Skanda – The Astonishing Child

There is an erroneous notion that Hinduism represents a polytheistic religion that admits a multitude of gods. This, in reality, is farthest away from the truth and the philosophical standpoint of the faith. Sanātana-dharma or the ancient way of life, as we call our faith, comprises of six theistic schools and six philosophical schools; each of which characterises the Supreme and pathways to the (said) Supreme in their own way. They, however, merge into the universally accepted theory that the same Supreme assumes forms as the various deities (Inclusive Monotheism). For instance, while the Śaiva school of thought glorifies the Supreme to be lord Śiva, it acknowledges that lord Viṣṇu and the other deities are but the manifestations of the said Supreme Power. This is the case with the other schools of thought; for instance, in the Vaiṣṇava vision, Lord Nārāyaṇa while being glorified as the Supreme is accepted as the potency that animates the other celestials such as lord Śiva and lord Brahmā. Thus, in the larger scheme of things, it becomes apparent that in Sanātana-dharma, there is One Supreme Potency that is perceived variedly by the varied schools of thought. The Ṛgveda summarises, इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान्। एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः॥ indraṁ mitraṁ varuṇamagnimāhuratho divyaḥ sa suparṇo garutmān | ekaṁ sadviprā bahudhā vadantyagniṁ yamaṁ mātariśvānamāhuḥ || They speak of Him, the Divine One as Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and the golden-winged Garutmān. The Supreme Consciousness is one but spoken of as many by the wise — as Agni, Yama or Mātariśvā. - Ṛgveda, 1.164.46 Hence, we find various anecdotes of Lord Śiva mentioned in the Vaiṣṇava texts and vice versa. One such episode is the mention of Lord Subrahmaṇya or Skanda in the Rāmāyaṇa. As is well known, the Rāmāyaṇa is a recollection of the exploits of lord Viṣṇu during his avatāra as Rāma, the crown prince of Ayodhyā. When Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa set out after Sage Viśvāmitra to protect his sacrifice (yajña) in the forest, the sage regaled the brothers with various anecdotes. As they reached the banks of the sacred River Gaṅgā, the brothers became eager to hear how the celestial river descended to the earth. The sage narrated the antecedence of the celestial river and in addition, narrated how Skanda, the blessed child of lord Śiva, descended through Gaṅgā. The most noteworthy in this anecdote is the reverence with which lord Rāma treats the narration; suggesting that all forms of the divine are equally worthy of our reverence. Here is the anecdote as presented in the Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa. The King of mountains, Himavān, was married to Menā (or Menakā), the daughter of Mount Meru. Through her, he begot two unparalleled daughters — Gaṅgā and Umā. The devas approached Himavān once and requested him to allow Gaṅgā to become a holy river and flow through the three worlds for the benefit of the gods. Himavān agreed and conferred upon them his daughter Gaṅgā, to flow at will and sanctify all beings. Umā, Himavān’s younger daughter, who was ever-engaged in austerities, was given in marriage to lord Śiva. The newlywed lord was overcome with passion for Umā and sported with her for a hundred divine years, leaving the devas rather distressed. Alarmed, they approached Lord Śiva and pleaded with him to bear the welfare of the world in mind and engage in penance. The lord agreed to their request but asked them, “Who will bear the effulgence that had already risen from its source?” The devas responded immediately that the earth would bear the effulgence. Upon these words, lord Śiva, along with Umā, released the divine energy upon the earth, bathing the earth in blinding splendour. Umā, however, was enraged by the disruption to her amorous sport with the lord. Shaking with rage, she pronounced a curse on the devas. She thundered, “O’ Devas! Since you have disrupted my union with the lord due to selfish desires, you will sire no children through your wives.” Censured thus by Umā, the devas hung their heads in shame; and Lord Śiva departed along with Umā to the Himālayas to perform penance. Years rolled by thus with the lord engrossed in austerities; and yet again, the devas were distressed. The asura Tāraka was tormenting them, and they needed a commander-in-chief to steer their celestial army to victory against him. They hence approached Lord Brahmā and said to him, “Lord, the appointed commander-in-chief of our celestial army, lord Śiva, is ever-absorbed in penance. Please tell us what to do; you are our sole refuge.” Lord Brahmā was moved with compassion by the piteous pleas of the devas. He said, “Umā’s curse cannot be undone. You will indeed not sire any children. However, Agni will produce a child in Gaṅgā with the seed of Lord Śiva, and Umā, who is the elder sister of Gaṅgā, will look upon this kindly. That divine child will be the commander-in-chief of the celestial army.” The devas were thrilled to hear these words. They saluted Brahmā and rushed to Mount Kailāsa to request Agni to release the energy of Lord Śiva into the waters of Gaṅgā. Agni immediately approached Gaṅgā and requested her to bear the energy of Lord Śiva to aid the devas in their mission. Pleaded with thus, the compassionate Devī assumed a divine form. Agni looked at the divine form prepared to bear the effulgent seed of Lord Śiva and pervaded the form with the radiance. He then released the divine energy of lord Śiva and infused all her streams with the essence of the lord. Although she had assumed a divine form, Gaṅgā was yet unable to bear the radiance. Her limbs were scorched from the splendour, and her heart seized with anxiety. She said to Lord Agni deeply distressed, “Lord, I am incapable of bearing the brilliance of this growing splendour.” Agni was alarmed by Gaṅgā’s misery. He urged her to release the energy on the foothills of the Himālayas. Gaṅgā did as told at once and brought forth the seed of lord Śiva upon the foothills of the mighty Himālayas. 