Zuko at 16:28, 14 December 2025

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{{short description|Demoness in Hinduism}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
[[File:Kerala, krishna bambino che uccide l'orchessa putana, xvii secolo.jpg|thumb|A 17th-century wooden sculpture of Putana with Krishna from [[Kerala]]]]

In [[Hinduism]], '''Pūtanā''' ({{lit|putrefaction}}) is a [[Rakshasa|rakshasi]] (demoness) in [[Hindu mythology]], who was killed by the infant-god [[Krishna]]. Putana disguises herself as a young, beautiful woman and tries to kill the god by breast-feeding poisoned milk; however, Krishna sucks her milk as well as her life via her breasts. Putana is also considered a foster-mother of Krishna, as she breastfed him. By offering her milk, Putana had performed "the supreme act of maternal devotion",<ref>O'Flaherty, p. 250.</ref> in the shadow of her evil motives. The legend is told and retold in Hindu scriptures and some Indian books, which portray her variously as an evil hag or a demoness who surrendered herself to Krishna, though she initially came with evil motives.

Putana is interpreted as an infantile disease or bird, symbolizing danger to an infant or desire, respectively, and even as a symbolic bad mother. She is included in a group of powerful and complex Hindu mother goddesses called the [[Matrikas]] and also in the group of [[Yogini]]s and Grahinis (Seizers). Ancient Indian medical texts prescribe her worship to protect children from diseases. A group of multiple Putanas is mentioned in ancient Indian texts.

==Etymology==
The word "Pūtanā", broken as "Pūt" (virtue) and "nā" (no) means "devoid of virtue". Another explanation derives "Pūtanā" from "Pūta" (purifying), thus meaning "she who purifies". Herbert theorizes "Pūtanā" is derived from "Put", a hell in Hindu mythology, associated with parents and children.<ref>Herbert in Shashi, p. 844.</ref> Thus, Herbert proposes, on the basis of the etymology and her association with the Matrikas, that Putana is closely linked to motherhood.<ref name="Herbert46">Herbert in Shashi, p. 846.</ref> White translates Putana as "stinky", and relates it to pustulant sores, the eruption of which is a symptom of [[chicken pox]]. Putana is also the name of the weapon of or a form of the goddess of [[small pox]], [[Shitala Devi|Sitala]].<ref name="White51">White, p. 51.</ref>

==Legend==
[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Krishna Battles the Demoness Putana Page from an Unidentified Hindu Manuscript-crop.jpg|thumb|Top panel: Krishna killing Putana. Bottom panel: The people of Vraj cutting Putana's body and burning her body.]]

The legend of Putana and Krishna is narrated in many Hindu texts: the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', the ''[[Harivamsa]]'' (appendix of the ''[[Mahabharata]]''), the ''[[Brahma Vaivarta Purana]]'', the ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'', the ''[[Garga (sage)|Garga Samhita]]'' and the ''[[Prem Sagar]]''.<ref>Herbert in Shashi, p. 842.</ref>

Putana, the "killer of infants", was sent by Krishna's evil uncle [[Kamsa]] to kill Krishna. Putana assumed the disguise of a young, beautiful woman and came to [[Gokul]] ([[Vraj]]), Krishna's home-town. Her beauty resulted in her being mistaken by ''gopas'' (cowherds) as a manifestation of goddess [[Lakshmi]]. Stunned by her beauty, Krishna's foster-mother [[Yashoda]] allowed Putana to take the infant Krishna into her lap and breast-feed him. Putana had smeared her breast with a ''mandana'', an intoxicant, to kill Krishna. However, Krishna squeezed her breasts and took her life away (''[[prana]]''), 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. She then assumed her real demonic form, turning trees to a distance of three ''gavyuti'' (a unit of distance equivalent totally to 12 miles) to dust.<ref name="Herbert842">Herbert in Shashi, pp. 842–844.</ref><ref>Olson, pp. 240–242.</ref> 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.<ref name="Herbert842" /> Thus, Putana, like Yashoda, is also considered as a foster-mother of Krishna as she breast-fed him.<ref>Agrawal in Shashi, p. 822.</ref>

In later versions of the myth, the intoxicant smearing on Putana's breast is replaced with poison or the milk itself is said to be poisoned.<ref name="Herbert46" /> Another version of the tale portrays Putana as stealing Krishna at night, when everyone else is asleep.<ref>Dimmitt, pp. 111–112.</ref>

[[Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi|K. M. Munshi]] had a totally different take on the myth in his Krishnavatara series. Though Putana came with evil intentions, she is portrayed as being happy to see Krishna and her maternal instinct rises, telling her "Take this lovely boy to your breast. You are a wicked and miserable woman. You have never seen joy before, joy which thrills your whole body and mind with mad delight." Overjoyed and forgetful of her poisoned breasts, she took Krishna in her lap and suckled him. In the process, she surrenders to Krishna saying "I give you all, my beloved child... I am yours." Further, Putana is purified and liberated from her mortal body by Krishna.<ref>Kakar in Devy, p. 425.</ref>

