Kārttikeya, Skanda and Kumāra

Kārttikeya is the son of Bhagavān Śiva and the commander of the army of the devas. He is also called Skanda and Kumāra. The Purāṇas tell of his birth in several accounts, and each one names the text it comes from.

Kārttikeya was born so that the devas would have a leader against the daityas, and he slew the asura Tāraka. Here is what the Varāha, Brahmāṇḍa, Matsya, Gaṇeśa and Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata say about him.

Who he is in the Varāha Purāṇa

The Varāha Purāṇa says that Kārttikeya is ahaṃkāra (the sense of “I”, the principle of individuality). It teaches this when it speaks of the devas of the body.

“Between Purusha and Avyakta is Mahattattva, also called ahaṃkāra. For a particular purpose, this ahaṃkāra took the form of the divine Senāpati (army commander).”

• Purusha is Bhagavān Vishṇu or Bhagavān Śiva.
• Avyakta is Padma-nayana Lakshmī or Umā.
• Their union is ahaṃkāra, and that is Kārttikeya.

The need of the devas (Varāha Purāṇa, Chapter 25)

The attack of the daityas

The daitya chiefs Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyāksha, Vipracitti, Vicitri, Bhīmāksha, Krauñca and others killed the soldiers of the devas every day with powerful arrows. Bṛhaspati warned the devas: “Your army has no leader and is weak. Find a Senāpati quickly.”

The devas went to Brahmā. He sent them to Bhagavān Śiva on Kailāsa.

The praise of Śiva by the devas

The devas praised Bhagavān Śiva with a great stotra (hymn of praise).

“Ādideva, Purāṇa-purusha, Hari, Bhava, Maheśa, Tripurāntaka, Vibhu, you who knocked out the eyes of Bhaga, you who killed the sons of Diti, we bow to you. O Vṛshabhadhvaja, greatest among the great devas, protect us!”

The reply of Śiva

Bhagavān Śiva said to the devas: “I will give you a Senāpati. A principle beyond all yogic meditation will come forth.”

The birth of Skanda

Bhagavān Śiva churned the śakti (power) within his own body to bring forth a son. A boy came forth with the radiance of the sun and the moon. This was Kārttikeya. He had natural power (sahaja) and blazed like a million suns together.

Names and their meanings

The gifts of Śiva

Bhagavān Śiva said to his son:

• “You are the chief of the Gaṇas of the Bhūta-graha group.”
• “You are the Deva-Senāpati.”

Bhagavān Śiva gave him a rooster (kukkuṭa) as his banner and weapon. He also gave him two attendants, Śākha and Viśākha.

The devas and Brahmā performed his abhisheka (sacred bathing and consecration). They gave him various varas (boons).

The praise of the devas after the consecration

“O son of Maheśvara! O six-faced Deva! O Skanda, Viśveśa, Kukkuṭadhvaja, Agni-putra, be the Devasena! O destroyer of enemies, Kumāra, O master! O Skanda, O Bāla-graha-svāmin, O conqueror of enemies, O Krauñca-bhettā, O son of the Kṛttikās, O beloved of six mothers, we bow to you!”

His second birth, in another manvantara

The Varāha Purāṇa says that Kārttikeya took birth many times, in different manvantaras (ages of a Manu), with different mothers. His second birth involved these:

• the Kṛttikās (the Pleiades)
• Agni
• the Saptamātṛkās (seven mothers)
• Pārvatī

The devas praised him with these names even at his first birth. They had knowledge of what is to come (parāpara-jñāna), so they knew his future births.

Shashṭhī, the sixth lunar day

Brahmā chose Shashṭhī, the sixth lunar day, as the sacred day for the abhisheka of Kārttikeya.

The observance for this day is:

• Eat only fruits on this day.
• Keep the mind disciplined.
• Worship Kārttikeya.

“A person who keeps this observance will receive a son even if he has no child, wealth if he is poor, and any wish that he holds in mind. In houses where this is kept, the children enjoy health and well-being.”

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa account of the birth of Skanda (Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 10)

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa gives its own account of the birth of Kārttikeya. In it, Agni and the Kṛttikās have a part.

Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Umā were married. The devas became anxious that a child of so great a union would have power beyond all control. When the śukra (divine seed) of Bhagavān Śiva was released, Agni took it and carried it within himself, at the request of the devas. But even Agni could not hold the śukra of Bhagavān Śiva without being scorched by its power. He placed it in the sacred river Gaṅgā. Gaṅgā carried it to the banks of a reed thicket (śaravaṇa).

The infant Kārttikeya came forth from the reeds. He shone with golden light. He had six faces (Shaḍānana) and twelve arms that held divine weapons. The six Kṛttikā stars came down as mothers and nursed the infant with their divine milk. This gave him the name Kārttikeya. Because he came forth from the śaravaṇa, he received the name Śaravaṇabhava.

Indra and the devas saw in him the Devasenāpati, the commander-in-chief of the armies of the devas. Brahmā set him in that place with full honour.