1 The Vālmiki-Rāmāyaṇa is a bit ambiguous regarding what happened to the seed of Lord Śiva once he released it upon the earth. Some sources state that Agni absorbed the seed and immediately released the seed in the waters of river Gaṅgā. Some other sources state that Agni transported the divine seed to the ṛṣipatnis (wives of austere sages) who had resorted to him on the cold morning for warmth. The ṛṣipatnis it is stated, bore the seed momentarily until it developed into a foetus and then released the baby back into the gushing stream of Gaṅgā, from where the baby flowed into the forest of reeds to be discovered by the Kṛttikā damsels. The devas were thrilled to hear these words. They saluted Brahmā and rushed to Mount Kailāsa to request Agni to release the energy of Lord Śiva into the waters of Gaṅgā. Agni immediately approached Gaṅgā and requested her to bear the energy of Lord Śiva to aid the devas in their mission. Pleaded with thus, the compassionate Devī assumed a divine form. Agni looked at the divine form prepared to bear the effulgent seed of Lord Śiva and pervaded the form with the radiance. He then released the divine energy of lord Śiva and infused all her streams with the essence of the lord. Although she had assumed a divine form, Gaṅgā was yet unable to bear the radiance. Her limbs were scorched from the splendour, and her heart seized with anxiety. She said to Lord Agni deeply distressed, “Lord, I am incapable of bearing the brilliance of this growing splendour.” Agni was alarmed by Gaṅgā’s misery. He urged her to release the energy on the foothills of the Himālayas. Gaṅgā did as told at once and brought forth the seed of lord Śiva upon the foothills of the mighty Himālayas. The splendour of lord Śiva that was released upon the foothills of the snow-clad mountains was resplendent as molten gold. The spots it touched on the ground turned to gold. From its fiery virtue were produced copper and iron, and from its residue zinc and lead. The seed that was now a resplendent baby thus enriched the earth with many minerals and ores. The splendour of the divine child also enveloped the surrounding mountains and forests in a golden hue. As a result, the trees, creepers, and surroundings of the forest appeared to be verily crafted of gold. Such was the golden splendour that issued forth from the child; it is stated that gold became known as ‘Jātarūpa’ (embodied brilliance) from that day forward. The Devas were astonished by the divine occurrence. They admired the charming child, who radiated the splendour of fire, and they desired to nurture him. Recognising that the new-born baby needed to be fed, they commissioned the six celestial damsels — the Kṛttikās. The damsels were filled with delight upon beholding the handsome baby. They crooned joyously, “He shall be a son to us!” and prepared to suckle him. The devas were immensely pleased with the motherly instincts of the Kṛttikā damsels. They said to the damsels that the child would be glorified in the three worlds as ‘Kārttikeya’ (the son of the Kṛttikās). The Kṛttikā damsels were overjoyed by the blessings conferred upon them. With a smile on their lips, they bathed the child with great love and care. Maternal love engulfed their being, and their breasts became heavy with milk. The divine baby assumed six heads to suckle from all the six damsels at once and thus came to be celebrated as ‘Ṣaḍānana’ or Śaṇmukha (one who has six faces). As the baby had descended (Skannaḥ) from the fertile waters of Gaṅgā’s womb, the devas also called him ‘Skanda’. The suckling baby grew into a youngster in just a day. The astonished devas gathered around the vigorous son of Śiva, their eyes wide in admiration. They anointed him the commander-in-chief of their army and requested him to set about the slaying of the asuras, and the narrative evolves further to describe how Skanda marched forth to slay Tārakāsura. Sage Viśvāmitra concluded his narration with the words, “He who is devoted to Kārtikeya will be blessed with longevity on earth, and upon his demise, will attain the unmatched world of Skanda, along with his descendants.” The very same Viśvamitra, who argued on the Supremacy of Rāma in the presence of Daśaratha, glorifies Kārttikeya with non-partisan ideologies. Rāma, who is glorified as the avatāra of lord Nārāyaṇa, plays the reverent recipient of this anecdote that glorifies another deity. This sufficiently suggests that Sanātana-dharma is better understood not as a polytheistic faith, but rather as a faith that allows the freedom of looking upon the Supreme in any form. In essence, everything that stands created is Supreme and potentially divine. Hence does the Puruṣa-sūkta state, पुरुष एवेदं सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यम् । puruṣa evedaṁ sarvaṁ yadbhūtaṁ yacca bhavyam | All of this (creation) is but the Supreme; the past and that in the womb of time. - Puruṣa-sūkta

Skanda – The Astonishing Child

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