There are many different traditions attached to the story of Randal Màtàji. The following story is one of several popular versions.

Randal Màtàji was born Sangna Devi. She was the great and merciful daughter of Vishvakarma. From an early age, people remarked on her beauty, her love for all beings, and her eagerness to help those in need.

Sangna Devi married the Sun God, Surya Dev. They were happy together and bore a son and a daughter, Yamraja and Yamnaji.

In those days, the brightness of Surya Dev was more intense than it is now – too intense for those caught within its glare. On Earth, there was suffering. There was a great heat across the land that sapped people and the plants they depended on. Crops and Ayurvedic plants would not grow; there was little water to drink.

Sangna Devi could not bear the suffering of the people. It was her nature to help those in need, yet she did not want to leave her husband. Her solution was to create an exact duplicate (Chhaya) of herself. The Chhaya remained with Surya Dev, while Sangna Devi came down to Earth to meditate and to pray to her husband to give the world relief from his extreme brightness.

Sangna Devi spent many years on Earth in prayer and meditation before Surya Dev realised that his real wife was no longer with him. He, more than anyone, knew about Sangna Devi's infinite love and mercy, so he went in search of her. He found her on Earth, deep in meditation. He was deeply touched by the love she bore for him and for the people, so he took the form of a horse and performed a spiritual dance to awaken her.

When Sangna Devi woke, Surya Dev told her that he was pleased with her devotion. He would grant her a boon; whatever she desired was hers for the asking. Sangna Devi explained about the suffering of the people. What she desired most was that Surya Dev should reduce his brightness.

It happened that Sangna Dev's father, Vishvakarma, was passing. He had an idea: he said that he could split Surya Dev's brightness into twelve parts of varying intensity. By using the different parts in turn, Surya Dev could shine through the year in periods of greater and lesser intensity. It was a wonderful solution that brought happiness, comfort, and great fruitfulness into the world – and it all came about through the grace of Sangna Devi.

After her father and her husband had bestowed their blessings upon her, Sangna Devi explained that there was still one other issue to resolve. The Chhaya had stood faithfully by Surya Dev for many years, even though she found his brightness as hard to bear as everyone else. Sangna Devi asked her husband to include Chhaya in his blessings.

Surya Dev promised that henceforth the two parts would be known as one. The pair would be inseparable and be revered throughout Heaven and Earth as Randal Màtàji. That's why the lotas always come in multiples of two (but excluding eight) when we perform a Randal Màtàji Ceremony.