Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (51 page)

‘“On hearing about Skanda, the gods went and told Vasava, ‘O Shakra! Skanda’s strength cannot be tolerated. Kill him swiftly and without any delay. If you do not kill him now, he will become Indra. O Shakra! With his great strength, he will oppress the three worlds, us and you.’ He replied to the ones who were miserable, ‘This child is immensely strong. With his valour, he can destroy the creator of the worlds in battle. Let the mothers of the world now go to
Skanda.
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They have the power and the will to destroy him.’ They
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agreed to these words and went. But on seeing that his strength was unmatched, their faces became miserable. They thought that he was invincible and sought refuge with him. They told him, ‘You are our son. We hold up the universe. Welcome all of us. We are overcome with affection for you. Our milk is flowing.’ Mahasena worshipped them and complied with their wishes. Then the strongest of the strong saw his father Agni approach and together with the group of mothers, he
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received his worship. He remained there with Mahasena, so as to protect him steadily. There was a lady among the mothers who had been created out of anger. She nursed Skanda like her own son, with a spear in her hand. She was the daughter of an ocean of blood and lived on blood. She embraced Mahasena and protected him like a son. Agni transformed himself into goat-faced Naigameya with many offspring.
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He sported himself on the mountain with the child, as if with toys.”’

‘Markandeya said, “The planets, the minor planets, the rishis and the mothers, all radiant and led by Agni, with masses of attendants and many other terrible residents of heaven, established themselves around Mahasena, together with the groups of mothers.
The lord of the gods wished for victory, but was unsure about victory.
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He ascended Airavata’s shoulders
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and departed, together with the gods. Desiring victory over Mahasena, Indra travelled swiftly. The army of the gods was immensely radiant. It was terrible and extremely fast. It was adorned with colourful flags and decorations and had many vehicles and bows. It was dressed in beautiful garments and was adorned and served by prosperity. When Kumara saw Shakra advance, with the desire of killing him, he advanced. The immensely strong Shakra roared and advanced swiftly. This delighted the army of the gods, who wished to kill Agni’s son. Worshipped by the thirty gods and the supreme rishis, Vasava approached near Kartikeya. Together with the gods, the lord of the gods roared like a lion. On hearing this sound, Guha roared like the ocean. On hearing this great sound, the splendid army of the gods lost its senses. It was agitated, like the ocean by a storm.

‘“Having seen that the gods had approached with the desire of killing him, Agni’s son was angered. He belched forth large flames of fire from his mouth. They burnt the army of the gods and made them writhe on the ground. The heads and the bodies were in flames and the arms and the mounts were ablaze. They looked like radiant clusters of stars that had suddenly been dislodged. Having been burnt, the gods abandoned the wielder of the vajra and sought refuge with Agni’s son, thus obtaining peace. Having been deserted by the gods, Shakra hurled his vajra at Skanda. O great king! This split open Skanda’s right side. When the side of the great-souled Skanda was split from the force of the vajra, another being was born. He was a youth, decorated in gold. He was clad in celestial earrings and wielded a spear. Since he was created from the entering of the vajra, he was known as Vishakha.
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On seeing another one arise, like the fire of destruction, Indra was frightened. He joined his hands in salutation
and sought refuge with Skanda. O excellent one! Skanda granted him safety, together with his army. The thirty gods were delighted and played on their musical instruments.”’

‘Markandeya said, “Now hear about Skanda’s companions. They were terrible and extraordinary. They were born when Skanda was struck by the vajra and are the minor Kumaras. These terrible ones steal children, whether they have been born or whether they are in the womb. From the force of the vajra, immensely strong daughters were also born from him. The Kumaras thought of Vishakha as their father. The illustrious one protects in battle, with the face of a goat. He is surrounded by the masses of daughters and all his own sons. While the mothers look on, Bhadrashakha
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provides succour. So people on earth call Skanda the father of sons. In different regions, those who wish sons or have sons, always worship Rudra, Agni and the extremely strong Uma as Svaha.

