Marisha was the wife of the 10 Prachetas. She was born because Indra sent Pramlocha to disturb the penance of Kandu. She was the mother of Daksha (his second birth).
Family
- Father: Kandu
- Mother: Pramlocha
- Husbands: 10 Prachetas
- Son: Daksha (his second birth)
Past Life
In her past life, Marisha had been the wife of a king that died young. Thus, she became a childless widow. Marisha had prayed to Vishnu and Vishnu had granted her the boon that in her next life, she will have several good husbands and a great son.
Birth
There used to be a sage named Kandu. He was performing severe penance on the banks of the Gomati river. Indra became worried that Kandu would become too powerful. He sent the Apsara (celestial nymph) Pramlocha to disturb the penance of Kandu. Kandu fell in love with her and married her.
Kandu and Pramlocha lived together in a valley near Mount Mandara for a hundred years. After a hundred years, Pramlocha asked Kandu if she could return to Swarga. But Kandu, “Just stay for a bit more.” Thus, another hundred years passed. Pramlocha then asked again if she could go to Swarga. Again, Rishi Kandu said, “Stay for some more time.” This went on and on.
Kandu once told Pramlocha, “I have been with you for one day. It is now evening, so let me offer my prayers.”
“One day! 987 years, 6 months, and 3 days have passed since you have married me!” Pramlocha exclaimed.
On realizing that it had been years, the sage started to curse himself. He had been so engrossed in worldly desires that he hadn’t even realized the passage of time. Kandu told her to go back to heaven. While Pramlocha was going to heaven, she was sweating. Pramlocha wiped her sweat on the leaves of trees. At that time, she was also pregnant. The baby came out with the sweat and the baby was left on the trees. This baby was Marisha. Marisha was raised by Chandra (Soma), the moon god.
Marriage with Prachetas and Birth of Daksha
The 10 Prachetas were the sons of King Prachinabarhi, who had been assigned the task of filling the Earth with more people. Prachinabarhi had given this task to his 10 sons.
To complete this task, the Prachetas performed ten-thousand years of intense penance under the ocean. Finally, Lord Vishnu granted them the boon. When the Prachetas emerged from the ocean, they saw that the Earth was covered with a lot of trees. To fill the Earth with more people, the trees would have to be removed. So they created a lot of wind and fire and started destroying the trees. Chandra deva, who is also the god of vegetation, was very upset when he saw this and approached the Prachetas. He told them about the importance of trees. He then gave them Marisha to marry. Marisha then gave birth to Daksha (this is his second life).