In the waters beyond the shores of ancient Bharat lived dreaded mythical creatures, Sigorns. The Sigorns borrow their name from Sirens, dangerous creatures that looked like mermaids but were essentially predators. They were gifted with beautiful voices and looks, with which they would lure and devour their human prey. But the Sigorns borrowed their most horrifying power from the gorgons, who were believed to have shared their ancestry. They had the incredible power to hypnotize their prey and turn them into stones, just like Medusa in Greek mythology.
However, unlike mermaids, they were only reported around seas and never on land. In what is now called the Indian Ocean, sailors were routinely baited by the Sigorns near the Java Trench. This is the deepest part of the Indian Ocean and was a favored route for merchants who would be headed to India for trade back then. Sailors who won many a battle for Chandragupta Maurya around 300 BC have recounted their terrifying encounters with the Sigorns in the manuscripts.
In one of the personal accounts of a fleet captain, Sigorns were described as Shilakanya (Women with the power to turn people into stone). “We were sailing for the fifth straight pakhwada (fortnight) in the Indian Ocean when my men were greeted by the most melodious voice of a woman they had ever heard,” Abhijaat, the fleet captain, recorded in his journal.
He described their voices as mesmerizing. “My soldiers stopped doing their work and stepped on the deck hearing that song,” he goes on to say. The ships had slowed down. There was no reason for alarm. The sea was calm, and there was no land for miles. “Suddenly, a dozen beautiful nymphs appeared. We realized their lower body resembled a fish. They were irresistibly beautiful. And, the song melted our hearts like wax in fire,” the journal read.
But the heavenly sight turned into a nightmare when the singing stopped. The sailors who were looking into their eyes started turning into stones and falling overboard into the cold seawater. Those who escaped their eyes weren’t lucky either. The Sigorns opened their mouths as wide as a crocodile. They had icicles like teeth that they drove into the necks and hearts of screaming sailors, drawing their warm blood.
Abhijaat along with one of the crew members were the only ones who managed to escape the slaughter in the sea. He died before they could reach the Indian shores. His journal was carried over and reportedly handed over to Chandragupta Maurya himself, who passed an edict to have the Sigorns beheaded if any of his warriors or sailors ever encountered one.