‘“The maidens who the fire named Tapas had begotten, went to Skanda and he asked, ‘What will I do?’ The mothers replied, ‘Grant us this favour. May we be the supreme mothers of all the worlds. May we be worshipped. Do this for our pleasure.’ He replied that it would be this way. Then that great-souled one again said, ‘You will be of different kinds, auspicious and inauspicious.’ Thus, having fulfilled the resolution of making Skanda their son, the group of mothers went away. Kaki, Halima, Rudra, Brihali, Arya, Palala and Mitra became the seven mothers of children who have just been born. Through Skanda’s favours, each of them had a terrible son, named Shishu,
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full of valour and red in the eye. Those who were
born from Skanda’s group of mothers are known as the eight brave ones.
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Together with the one who has the face of a goat,
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they are referred to as the nine. O king! Know that the sixth of Skanda’s six heads has the face of a goat and is always worshipped by the group of mothers. The chief among his six heads is known as Bhadrashakha. It is through this that he created divine energy. All these incidents occurred on the fifth day of shuklapaksha. O lord of men! The extremely terrible war transpired on the sixth.”’

‘Markandeya said, “Skanda was seated, with golden armour. He wore a golden crest and crown. His eyes were golden and he was immensely radiant. His garments were tinged with red. His teeth were sharp and he was beautiful. He possessed all the auspicious marks. He was the beloved of the three worlds. He was the granter of boons. He was brave. He was young. He was adorned with earrings. In the form of an embodied lotus, Shri herself worshipped him. When the greatly famous Kumara was thus united with Shri, all the beings saw him, like the moon on the night of the full moon. The great-souled brahmanas worshipped the extremely powerful one.

‘“The maharshis spoke to Skanda in these words. ‘O fortunate one! O one with the golden complexion! May you be the saviour of the worlds. Though you have been born in six nights,
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the worlds
have been subdued by you. O supreme among gods! You have granted them freedom from fear again. You should therefore become Indra and free the three worlds from their fear.’ Skanda asked, ‘O ones rich in austerities! What does the Indra of all the worlds do? How does the lord of the gods always protect the masses of gods?’ The rishis replied, ‘Indra grants beings strength, energy, offspring and happiness. When he is satisfied, the lord of the gods grants everyone their shares. He withdraws it from those who perform evil deeds and grants it to those who perform good ones. The destroyer of Bala assigns beings to their tasks. He acts as the sun when there is no sun, and as the moon when there is no moon. He becomes the fire, the wind, the earth and the water and their origins. These are Indra’s tasks and Indra’s strength is immense. You are brave and you are supreme in strength. Therefore, you should be our Indra.’ Shakra said, ‘O mighty-armed one! O excellent one! You become Indra and bring happiness to everyone. You are a worthy one and we will instate you today.’ Skanda replied, ‘You alone will rule over the three worlds, fixed on victory. O Shakra! I will remain as your servant. I do not desire to become Indra.’

‘“Shakra said, ‘O brave one! Your strength is extraordinary. Kill the enemies of the gods. Amazed at your prowess, the worlds will ignore me. O brave one! Though I am established as Indra, I am inferior in strength and have been vanquished. Incessantly, they will attempt to bring about false dissension among us. O lord! When you have been separated, the world will be divided into two factions. The beings of the worlds will then decide to split into these two sides. O immensely strong one! Because of this division of beings, there will be strife then. O son!
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Let me assure you that you will then vanquish me in battle. Therefore, you should become Indra. Do not think about this.’ Skanda answered, ‘O fortunate one! You are my king, as well as of the three worlds. O Shakra! What can I do for you? Tell me what your instructions are.’ Shakra said, ‘O Skanda! If you have spoken true words according to your decision, and if you wish to follow my instructions, then listen to me. O immensely strong one! Be instated
as the general of the gods. O immensely strong one! Following your words, I will remain as Indra.’ Skanda answered, ‘For the destruction of the danavas, for accomplishing the objectives of the gods, for the protection of cows and brahmanas, then instate me as the general.’ So Maghavan,
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together with all the masses of gods, instated him. He looked extremely handsome and was worshipped by the maharshis. The golden umbrella
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sparkled like the circle of a fire that has been kindled well. Vishvakarma had created a golden and celestial garland. The slayer of Tripura
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fastened this on him. O tiger among men! O scorcher of enemies! He himself arrived, with the famous goddess.
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Extremely happily, the illustrious Vrishadhvaja
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showed him homage. The brahmanas also refer to Agni as Rudra and he is thus Rudra’s son. The semen secreted by Rudra became Mount Shveta. It was on Mount Shveta that the Krittikas placed Agni’s semen.
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All the residents of heaven saw Rudra offer homage to Guha, foremost among those who possess all the qualities. So he came to be known as Rudra’s son. The child was born after Rudra entered Agni. Because he was born in this way, he became Rudra’s son. It was thus that Skanda, foremost among the gods, was born as Rudra’s son, through the energy of Rudra, Agni, Svaha and the six ladies.

