The forgotten daughter of Lord Shiva: Ashoksundari or Devi viraja

Normally if you see any picture of Lord Shiva’s family, you will see only 4 people; Shiva, his consort Devi Parvati and his two sons Kartikeya and Ganesh.

Many people think that Lord Shiva has only 2 sons, Kartikeya and Ganesh but this is not true. There are 6 children of Shiva. Along with his 2 sons, there are 2 more sons Andhakasura (a demon) and Lord Ayyapan (commonly known as Hariharan). He has 2 daughters as well who are Devi Mansa and Devi Ashoksundari also known as Devi Viraja.

Devi Mansa is the goddess of snakes and reigns over the kingdom of snakes. However she is popular and worshipped in many places such as in the Himachal Pradesh.

But Ashoksundari is not known by anybody nor she is worshipped anywhere. In today’s article, I will tell you about Ashoksundari also known as Viraja and will also tell you the reason why she is not worshipped. But before moving on, If you want to read more such exciting posts, please visit our blog: Sanatan Dharmi.

who is ashoksundari?

As I told you Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati had 6 children out of which they had 2 daughters Mansa and Viraja also known as Ashoksundari.

Devi Viraja is not worshipped anywhere except only in few regions of South India where she is worshipped in the form of Bala Tripurasundari. Tripurasundari is a form of Devi Parvati which is worshipped in South India.

The word Ashok means to get relief from sadness. Sundari means a very beautiful girl. So Ashoksundari means a very beautiful girl who relieves everyone from sadness.

She was born from a Kalpavriksha or the wish-fulfilling tree.

the birth of devi viraja

The Goddess was born from a magical wish-fulfilling tree known as Kalpavriksha. According to puranas, when Shiva was busy in meditation, Kartikeya in warfare and Ganesh in penances; Parvati used to be alone in the Kailash.

She used to feel lonely as her husband and all children were away from her. To remove her loneliness, one day she went to the Kalpavriksha and asked it for a daughter who can be with her. After then, Goddess Ashoksundari was born from it.

She is regarded as the goddess of beauty and reliever of problems. Worshipped in the form of Bala Tripurasundari, She becomes the guarding deity of beauty and gorgeousness.

the legend of king nahusha and devi viraja

King Nahusha is the husband of Devi Ashoksundari. He is regarded as the king of moon dynasty.

He was as powerful as King Indra. It is believed that once upon a time, Indra had disappeared and there was nobody to rule on Heaven.

In his absence, Nahusha was made the king of heaven. But soon after he became arrogant and started doing evil things. Due to this Sage Agastya gave him a curse that he will become serpent and roam in the forests.

It is when Dwapara Yuga came, once Yuddhisthira found him in the forests. After then Nahusha was released from his curse.

why is devi ashoksundari not worshipped?

There is no exact reason why she is not worshipped. She is indeed very less worshipped, only in some towns or villages of South India.

However a possible reason could be that she is not much popular in hindu cultures. She didn’t had much influences.

Even in scriptures, her story is only mentioned in the Padma Purana.

For some amazing facts on Lord Shiva, please visit this post: Lesser known facts about Lord Shiva.

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