A princess once saw a gandharva as he was flying over her palace. She laughed out loud angering the gandharva who cursed her that she and her companions would live in a distant land in a plantain orchard; any man who entered their land would die instantly. Thus the women were deprived of all romantic and sexual pleasures. One day, the women heard Hanuman singing; such was the potency of his voice that it made the women pregnant. Thus the women became mothers but they prayed to Hanuman to send them a man who would live with them. Such a man had to be an extraordinary man, one who would be impervious to the gandharva’s curse. That man was Matsyendranath.
Mastyendranath falls under the spell of the women in Stri-Rajya, particularly its two queens, Kamala and Mangala, and is unable to leave their enchanted plantain orchard (kadali vana). After many years, Mastyendranath’s student, Gorakshanath learns of his whereabouts and enters this enchanted land disguised as a woman. Since he too is a great yogi, the gandharva’s powers have no impact on him. He goes around the streets beating a drum and singing, “Pay attention Matsyendra, Gorakh has come.” Hearing the drumbeats and the song, Mastyendranath comes back to his senses and leaves the enchanted kingdom of women.
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