1. Skanda Purāṇa 2 (Cañculā’s story and Emancipation)

Title Thumbnail & Hero Image: Lord Shiva, developed on February 11, 2026

1. Skanda Purāṇa 2 (Cañculā’s story and emancipation)

First revision: Feb.11, 2026

Last change: Mar.9, 2026

Searched, gathered, rearranged, translated, and compiled by Apirak Kanchanakongkha.

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Chapter 3-1(13) (Cañculā⁰¹’s story)
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Śaunaka said, 'O Sūta! O immensely fortunate one! O Sūta! O immensely intelligent one! You know everything. Through your favors. I have repeatedly become successful in my objective. On hearing this Itihāsa, my mind is greatly delighted. Please narrate another account about Śambhu, so that our love for him is increased even more. In this world, even those who drink Amṛta⁰² are not honored with emancipation. But drinking in the nectar of Śambhu’s account immediately bestows emancipation. You are blessed. You are blessed.⁰¹ Śambhu’s account is blessed. You are blessed. As soon as a man hears it, he goes to Śiva’s world.’

Sūta replied, ‘O Śaunaka! Listen. I will tell you about a great secret, since you know the Vedas and are foremost among Śiva’s devotees. In the region near the ocean, there was a village known as Bāṣkala. The people who lived there were wicked. They deceived and did not follow the Dharma of the Vedas. They were evil and dwelt in an evil region. Furthermore, they were insolent, did not follow Devas, and used deception for subsistence. Though they practiced agriculture, they used force and wielded weapons. They indulged in fraud and did not possess Jñāna or non-attachment. They did not know about true Dharma and about ensuring the welfare of others. Likewise, they were firm in their addiction to hearing about wicked accounts. Their intelligence was like that of animals. The minds of those deceivers were such that of other Varnas. They always indulged in wicked deeds and were constantly interested in material objects.
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^01. The repetition is for the sake of emphasis.
Notes and Narratives:
^01. Cañculā (चञ्चुला - จันจุลา) or Chanchula is mentioned as the wife of Binduga, a Brahmin from Bāṣkala, according to the Śivapurāṇa-māhātmya chapter 3.—Accordingly, “[...] [Binduga] forsook his devoted wife Cañculā and indulged in sexual dalliance with the prostitute overwhelmed by Cupid’s arrows. Many years thus elapsed without any abatement in his evil action. Afraid of violating her chastity, Cañculā, though smitten by Cupid, bore her distress (calmly for a short while).
^02. Amṛta (अमृत) In the Ṛgveda, amṛta is not found as a name of a divine drink. The term, however, occurs as an attribute of Soma, which was regarded as a divine drink. Soma was a stimulant and conferred immortality upon the gods. The term Amṛta itself, signifying a celestial drink, occurs very often in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. Still, it has a close connection with Soma. We find Soma called the nectar (amṛta) of immortality. There is also a reference to Amṛta being recovered by the gods. Amṛta, as purely a drink of immortality, is many times mentioned by the Gītā. Here, we do not find it connected with Soma at all.
In the Vāyu-purāṇa Amṛta occurs as a drink of the gods; but there are some instances connecting it with Soma, the moon, and not with Soma the plant. This information of the Vāyu-purāṇa is thus assignable to a period subsequent to that of the Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa though it is difficult to say about the lowest limit of time. There is one reference stating that Amṛta was stored by the gods on the Somaka mountain but it is not clear whether this name Somaka should be connected with Soma, the drink or Soma, the moon.

Binduga, developed on Feb.18, 2026

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All the women were wicked Svairiṇīs,⁰¹ addicted to sin. They were wicked in intelligence, practicing vyabhichára. They were devoid of all good conduct. Such wicked people lived in the village known as Bāṣkala.’