‘“Agni’s son was attired in a pair of red garments that had no dust. His blazing body shone, like the sun attired in a pair of red clouds. Agni gave him a cock and that became his ornamental sign.
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Perched on his chariot, it blazed like the red fire of destruction. His body was cased in armour that he had naturally been born with. It is always visible when the god goes into battle. O lord of the people! With
Skanda, power, dharma, energy, beauty, truthfulness, devotion to brahmanas, lack of delusion, protection of devotees, destruction of enemies and protection of the worlds were also born. Having been thus instated by the masses of all the gods, in his ornaments, he looked happy and satisfied. His visage was as radiant as the full moon. Pavaki
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was thus instated by the gods. The sounds of hymns from the Vedas, celestial music, the songs of the gods and the gandharvas and all the masses of apsaras arose. He sported, surrounded by many who were happy, satisfied and ornamented. Thus instated by the residents of heaven, Mahasena could be seen, like the rising sun when darkness has been destroyed. At that, thousands of armies of the gods came to him from all the directions and said that he was their lord. The illustrious one was surrounded by masses of all the beings. He was worshipped and praised and comforted them.

‘“Having instated Skanda as the general, Shatakratu remembered Devasena, whom he had once freed. ‘Brahma himself must have destined that he will be her husband.’ Thinking this, the slayer of Bala fetched Devasena, adorned in her ornaments and told Skanda, ‘O supreme among gods! Even before you were born, the self-creating one
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destined this maiden to be your wife. Therefore, in accordance with the prescribed rites and to the chanting of mantras, accept her hand. The right hand of this goddess is like a lotus. Accept it.’ Having been thus addressed, he accepted her hand, in accordance with the prescribed rites. Brihasapati recited the prescribed mantras and offered oblations. Thus, wise ones know Devasena to be Skanda’s queen. The brahmanas know her as Shashthi, Lakshmi, Asha, Sukhaprada, Sinivali, Kuhu, Sadvritti and Aparajita. When Devasena obtained Skanda as her eternal husband, the goddess Lakshmi herself sought refuge with him, in embodied form.
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Since Skanda was united with Shri on the fifth lunar day, this is known as Shripanchami.
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He
accomplished his objective on the sixth and this is known as the great
tithi
of
shashthi
.”’
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‘Markandeya said, “When Mahasena was united with Shri and became the general of the gods,
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the six goddesses who were the wives of the saptarshis came to him. They had been abandoned by the rishis, though they were devoted to dharma and were great in their vows. They swiftly went to the lord who was the general of the gods and said, ‘O son! Without any reason and driven by anger, our divine husbands have abandoned us. O son! We have been dislodged from our pure positions. It is said that someone reported we gave birth to you and they heard this falsehood. You should save us. O lord! Through your favours, we should attain eternal heaven. We wish that you should be our son. When you do this, you will be freed from your debt.’ Skanda replied, ‘O unblemished ones! You are truly my mothers and I am your son. You will obtain everything that you have asked for.’ When this had been said, he
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asked Shakra, ‘What should be done?’ Asked thus by Skanda, Vasava replied, ‘Abhijit is Rohini’s younger sister, but is proud.
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The goddess wishes to be the eldest and has gone to the forest to perform austerities. O fortunate
one! I am bewildered, because a nakshatra has been dislodged from the sky. O Skanda! Consult with Brahma about that excellent time.
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Brahma determined the time for Dhanishtha and the others. Rohini was the first and their number used to be complete.’ Having been thus addressed by Shakra, the Krittikas went to heaven. This nakshatra is presided over by the god of fire and shines in the form of a cart.
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