A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1182

c5.1182

MENĀ, MENAKĀ. 1. In the Rig-veda, a daughter of Vrishan-aswa. A Brāhmana tells a strange story of Indra having assumed the form of Menā and then fallen in love with her. In the Purānas, wife of Himavat and mother of Umā and Gangā, and of a son named Maināka. 2. An Apsaras sent to seduce the sage Viswāmitra from his devotions, and succeeding in this object, she became the mother of the nymph Sakuntalā.