The Birth of Kumara (Skanda) – Stories from Aranyaka Parva

After Rishi Markandeya narrated the genealogy of the different types of Agnis, he told Yudhistira to listen to the story of the birth of Karthikeya/ Kumara/ Skanda. The rishi called him the son of Adbutha, born from the wives of the seven rishis. 

Once upon a time, the devas and asuras were constantly fighting each other. Indra was worried and wanted a general, someone who was extremely powerful and had the valor to protect the gods’ army. Thinking about it, he went to Mount Manasa, where he heard a young woman asking for a protector or a husband, someone who would help her.  

Indra rushed towards the sound and assured her of her safety. Then, he saw Keshi, an asura, grabbing the maiden’s hand. Indra told Keshi to leave, but he said he had come to become the woman’s husband and threw his club at Indra. 

Indra sliced the club with his vajra. When Keshi threw a mountain peak at him, Indra managed to destroy that too. Keshi was hurt in the process, so he left the woman and fled to save his life. Indra asked her who she was. The woman replied that she was Prajapati’s daughter, Devasena. Her sister Daityasena was already abducted by Keshi. The sisters often visited Mount Manasa to play. Keshi would come for the sisters. While Daityasena liked Keshi, Devasena didn’t. She said that her sister didn’t mind being abducted by the asura, but she wanted a powerful husband like Indra.

Indra replied that his mother was Dakshayani, which made Devasena his mother’s sister’s daughter (his sister). He asked her to tell him more about herself. Devasena said she was weak but wanted a powerful husband, as it was a boon her father got from the gods. So, Indra asked her to define the types of powers she wanted in her husband. Devasena said he should be immensely strong and vanquish gods, gandharvas, yakshas, kinnaras, nagas, asuras, and rakshasas. He should have the traits of a learned Brahmin and perform good deeds. 

Indra sadly realized there wasn’t anyone he knew with all these traits. They needed to create someone for her. Just then, a strange astronomical event occurred in the sky. 

The sun rose on Udaya Mountain. The moon entered the sun. The new moon set at the same instant. The gods and asuras were fighting on the same mountain. Dawn arrived with red clouds. The ocean below was red. Agni entered the sun carrying the oblations of Bhrigu, Angiras, and other rishis. The twenty-four parvas (parts of the day, possibly) surrounded the sun. Seeing the union of the sun and the moon, Indra got an idea. He thought that if the moon or Agni had a son, the boy would be powerful enough to meet Devasena’s checklist. 

Indra took Devasena to Brahma Deva and asked for a brave husband for her who would also become the general of his army. He might as well get both wishes granted through the same person. Brahma Deva granted Indra and Devasena a boon that he would create a powerful young man to be the general of the devas’ army and the maiden’s husband. Thanking him, Indra took Devasena to meet the devarishis. Vasishtha and others helped Indra perform a great sacrifice. The Adbuta fire rose from the yagna site to accept the oblations and carry them to heaven. 

As he rose, Agni saw the wives of the devarishis glowing golden in the light and desired them. However, he realized it was improper of him to do so. He made a plan to enter the household fire so that he could look at the women daily. Agni spent the next few days doing just that. However, he wanted more but knew he couldn’t have it. So, he went into the forest with a plan to discard his body. 

Meanwhile, Daksha’s daughter, Svaha, saw Agni and desired him. When he left for the forest, she decided to do something about it and came up with a plan to disguise herself as the seven rishi patnis and seduce Agni. 

Svaha first took the form of Shivaa, the wife of Angiras. She went to Agni and said she desired him and went to meet him after consulting her friends. Agni asked how she knew about his feelings for them. Svaha, as Shivaa, replied that they always thought he was their beloved, and since he had been showing signs of reciprocation, they decided to act on it. 

Agni was happy to spend time with her, not knowing the truth. Svaha caught Agni’s semen in her hands and decided to transform into Garudi so that her actions wouldn’t affect the wives of the rishis. She flew over the forest towards Mount Shveta. This place was filled with rakshasas. Flying to the peak of the mountain, she threw the collected semen into a well. Svaha repeated the same by assuming the forms of the other five rishi patnis. However, she couldn’t transform into Arundhati, the wife of Vasishtha, as the lady was known for her immense tapasya powers. 

On the first day of the lunar fortnight, the collected semen in the well turned into a boy. Since Svaha flung the semen six times, the boy had six heads and twelve arms attached to a single body. With each passing day, the boy grew bigger. By the fourth lunar day, his limbs were formed. Red clouds surrounded him and lightning flashed. He held a giant bow in one hand (given by Shiva). The boy roared so loudly that it shook the three worlds. The two nagas, Chitra and Airavata, jumped in fright. He saw and grabbed them in his hands. In his other hands, he held a spear, a red cock (tamrachuda), and a conch shell. He blew the conch and pounded on the sky with two other arms. 

