Canto 40

Poothana is a female right hand of Kamsa.  She will do his entire bidding, as she is told,  without asking any questions.  The dedication of Poothana to Kamsa is absolutely amazing. What makes her loyal and accepting of a villain like Kamsa?.  

As a raakshasi, Pootana has the endowment to change her form.  Although her real form is “ugly” and detestable,  she can appear as an enticing woman with great charm and all the virtues of womanhood. 

Pootana exposes that aspect of us which is pretentious and deceitful.  We have plenty of Poothannas within us,  that need to be destroyed.

The Poothana within us,  is there for a specific reason.  By deceit and pretention, we think we can tide over our limitations of ignorance.  The key to note her is that this ignorance is not so much about the external world,  it is more about our inner self.  This ignorance is the inability to see the oneness of this world.  It is the inability to draw strength and inspiration and nourishment from the well being of “others”.  On the contrary,  the well being of “others” fills us with sorrow and remorse,  because we think we are left out. 

Kamsa, Ravanna would see the well being of anyone other than themselves as a threat to their dominance. They like to keep everyone enslaved and at their service.  This aspect of our inner self to dominate (Rajasic Guna) is the primary cause of misery on this planet. 

The Paramathma is the ultimate owner of both dharma and adharma within us. Both aspects are necessary for us to embark, undertake and complete the journey of our lives. 

Can we manage and control both aspects by ourselves? The Paramathma, the one who is the creator and owner of both aspects clearly says in the Bhagavath Gita that if we try to navigate life on our own, we will be lost.

In managing the innumerable conflicts within us,  may we hand over the reins of the chariot of our lives to the Paramathma.