturb this yajna. Therefore, Lord Rama sent Angada and Hanuman with a troop of monkeys to do so. They created havoc in Ravana’s palace, but Ravana continued his yajna. Therefore, Angada dragged Mandodari by her hair (Per some stories, he raped her). When Mandodari pleaded with Ravana to save her, he had to abandon the yajna. Thus, Angada was successful in disturbing Ravana’s yajna.
In the final combat, Lord Rama killed Ravana. After this, Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, became the king of Lanka and married Mandodari.
According to some stories, Mandodari was the mother of Goddess Sita, but Ravana was not her biological father.
Ahalya:
Ahalya was the daughter of Lord Brahma. As her name suggests, she was so beautiful that many gods and humans wanted to marry her. She married Sage Gautama, who was an old man.
Once, the king of gods, Indra, entered their hermitage in the disguise of Sage Gautama and had sex with her. Per some stories, she was unaware of who Indra was, while others say she was aware of it.
When Sage Gautama learned about it, he cursed her to be a stone and would be free of the curse when Lord Rama arrived in the forest.
Thousands of years after this incident, Lord Rama entered Gautama’s hermitage with Sage Vishwamitra and Lakshmana. He touched the stone with his feet per Sage Vishwamitra’s instructions, freeing Ahalya from the curse.
You May Also Like To Read: The story of Ahalya and Indra.
From the Mahabharata:
Draupadi:
Draupadi was King Drupada’s daughter and the five Pandavas’ shared wife. She was born from a Yajna. She was gorgeous and had some scent emanating from her body.
After Arjuna won the Swayamvara, he married Draupadi and brought her to his home, but due to Kunti’s mistake, she had to marry Arjuna’s other four brothers as well.
Kauravas deceitfully defeated Pandavas in a gambling match and won their kingdom and Draupadi. Duryodhana ordered Dushasana to disrobe Draupadi in a court to avenge a previous insult, but Lord Krishna saved her. After that, she and her five husbands went into exile.
In exile, Jayadratha tried to abduct her by force, but the Pandavas saved her. After the exile, they had to spend a year in disguise. Therefore, they started living in the Virata Kingdom as ordinary people. Because of her beauty, Kichaka, the queen’s brother, became her fan and wanted to sleep with her. When Bhima came to know about it, he killed Kichaka.
In the Mahabharata War, Bhima killed 100 Kauravas and avenged Draupadi’s insult. Her five sons also died after the war in an ambush by Ashwatthama. After ruling Hastinapur for 36 years, the Pandavas handed the kingdom to Parikshit and left for heaven. Draupadi also left with them but died on the way.
Kunti:
Kunti was the mother of the Pandavas and Karna. She was the daughter of King Shurasena. Hindus believe that she was an incarnation of the Goddess Siddhi. Her father gave her to his childless cousin, Kuntibhoja. She served Sage Durvasa very faithfully, who, in turn, gave her the boon of having children from any god she wished.
Out of curiosity, she invoked Surya and got pregnant. However, as she was unmarried, she did not keep the child. She kept her in a basket and made it drift down a river. After some time, she married Pandu, the prince of Hastinapur. Because of a curse, Pandu could not become a father. Therefore, Kunti summoned different gods and gave birth to Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna. Afterward, she gave the mantra to Madri, Pandu’s second wife, who gave birth to Nakula and Sahadeva. After Pandu’s death, she spent her life as a widow and looked after the Pandavas.
When Arjuna married Draupadi, the Pandavas returned to their abode with her. They approached their mother and represented Yajnaseni to their mother as the alms they had obtained that day. Kunti, who was in the room and saw not her sons, replied, “Enjoy you all (whatever you have obtained).” The moment after, she saw Panchali and said, “Oh, what have I said?” She felt sorry to say so and expressed her regret about Yudhishthira. Because of her mistake, Draupadi had to be the common wife of five brothers.
Before the Mahabharata War, she approached Karna, her illegitimate son, and asked him to spare his sons’ lives. Karna promised her that he would spare the lives of all Pandavas except Arjuna, but Karna died at the hands of Arjuna in the war.
After the war, Kunti left Hastinapur and started living in a forest with Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. Unfortunately, they all died in a fire.
Panchakanya Temples:
As mentioned earlier, Panchasati worship is not very popular in India, but there are a few temples in India and Nepal where people worship them.
1. Panchakanya Temple in Dharan, Nepal.
2. Panchakanya Temple in Sipajhar, Assam.
3. Panchakanya Temple in Madhepura, Bihar.
Why are Ahalya, Draupadi, Tara, Mandodari, and Kunti called Panchakanya?
I think the main reason is that all these women did not lead ordinary lives and had to go against their traditions willingly or unwillingly. They all had more than one sexual partner in their lives. By doing so, they helped dharma directly or indirectly. E.g., Ahalya’s illicit act with Indra diverted her husband from enmity with Indra. By marrying the Pandavas, Draupadi became a common thread that kept the Pandavas together. She also became the reason for the destruction of the Kauravas. Tara gave birth to Angada, who helped Lord Rama defeat Ravana. Kunti gave birth to the Pandavas, who defeated the Kauravas. Mandodari protected Sita when she was in Lanka.
They all had celestial connections. E.g., Draupadi and Kunti were incarnations of goddesses. Mandodari was the daughter of a celestial nymph, and Ahalya was the daughter of Lord Brahma. Per some stories, Tara was an apsara (celestial nymph) who emerged from Samudra Manthan.
Therefore, they all had some divinity in them and are worth worshiping.
Suggested for Further Reading: Pancha-Kanya: The Five Virgins of Indian Epics by Pradip Bhattacharya