In this account Agni bore and passed on the śukra of Bhagavān Śiva. The Varāha Purāṇa lists Agni-putra, the son of fire, among his names.

The Matsya Purāṇa account (Chapters 153–159)

The Tārakāsura Upākhyāna (the account of Tārakāsura) in the Matsya Purāṇa gives the fullest account of the birth of Kumāra in this Purāṇa. It places the birth in a chain of events that begins with Vajrāṅga, Varāṅgī and the vara (boon) given to Tārakāsura.

Why Kumāra had to be born

Tāraka drove the devas out of Svarga. They appealed to Brahmā. He told them to wait. Pārvatī must be born to Himavat and Menā, marry Bhagavān Śiva, and give birth to a son. That son would be the one who was fated to slay Tāraka.

Brahmā had told Tāraka himself that “a seven-day-old child born of Śiva” would slay him. Satī, the first wife of Bhagavān Śiva, had died.

The birth of Pārvatī

Brahmā called the night-devī Vibhāvarī in private. He told her to enter the womb of Menā, and he gave Pārvatī a dark complexion. After the marriage, Bhagavān Śiva teased Pārvatī about this, and that led to her tapas (austerity) to gain the form of Gaurī. Through that tapas Kumāra was born.

Pārvatī was born to Himavat and Menā at brahma-muhūrta, the time before dawn. At the moment of her birth, all three worlds felt joy together. (Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 153)

Manmatha is sent and burned

The devas sent Manmatha (Kāmadeva) to disturb the meditation of Bhagavān Śiva and to stir his love for Pārvatī. Kāma came near to the meditating Bhagavān Śiva and shot his flower arrows. Bhagavān Śiva woke from samādhi with a flicker of displeasure and opened his third eye. The kālāgni (fire of time) from that eye burned Manmatha to ash. (Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 153)

The tapas of Pārvatī

Bhagavān Śiva teased Pārvatī about her dark complexion. She left in anger and performed severe tapas. She kept the pañcāgni (five fires) in summer, stood in the open in the rain in the monsoon, and fasted through winter. Her aim was to gain the Gaurī form. She left Vīraka on duty at the door of Bhagavān Śiva.

In this time Vibhāvarī separated from Pārvatī. The “dark layer” became an independent śakti and slew the Ādi-dānavas. Pārvatī herself gained the golden Gaurī complexion through tapas. (Matsya Purāṇa, Chapters 154–155)

The birth

Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī were united. The śukra of Bhagavān Śiva had extraordinary tejas (radiance). At one point Pārvatī’s body could not hold it. Agni took it up, but he could not hold it either. He placed it in Gaṅgā, and Gaṅgā carried it to the śaravaṇa.

From that śaravaṇa came the six-faced child Kumāra, Skanda, Shaṇmukha. He blazed with a tejas like the sun. The six Kṛttikā stars nursed him as mothers, and so he is called Kārttikeya. (Matsya Purāṇa, Chapters 157–158)

The consecration and command

The devas consecrated Kumāra as Devasenāpati, commander of the armies of the devas. Indra, Vishṇu, Yama, Varuṇa and all the celestial rulers attended. (Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 158)

The slaying of Tāraka

Kumāra was only seven days old when he came to the battlefield. Tāraka saw that the terms of his vara had been met. He still fought with all his fierceness. Kumāra launched the śakti (his divine spear) and said, “Stand still. This śakti will end you in one instant.” The śakti pierced the iron-hard heart of Tārakāsura, and he fell. (Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 159)

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa account (Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 83–89)

The Upāsanā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells of the birth of Skanda and his victory over Tārakāsura at length. It puts the grace (anugraha) of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa first, as what Skanda needed for his success.

The birth of Skanda

After the burning of Manmatha, Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī were united on Kailāsa. Their union lasted sixty thousand years. When it was complete, Bhagavān Śiva placed his divine tejas in the joined hands of Pārvatī. She could not bear its heat, and she passed it to Agni. Agni had come in the form of a wandering beggar who cried, “Bhikshāṃ dehi!” (Give alms!). Agni placed the tejas in Gaṅgā.

Six Kṛttikā women drank the water and became pregnant. They gave birth among the reeds of the river. The six births joined into one. The child was full of light, with six faces (Shaṇmukha) and twelve arms. His one cry shook all fourteen worlds.

Nārada brought the news to Pārvatī. Pārvatī and Gaṅgā both claimed the child. Agni also said he was his son, and the Kṛttikās claimed him as theirs. Bhagavān Śiva placed the child on his lap. Brahmā and Bṛhaspati performed the nāmakaraṇa (naming rite). They gave him the names Kārttikeya, Shāṇmātura, Śarajjanma, Shaḍānana, Tārakajit, Senāni and Skanda. The devas installed him as Senādhyaksha, supreme commander of the armies of the devas. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 85–86)

The Varada Gaṇapati Vrata at Gṛshṇeśvara

Skanda was commander of the armies of the devas. He saw that to win against the unconquerable Tārakāsura he needed the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. He went to Bhagavān Śiva and asked for the vrata (vow) that would give him this grace.

