Story of Candrāṅgada

Grandson of Nala. He married Sīmantinī, daughter of Citravarman, a king of Āryāvarta. Sīmantinī, hearing about Candrāṅgada fell in love with him, and it was with the help of Maitreyī, wife of Yājñavalkya, that she was wedded to him.

While once Candrāṅgada was enjoying a boat-race in Kālindī (river) with his friends a storm upset the boat and most of them were drowned to death. The servants of Takṣaka saw Candrāṅgada sinking to the bottom of the river and carried him to Pātāla and he stayed there for sometime in the midst of amorous nāga damsels. Candrāṅgada’s people, under the impression that he had died, performed his funeral rites, and Sīmantinī took to widow’s life. Enemies captured his kingdom and imprisoned his father, Indrasena. When once the nāga King asked Candrāṅgada to marry nāga girls and settle down in Pātāla he told the King that he was already married and that his wife Sīmantinī was brooding over him, and he had, therefore, to return to her. Accordingly the nāga king sent him back with presents of a white horse, a Rākṣasa and an infant serpent.

Candrāṅgada, with his presents, came up in Kālindī where Sīmantinī, grief-stricken was spending her days in penance, and they recognised each other. Informed about the return of Candrāṅgada the enemy kings released his father from captivity and apologised to him. And he pardoned them.

Candrāṅgada and Sīmantinī took great interest in observing somavāravrata (fasting etc. on Mondays) and pleased at the vrata of the latter Śrī Pārvatī blessed her. Two brahmins called Devamitra and Sārasvata were living there at the time. Three sons called Sumedha, Sārasvata and Sāmavān were born to Devamitra. The sons also turned out to be great scholars but they were poor. They could not get brides as they were poor. In the hope that they would get some money if they approached Candrāṅgada and Sīmantinī the brahmins went to them. After hearing their story the king and his queen conducted them in a procession in the precincts of the palace, Sumedha dressed as husband and Sāmavān as his wife. But, lo! when the procession was over Sāmavān could not be divested of his womanhood, and Sīmantinī named her Sāmavatī. Being told that his son had turned woman Sārasvata sought the advice of some munis to remedy the situation. But, all the attempts of the munis to change the woman to man failed, and they opined that only Pārvatī, who had been pleased by the Somavāravrata, would be able to find a solution to the problem. From that day onwards the brahmin youths lived as husband and wife. (Śiva Purāṇa, Somavāravratam).