Keśī (Rākshasa)
Keśī (also called Keśin) is a rākshasa (a powerful being of the night) who appears in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata, in Chapter 223. He abducted a divine woman named Daitya-senā. This act set in motion the events that led to the birth of Kārttikeya.
Indra heard a woman’s cry in the forest, fought Keśī and drove him away with the vajra (his thunderbolt).
The episode
Skanda’s birth was about to take place. Indra was searching for a capable senāpati (commander) for the army of the devas. During this search he heard a woman crying out in the forest.
Indra went to find the cause. The rākshasa Keśī had abducted a divine woman named Daitya-senā. Her sister had seen the abduction and was calling for help.
Indra fought Keśī and struck him with the vajra. Keśī could not stand against Indra’s weapon. He was driven away and fled. Daitya-senā was set free. The rescued woman then said who she was: Devasena, daughter of Prajāpati.
Indra took Devasena to Brahmā. Brahmā explained that the great warrior who would be born to serve as the Senāpati of the devas would also take Devasena as his wife. This became part of the chain of events that led to Skanda’s birth.
Other figures named Keśī
The name Keśī appears in more than one account.
- Keśī the horse-asura (Bhāgavatam, Harivaṃśa): the well-known asura who took the form of a horse and attacked the cows of Gokula. Kṛshṇa thrust his arm into the horse’s mouth and killed him. For this Kṛshṇa won the name Keśava. This is the Keśī most often met in the Purāṇas.
- Keśī the rākshasa (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva): the Keśī who abducted Daitya-senā. He is a rākshasa, not a dānava. He appears in the account of Skanda’s birth as the one who abducted Daitya-senā. Indra drives him off, and he does not appear in the account again.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 223
- Bhāgavatam and Harivaṃśa (for the other Keśī, the horse-asura of Gokula)