Bhagavān Śiva taught him the Varada Gaṇapati Vrata. It is a month-long observance, from Śrāvaṇa śukla caturthi to Bhādrapada śukla caturthi (the fourth day of the bright half of each month). Bhagavān Śiva himself initiated him into the Gaṇeśa mantra.

Skanda then went to the sacred kshetra (holy place) of Gṛshṇeśvara. He performed the Varada Gaṇeśa Vrata with complete devotion, standing on one leg and chanting the mantra without a break. At the end, Bhagavān Gaṇeśa appeared in a four-armed form. He held the paraśu (axe), aṅkuśa (goad), pāśa (noose) and danta (tusk).

Skanda asked for three varas: lasting victory in battle, steady bhakti (devotion), and the divine peacock of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa as his vāhana (mount). All three were granted.

Bhagavān Gaṇeśa said that from then on he would be worshipped at this kshetra as Lakshya Vināyaka. He is the Vināyaka who was the object (lakshya) of the meditation of Skanda. From this time Skanda received the name Mayūradhvaja, the one whose banner is the peacock. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 89)

The defeat of Tāraka

Skanda had the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa and the peacock as his mount. He led the armies of the devas against Tāraka in a battle that lasted one hundred thousand years. Tāraka had a full vara that protected him from all devas and their weapons, and he could not be killed by ordinary means. Skanda was empowered by the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa and broke through all his defences. He slew Tāraka.

The three worlds returned to their order. Yajña (fire ritual), study of the Vedas, and worship of the devatās began again in all realms. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 89)

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa account: the slaying of Mahishāsura (Chapter 233)

Chapter 233 of the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa tells of the Mahishāsura Vadha (the slaying of Mahishāsura) as the high point of the installation of Skanda as Devasenāpati.

Skanda had created the grahas (planetary beings) to protect children. The grahas went to Indra for refuge. Then the devas, led by Indra, came to Skanda wherever he was living. They offered him a stotra. In it they praised him in these words:

• Kṛttikā-kumāra
• of the blazing tejas of Agni
• son of Umā-Śaṃkara
• carried in the womb of Gaṅgā
• holder of the śakti
• friend of devotees
• brāhmaṇya
• giver of varas
• wearer of red clothes
• six-faced
• rider of the peacock
• lover of bells
• master of the Gaṇas
• Devasenāpati

The devas said: “For those who worship you on the auspicious Kārttika Śukla Shashṭhī on a Tuesday (the triple conjunction called tri-yoga), nothing at all is out of reach. Those who worship you for one year from Vaiśākha pūrṇimā (full moon), fasting on the pañcamī and worshipping on the Shashṭhī, will obtain sons and wealth without fail.”

Skanda heard this praise and said: “My father Śaṃkara alone is my deva. Whatever you have praised, let it be so at the command of my father.”

At that moment Trilocana (Bhagavān Śiva) appeared. With Brahmā he formally consecrated Kumāra as Devasenādhīśvara, the supreme commander of the divine armies. Skanda then slew Mahishāsura, the great buffalo asura who had conquered the three worlds, and destroyed thousands of allied asuras in battle. Bhagavān Śiva himself slew with his śūla (trident) those asuras whom Skanda could not slay. Father and son worked together.

When Mahishāsura and all the enemies of the devas were destroyed, Bhagavān Śiva went back to Kailāsa. All three worlds were glad. (Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Poorvārdha, Chapter 233)

The secret teaching of Skanda (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 134)

In the Rahasya-Dharma cycle of the Anuśāsana Parva, Skanda is addressed as Kumārasvāmī. He gives his own favourite dharma-rahasya (secret teaching of dharma) to the assembled devas, pitṛs (ancestors) and ṛshis.

• Take mud from the horns of a black bull and perform abhisheka with it for three days. This washes away every aśubha (inauspicious thing). It gives lordship (ādhipatya) in the paraloka (the world beyond) and makes the one who does it born śūra (heroic) in the next birth.
• Offer rice cooked in honey, in a vessel of audumbara (fig wood), as a bali (offering) to the rising moon on Pūrṇimā. The Sādhyas, Rudras, Ādityas, Viśvedevas, Aśvins, Maruts and Vasus accept this offering together. It makes the moon wax and makes the great ocean itself swell.

Immediately after this teaching, Bhagavān Vishṇu closes the whole Rahasya-Dharma cycle. He says that whoever recites all these teachings daily, free of envy and pure of heart, is freed from fear and pāpa (sin). He says they must never be told to the faithless, the nāstika (one who denies the Vedas), the corrupter of dharma, or the one who hates his guru. The full cycle has ten parts.

Sources

• Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 25
• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 10
• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 153–159
• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 83–89
• Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Poorvārdha, Chapters 228–230, 233
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 134