Purañjana's Transformation and Rebirth as a Woman
As the deterioration of Purañjana's city became complete and as Kālakanyā's destructive influence reached its culmination, Purañjana faced the moment of death—the final separation of the soul from the body it had identified with for an entire lifetime. Despite his spiritual knowledge and his original understanding of his eternal nature, Purañjana had become so completely absorbed in material consciousness and so thoroughly attached to his city, his queen Purañjanī, and all his material possessions that he could not peacefully accept this transition. His consciousness at the moment of death was filled with intense attachment, regret, and desperate clinging to everything he was being forced to leave behind.
The quality of consciousness at the moment of death is extraordinarily significant in determining the nature of one's next birth and future existence. Because Purañjana's consciousness was completely absorbed in attachment to his wife Purañjanī and his material existence, the laws of karma dictated that he would be reborn in circumstances that reflected this attachment. In his next life, Purañjana was born as a woman—specifically as the daughter of a king. This transformation symbolizes how the soul carries forward the deep impressions and attachments from previous lives, and how these mental patterns determine the circumstances and experiences of future incarnations.
In her new birth as a woman, the soul who had been Purañjana had no conscious memory of her previous existence as a king. She grew up believing herself to be this new identity, completely identified with her new body and the circumstances of her new life. She married a king and became absorbed in the duties and relationships of her new existence, experiencing the pleasures and sufferings appropriate to her new situation. However, despite the change in external circumstances and physical form, the deeper patterns of consciousness—the tendencies toward material attachment and identification with the body—remained unchanged. She continued to pursue material happiness and to identify herself with her temporary material form.
The narrative emphasizes that this cycle of repeated birth and death, in which the soul assumes one body after another while carrying forward deep psychological impressions and attachments, continues indefinitely until the soul develops genuine spiritual consciousness and transcends material identification. No amount of material success, pleasure, or achievement can provide lasting satisfaction or genuine happiness because all material situations are temporary and subject to change and loss. The soul, being eternal and spiritual by nature, can never find genuine fulfillment in temporary material circumstances, regardless of how pleasant or elevated those circumstances might be.
Maitreya explained that the story of Purañjana's transformation and continued wandering through various bodies illustrates the predicament of all conditioned souls who have forgotten their spiritual nature and have become absorbed in material consciousness. Every being in the material world is like Purañjana—mistakenly identifying with a temporary material body, becoming attached to temporary relationships and possessions, and suffering the inevitable pain that comes when death separates one from everything one has become attached to. The cycle continues birth after birth, with the soul assuming different bodies and different identities, experiencing temporary pleasures and pains, but never achieving genuine fulfillment or lasting happiness.
This chapter teaches that genuine liberation from this cycle of repeated birth and death requires a fundamental transformation of consciousness—a shift from material identification to spiritual awareness. The soul must recognize its eternal spiritual nature, transcend attachment to temporary material forms and relationships, and cultivate genuine devotion to the Supreme Lord. Only through this profound inner transformation can the soul escape from the endless cycle of rebirth and achieve its natural position in eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. The story of Purañjana serves as a powerful warning about the dangers of material attachment and a compelling invitation to pursue genuine spiritual awakening.