===Previous birth===
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 [[Mahabali|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 fulfil both of them – to suckle him and to attempt to take his life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=shanti lal nager |url=https://archive.org/details/357106450BrahmavaivartaPurana2SanskritTextWithEnglishTranslationPdf |title=Brahmavaivarta Purana (Part 2) |page=[https://archive.org/details/357106450BrahmavaivartaPurana2SanskritTextWithEnglishTranslationPdf/page/n93 81]}}</ref><ref name="Herbert845">Herbert in Shashi, p. 845.</ref>

===Symbolism===
[[File:Demoness putana 02.JPG|thumb|Wooden sculpture of Putana as a beautiful maiden feeding Krishna, while simultaneously depicted dead on the ground as a demoness.|alt=|left]]

One theory interprets Putana as being the first foe faced by Krishna (further numerous demons are sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna) or as the first obstacle of possessive maternal instinct faced by [[yogi]]s.<ref name="Herbert845"/> The legend assures a devotee [[Moksha|liberation]] if they treat god as their own son.<ref>O'Flaherty, p. 280.</ref> Another theory interprets Putana as an infantile disease that Krishna survived, which can be cured by forcefully suckling the child affected. Further, the theory relates to Krishna's later life when he fights a demon called ''Jvara'' (fever).<ref>Gopal, p. 96.</ref>

In the ''Vishnu Purana'', it is explicitly stated that Putana should work in the dark, symbolizing the lack of illumination of knowledge.<ref>Herbert in Shashi, p. 847.</ref> Her ear-rings are described not as radiant, but as quivering, signifying her unstable nature.<ref>Herbert in Shashi, p. 848.</ref> Agrawal equates Putana to [[Varuna]], the [[Vedic]] god of darkness and chaos in the water. As Varuna pollutes life-giving water, Putana mixed her breast milk with poison. Thus, Putana stands for death and darkness.<ref>Agrawal in Shashi, pp. 822–823.</ref>

O'Flaherty says:
<blockquote>
The myth of Pūtanā is significant not merely for the image it presents ... but for the intensity with which the image is depicted and the frequency with which the myth itself is told in [[India]].<ref>O'Flaherty, p. 54.</ref>
</blockquote>
Kakar further adds:
<blockquote>
The secret fantasy of poisoned milk, of nourishment that kills, originates early in life when the decisive separation between child and mother takes place. The elevation of this fantasy,..., to the status of myth for a whole culture indicates the intensity of (this) inner conflict... in the Indian setting.<ref>Kakar, p. 147; O'Flaherty, p. 54.</ref>
</blockquote>
According to Kakar, Putana may represent a dangerous [[schizophrenic]] mother, who has trapped her child in an emotional net, of which he cannot let go. He interprets Krishna clinging to Putana's breast as not only the infant's excitement and anger, but also a form of "[[incestuous]] intercourse", as in the killing of other maternal demons.<ref>Kakar in Dey, pp. 424–425.</ref> By killing the "bad mother", the son kills "sexually ravenous maternal images in his psyche", leaving the protective images unhurt, and thus emerges as an adult, drawing boundaries between her and him.<ref>Kakar in Dey, p. 426.</ref>

==Textual descriptions==
[[File:Putana dying.jpg|thumb|Death of Putana, miniature c. 1725.]]
Putana is defined as a ''yātudhānī'' at the beginning and the end of the ''Bhagavata Purana''. Though the word ''yātudhānī'' is rarely used, ''yātudhāna'' - the masculine form - is frequently used in [[Hindu scriptures]] to mean an evil spirit. In the ''[[Rigveda]]'', ''yātudhānas'' are to be killed, their bodies broken and their flesh eaten, just as Putana was treated.<ref>Herbert in Shashi. pp. 844–845.</ref> The ''Bhagavata Purana'' further tells of a [[gopi]] or milkmaid, narrating a hymn for protection from evil spirits including the Matrikas and Putana, even though Putana is dead. In another instance in the Purana, it is said that Putana and "her tribe" still had access to Krishna. Finally, the whole chapter is called "Deliverance of Putana", and not "Killing of Putana". Both incidences enforce the view that though Putana's mortal body is killed by Krishna, she lives on in the world as a spirit.<ref>Herbert in Shashi, pp. 846–847, 849.</ref>