Sitting on the mountain peak, he looked like a blazing sun that wanted to devour the world. He aimed an arrow at Mount Shveta and shattered it. The vultures flew to Mount Meru for safety. He then threw his spear at Mount Shveta. The mountains were all afraid and began to worship him. They prayed to him throughout the fifth day.

The destruction caused by this boy was immense. The rishis and other people living in and around the Chitraratha forest were agitated. Even as the rishis tried to perform rituals to pacify him, people began to talk. They gossiped that this calamity was because of the rishi patnis sleeping with Agni. Some of them had seen Garudi fly from the forest. However, no one knew it was Svaha responsible for everything. Still, the news reached her. She flew to the boy and said she was his mother. Meanwhile, the rishis abandoned their wives due to the rumor, though Svaha told them she was the boy’s mother.

Vishwamitra followed Agni and was the only other person who knew everything. He went to seek refuge with Skanda and wrote a hymn to praise him. Vishwamitra performed the birth-relevant rites for Kumara and the world. Naturally, Kumara liked Vishwamitra. The rishi informed the other rishis about Svaha, but they refused to get back with their wives. 

Up in heaven, the devas went to Indra and asked him to kill Skanda as he was too powerful and would want to become another Indra. He replied that the boy was too strong and could defeat even the creator in a battle. He suggested sending the mothers of the world to him as they had the power to do it. However, when the mothers saw the boy, their maternal instincts made them adopt him as their own. Kumara accepted them as his mothers and worshipped them. Then, Agni went to meet his son. Kumara worshipped his father as he stayed there with the boy. One of the mothers (Krura) was created out of anger. She was the one who nursed the boy. Agni transformed himself into Naigameya (a goat/ ram), something for the boy to play with.

The gods surrounded Kumara, and soon, Indra arrived on his Airavata. Seeing him ready for an attack, Kumara was angry. The gods cheered, rooting for Indra. Kumara opened his mouth and released a stream of fire that fried the god’s army. They quickly rushed to him to make peace. Indra hurled his vajra at Kumara. The weapon split open his right side. 

Another young boy came out of his body. This boy was dressed in gold and held a spear in one hand. He was known as Vishaka. Seeing this frightened Indra. He, too, joined his hands in prayer and surrendered to Skanda. Now, all the gods and the army were Skanda’s. 

Many more minor Kumaras and daughters were born when the vajra struck Skanda.  They all thought of Vishaka as their father. 

The mothers asked Skanda to make them the supreme mothers of the world. He agreed. Thus, Kaki, Halima, Rudra, Brihali, Arya, Palala, and Mitra became the seven mothers of the children who were born. They also had a son each (Sishu). The children born to Skanda’s mothers were known as the eight great ones. The sixth head of Skanda has the face of a goat and was worshipped by the mothers. Bhadrashakha is the chief among the heads. After all this happened on the fifth day, the war took place on day six.

The young man, Skanda, sat wearing golden armor and a crown. His eyes were gold. His clothes had a tinge of red. He was handsome and radiant. Even Shri worshipped him in the form of a lotus. The maharishis bowed to him and sought refuge. They asked him to become Indra. 

Skanda asked what Indra did and how he protected everyone. They explained the roles and responsibilities of being Indra. However, Skanda replied that he had no desire to become an Indra and said he was happy to work for Indra instead. Indra insisted that Skanda was more powerful. and hence, the right person to rule the three worlds. Skanda didn’t budge. He asked to be made the general of his army so that he could fight the asuras and keep the devas and humans safe. 

Indra happily agreed. The celebration began. Rudra (Shiva) arrived with Uma. Since the Brahmins sometimes referred to Agni as Rudra, Skanda became Shiva’s son as well. In short, the boy was born after Rudra’s energy entered Agni’s. This was combined with Svaha’s energy as well as that of the six mothers. 

Agni gave Skanda a cock (rooster) that became his emblem. The rites were performed to install Kumara as the general of Indra’s army. Once done, Indra remembered Devasena. He fetched her to the mountain. When Devasena arrived, Indra introduced her to Skanda and said they were destined to be married even before he (Skanda) was born. Brihaspati recited the mantras as their wedding took place immediately. Devasena became his wife. The Brahmins also addressed her as Shashthi, Lakshmi, Asha, Sukhaprada, Sinivali, Kuhu, Sadvritti, and Aparajita. 

After the celebrations were over, the six rishi patnis came to Skanda to share their plight and asked him to save them by granting them a place in heaven. They asked to be his mothers to be freed of the debt. Skanda replied that he was their son, and they were his mothers, so they would get what they wanted. 

Meanwhile, there was more work for Skanda.

