ਪੂਤਨਾ (pootnaa)
Meaning: noun: A killer of infants, a demoness.
Quote:
ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਕਰਤ ਪੂਤਨਾ ਤਰੀ॥ ਬਾਲ ਘਾਤਨੀ ਕਪਟਹਿ ਭਰੀ॥
hari hari karat pootnaa taree. baal ghaatnee kaptahi bharee.
Reciting the Name of the Divine, Putana, a child-killer and deceitful person was liberated. – Bhagat Namdev, Guru Granth Sahib, 874
Message: The story of Putana has many versions. A legend says that there was an ogress (a mean female monster) known as Putana. Lord Krishna’s devil uncle Kans sought her help to kill infant Krishna by feeding him poisoned milk.
According to this legend,Putana disguised herself as a pious woman and treacherously fed baby Krishna milk from her poison-coated teats. Krishna, however, sucked her blood and revealed the monster behind the mask. She surrendered to Krishna and thus redeemed herself from her wrongdoings.
No matter how bad our deeds may be, there is always a possibility of redeeming ourselves. The love, kindness and grace of the Divine are powerful enough to save us. We only need to surrender, seek forgiveness for our deeds and change our behaviour
ਜੇ ਕਰਿ ਉਧਰੀ ਪੂਤਨਾ ਵਿਹੁ ਪੀਆਲਣੁ ਕੰਮ ਨ ਚੰਗਾ॥
Though Putana is believed to be liberated yet poisoning someone is not a good act. – Bhai Gurdas, var 31, pauri 9