‘There was a brāhmaṇa named Binduga there, and he was a great wretch. He was extremely evil in his atman and a great sinner. He always followed extremely wicked paths. He had a wife named Cañculā. But his mind was so overcome by desire that he became the husband of a courtesan. Though his own wife always followed dharma, he abandoned her. Suffering from the arrows of love, the evil one amused himself with the courtesan. In this way, a long period of time elapsed, and he continued to indulge in his wicked acts. However, Cañculā still suffered on account of love. Scared of giving up her own dharma,⁰² she bore that hardship. Her beauty faded, and she was no longer in the bloom of youth. She was overwhelmed by desire and gave up her own dharma. In secret and in the night, when her husband could not see, she started to have intercourse with her paramour. She deceived him. Deviating from virtue, she followed a wicked path. O sage! On one occasion, he saw his wife, Cañculā, engage in this wicked conduct. In the night, he saw her, overwhelmed by desire, having intercourse with her lover. Witnessing his wife’s wickedness, his mind turned towards an evil course of action. While his wife was engaged in intercourse with her paramour at night, he angrily rushed towards them. The deceitful and evil paramour saw that Binduga had returned home. The deceiver swiftly fled from that house. At this, Binduga caught hold of his wife.
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^01. A Svairiṇī (स्वैरिणी - A group of women who came out of the mouth of Asura Bala when he yawned.) Baka or Bakāsura is a loose and wanton woman. There were different types, though. Svairiṇī are loose women who have sex with anyone they want, but only with those from the same varna. Kāminīs (कामिनी - Kāminī) are loose women who have sex with anyone they want, irrespective of varna. Pumṣchalis have no sense of discrimination and are almost like harlots.
^02. Of devotion towards her husband.
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He repeatedly abused her and struck her with his fists. The woman was beaten by her husband. The deceitful Svairiṇī, Cañculā, became angry. She spoke to her deceitful husband, Binduga. Cañculā said, “Full of evil intelligence, every day, you succumb to desire and pleasure yourself with a courtesan. You abandon your own youthful wife, who is devoted to serving her husband. I am beautiful. I am young. My mind is also overwhelmed by desire. Please tell me. When I am deprived of pleasuring myself with my husband, what course of action do I have? I am extremely beautiful. I am young. I am agitated. How will I withstand the pangs of desire? Deprived of your companionship, my mind is suffering.” (The Translation will start from here.) The foolish person, evil in intelligence and worst among brāhmaṇas, was addressed by her in this way. The deceitful sinner, Binduga, who had turned away from his own Dharma, replied to her in this way. Binduga said, “What you have said is indeed true. Your mind is agitated by desire. O beloved! I will tell you what is beneficial for you. Listen. Give up this fear. Without any fear in your mind, dally with a new paramour every day. Give them their pleasure and take from them whatever riches you can. Hand over all that wealth to me. My mind is attached to that courtesan. This will indeed bring great benefit to us, to you, as well as to me.” His wife, Cañculā, heard her husband’s words. Evil in her intelligence, she accepted her husband’s words. With wicked minds, the couple entered into this agreement. Without any fear, evil in intelligence, they indulged in this wicked course of action. In this way, the couple practiced this wicked conduct. A long period of time elapsed. Foolish in intelligence, they followed this futile pursuit.’

‘In the course of time, Binduga the evil-minded brāhmaṇa who was the husband of Vṛṣalī,⁰¹ died. The deceiver went to hell.
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^01. While Vṛṣalī (वृषली - วฤษลี) means Śūdra, it also means outcast. Vṛṣalī is the feminine. This probably refers to Binduga being the husband of courtesan, not to his being Cañculā’s husband. Refers to a “Śūdra woman”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.4.1 (“The dalliance of Śiva”).—Accordingly, as Lord Viṣṇu said to Brahmā: “[...] If anyone separates the copulated pair by a tricky expedient, he will have the pangs of separation from his wife and sons in every birth. He will fall from perfect wisdom. [...] Hariścandra expelled a ploughman in copulation with a Śūdra woman (vṛṣalī), to wander in a lonely forest. Listen to the effect thereof. He lost his wife, son, and kingdom. He was tormented by Viśvāmitra. It was only after propitiating Śiva that he could get released from that sin. [...]”.
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Foolish in intelligence, he went through many kinds of hardship in hell. He then became a terrible piśāca⁰¹ in the Vindhya (विन्ध्य – เทือกเขาวินธัย บ้างก็เรียก วินธยา หรือ วินธยะ) mountains. When her husband, Binduga, died, she continued to reside in her own house, indulging in wicked conduct. Extremely foolish in intelligence, she spent a long period of time with her sons.
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^01. piśāca (पिशाच – ปีศาจ - Pishacha) Demon, flesh-eater.
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References:
01. from. Shiva Purana Volume 1, translated by Bibek Debroy, Penguin Random House India, 2023, ISBN 9780143459699, printed in Bharat.
02. from. www.wisdomlib.org.
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