Surya Bai’s sunflower and mango manifestations

Overview

Surya Bai is initially a human child carried away and raised by eagles. This entry concerns her directly narrated plant manifestations rather than treating her as a separate human race. After surviving a Rakshas nail and marrying a Rajah, she is drowned by his jealous first wife. A golden sunflower grows where she falls and bends towards the grieving husband. When the rival has it uprooted and burned in the jungle, a mango tree springs from its ashes, grows rapidly and produces one remarkable fruit.

The fruit drops into a milk can belonging to the heroine’s unrecognized biological mother. At home the family finds a tiny richly dressed woman in its place; she gradually grows to ordinary human size. Surya Bai later explains that she had not wholly died, that her spirit passed into the mango blossom and then its fruit, and that entering the milkwoman’s home allowed her human form to return. The flower, tree, fruit and little woman are stages in her continued identity, not four independent creatures or a claim that ordinary plants contain human spirits.

The ending gives the restored woman an active concern for safety: fearing the rival queen, she initially avoids returning to the palace. Her old attendant is released from unjust imprisonment, recognizes her and carries the news to the Rajah. Meanwhile the account of her infancy allows the milkwoman to identify her lost daughter. The families reunite, the first queen is imprisoned and the attendant receives compensation and a household office. The Rajah plants sunflowers and mangoes as a memorial to the adventures. Bartle Frere’s accompanying judgments about polygamy remain editorial commentary rather than evidence for universal Indian family behaviour.

Origins & earliest records

Told by Anna Liberata de Souza and collected in English by Mary Frere; introduction and notes by Bartle Frere.

Records & interpretation

Complete selected tale, attached footnote and related endnote read; title, introduction, collector apology and narrator autobiography with all referenced notes checked.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Old Deccan Days; or, Hindoo Fairy Legends Current in Southern India

   Anna Liberata de Souza, narrator; Mary Frere, collector; Bartle Frere, introduction and notes · 1870

   VI, Little Surya Bai, pp.113–128; footnote54 and related endnote338–339; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. The complete ending and collection mediation were read.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Historical collected oral narrative in EnglishOld Deccan Days — VI, Little Surya Bai, pp.113–128; footnote54 and related endnote338–339Research access: 2026-10-06

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.