Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.5198

c9.5198

YĀTUDHĀNĪ. A Rākṣasī who was born from the sacrificial fire when King Vṛṣadarbhi performed a yāga. As directed by the king, she proceeded to the forest to destroy the Saptarṣis. She remained there as the owner of the tank in which the sages used to take bath. Seeing her standing alone there, they enquired who was. She answered that she was guarding the tank. She allowed them to enter the tank after each of them explained the meaning of his name. Accordingly, the sages Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Kaśyapa, Viśvāmitra, Gautama and Bharadvāja explained the meaning of their names before getting down into the tank. At last when sage Śunassakha's turn came, he said that he was not prepared to explain in detail, the meaning of his name and that she should be satisfied with his statement that he was the sage Śunassakha. Yātudhānī became angry on hearing it and insisted on his giving the meaning of his name. Śunassakha with a single stroke with his "tridaṇḍa" (trident) killed her. Śunassakha was really Indra himself. (M.B. Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 93).