In the [[Hindu epic]] ''[[Mahabharata]]'', when mentioned with the [[Matrikas]] (Mothers) and the war-god [[Kartikeya|Skanda]], Putana is mentioned as a protectress rakshasi, a [[Graha|Grahini]] (female seizer), as well as a Matrika and [[Yogini]].<ref>White, pp. 48, 53.</ref> In the ''Harivamsa'', an appendix to the epic, she is listed as a Grahini, with a prayer to protect the child at the end. In the ''[[Agni Purana]]'', she is mentioned as a Grahini and also a Yogini.<ref name="White51"/>

===Group of Putanas===
The medical text ''[[Balatantra]]'' mentions Putana as the common name of 16 sisters of the demon king [[Ravana]], who are permitted to eat the flesh of infants.<ref name="White51"/> The [[Buddhist]] text ''[[Lotus Sutra|Saddharmapundarika Sutra]]'' and the 1131 CE encyclopedia ''Manasollasa'' by [[Western Chalukya]] king [[Someshvara III]] lists multiple demons, including a group of Putanas. The ''[[Brahmanda Purana]]'' and the ''[[Harita Samhita]]'' mention Putanas as a sub-group of Matrikas and Grahinis, whose individual names include [[Kali]] and [[Dakini]].<ref>White, p. 53.</ref>

==In Ayurvedic medicine==
[[File:MET DP156180.jpg|thumb|''The Death of the Demoness Putana: Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series. c. 1610'']]
The [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] medical text ''[[Sushruta Samhita]]'' describes Putana as "black in colour, 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.<ref name="White51"/> Kumaratantra ("Rituals related to childhood"), a branch of Ayurveda, specifically mentions that it aims to heal diseases that arise from "empoisoned milk of Seizers" (Grahini), Putana being one.<ref name="White52"/> 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.<ref>White, p. 62.</ref>

==Depiction as a bird==
Putana is portrayed as a bird in sculpture and myth. [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] images of Putana as a bird are found in [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh|Deogarh]] and [[Mandor]].<ref name="White51"/> In a third-century version of [[Harivamsa]], Putana is called the "nurse of [[Kamsa]]", who comes to a child as a female bird (''shakuni''), and is one of many birdlike female divinities mentioned in Harivamsa.<ref name="White52">White, p. 52.</ref> Putana's bird form symbolizes desire of materialistic objectives.<ref name="Herbert845"/> In some texts, Putana is described as a ''Vaki'', a female crane, thus a symbol of crookedness and hypocrisy.<ref>Agrawal in Shashi, p. 824.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Indica |author=Agrawal, V. S. |editor=Shashi, Shyam Singh |year=1996 |publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD |isbn=81-7041-859-3 |title=Putana and Yasoda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8cTA1jEMoMC&dq=putana&pg=PA822}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |title=Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Purāṇas |author=Dimmitt, Cornelia |author2=Buitene, Johannes Adrianus Bernardus |year=1978 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=0-87722-122-7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TmFOX7q2IqgC&q=Putana&pg=PA103 |chapter=Putana: The Child Killer}}
* {{cite book |title=Hrishikesa |author= Gopal, T. V. |year=2000 |publisher=Universal-Publishers |isbn=1-58112-732-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7B4Q21Jy0oC&dq=putana&pg=PA96}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Indica |author=Herbert, J. |editor=Shashi, Shyam Singh |year=1996 |publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD |isbn=81-7041-859-3 |title=Sakata and Putana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8cTA1jEMoMC&dq=putana&pg=PA822}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |title=Indian Literary Criticism: Theory and Interpretation |author=Kakar, Sudhir |editor=Devy, G. N. |year=2002 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=81-250-2022-5 |chapter=Cults and myths of Krishna |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbGyZN1I4E0C&dq=putana&pg=PA425}}
* {{cite book |title=The Inner World: A Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India |author=Kakar, Sudhir |year=1978 |publisher=Delhi}}
* {{cite book |title=Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts |author=O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger |author-link=Wendy Doniger |year=1982 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=0-226-61850-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTwvtkqYrNgC&dq=putana&pg=PA250}}
* {{cite book |title=Hindu Primary Sources: A Sectarian Reader |author=Olson, Carl |year=2007 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4070-2 |chapter="Putana's arrival in Vraj" from Bhagavata Purana |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuqB0o8aGzMC&dq=putana&pg=PA240}}
* {{cite book |last=White |first=David Gordon |title=Kiss of the yoginī: "Tantric Sex" in its South Asian contexts |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2003 |pages=51–53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErTHR2kRdCkC&q=Kiss%20of%20the%20Yogini%20By%20David%20Gordon%20White |isbn=978-0-226-89483-6}}

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[[Category:Rakshasa]]
[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]
[[Category:People related to Krishna]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Health goddesses]]
[[Category:Childhood goddesses]]

Putana - Revision history

Zuko at 16:28, 14 December 2025