Indra said that Abhijit, Rohini’s younger sister, was feeling proud and went into the forest to perform austerities to become the first (while Rohini is the fourth star, she is Chandra’s first wife since he loved her the most, but had to marry all the twenty-eight stars, including Abhijit). A star had been dislodged from the sky due to this. Brahma Deva had determined the time for each star, but this new development had disturbed it. Considering Indra’s worry, the Krithikas went to heaven and became a star (the constellation appears like a cart). 

When this was done, Svaha (Garudi) said to Skanda that he should offer her funeral oblation since she was his mother and said she wanted to live with him always. He granted her the boon. Then the group of mothers also wanted to be his mothers. He said they were his mothers and he was their son. They asked for a boon where only they would be worshipped as the mothers of the world and no one else. Also, by becoming his mothers, they were deprived of having offspring, so they wanted the children to be returned to them. 

Skanda said they couldn’t wish for an offspring they already gave away, but he could give them other children. So they asked for children from natural mothers to devour them. He said he could give them that, but it would be extremely painful. Skanda suggested they take care of the children instead, as long as they are good. The mothers agreed and said they would do so while living with him. He said that they could afflict the children in different ways until they (the kids) reached sixteen years of age. Skanda promised to give them undecaying and terrible souls. They would live in happiness and be worshipped. When he said this, a new, strong being with a golden complex appeared out of Skanda’s body and went to devour the offspring. This being became a graha (loosely translated to a planet but here it defines an evil spirit or a disease), they named Skandapasmara. The extremely terrible version of Svaha (Garudi) was known as Shakuni and the rakshasi Putana became a graham with the same name. Pichasi women who roam at night in terrible forms were called Shitaputana. Aditi was also known as Revati, and her graham was called Raivata, which affects children.  

Diti (the mother of daityas) was known as Mukhamandika in graham form and devoured the flesh of children. The Kumaras and Kumaris were also graha born from Skanda and devoured embryos. The Kumaras were the husbands of Kumaris and snatched children. 

Shakuni rode Surabhi, the wish-fulfilling cow, to eat the children of the earth. Sarama, the goddess of dogs, robbed women of their embryos. The mother of trees resided in a karanja tree (Millettia pinnata or Panigrahi). Men who want sons worship this tree. 

The eighteen grahas were fond of meat and liquor. They spend ten nights around the pregnant women during delivery time. Kadru graha would enter the womb to eat the embryo, so the mother would deliver a serpent instead. The mother of gandharvas would steal the embryo and run away. The mother of apsaras sits on the embryo (presumably to kill it). Skanda’s nurse was the daughter of the ocean of blood. She would be worshipped as Lohitayani in the kadamba tree (burflower tree). Arya, the mother worshipped for the fulfillment of desire,s dwelt among women. 

Once the child turned sixteen, these mothers were no longer inauspicious to them and didn’t cause any trouble. Performing rites and prayers to Skanda would also appease these grahas. 

However, different grahas would afflict young adults aged over sixteen. Rishi Markandeya listed them as follows –

• Devagraha: A man who saw gods, no matterwhether  asleep or awake, and turned mad because of this
• Pitrigraha: A man saw his ancestors at all times, which made him mad 
• Siddhagraha: A man who disrespected the sihhadas and got cursed by them 
• Rakshasagraha: A man who inhaled various fragrances and tasted different flavors, and turned mad because of this  
• Gandharvagragha: A human who became mad after being touched by a gandharva 
• Yakshagraha: A man who spent a lot of time with the yakshas and became mad because of this 
• Pisachagraha: A man who became mad after being ascended by pishachas

The grahas could be classified into three types – gluttons, frolicsome, and lustful. They afflict men until they attain seventy years. Post that age, the fever that affects men would be considered a graha (old age-related illness). However, the grahas avoid men who control their senses and have pure thoughts. They also don’t harass those who worship Skanda.

Rishi Markandeya went back to narrating about the other requests Skanda had to handle.

Svaha appeared in front of Skanda again with another request. She said that since she was a child, she had desired to be with Agni, but he hadn’t loved her as much as she loved him. She wanted to reside eternally in Agni. Skanda set a mandate that all fire sacrifices had to be performed with the word ‘svaha’ after each offering. Thus, Svaha would always be a part of Agni. This made her very happy. 

Then, Brahma Deva told Skanda (Mahasena) to go and meet Shiva. She said that Shiva entered Agni and Uma entered Svaha so that they could help in the conception of a powerful god (Skanda). During this process, Manjika and Manjikaa were also born, and the remaining semen flowed into the red river (Lohita/ Brahmaputra). A few bits stuck to the trees and some fell on the earth, while a little went into the sun’s rays. Thus, the semen fell in five ways, which led to the birth of companions (of Skanda) in different forms. Mahasena went to Shiva and worshipped him. 

Read about Skanda as Indra’s general and how he dealt with the asuras.