Kārttikeya

Kārttikeya is the son of Bhagavān Śiva. He is also called Skanda, Kumāra and Murugan. He is the commander (Senāpati) of the armies of the devas, and he slew the asura Tārakāsura.

The texts tell of his birth in more than one way. In the Vāmana Purāṇa, Agni receives and swallows the śukra (divine seed) of Bhagavān Śiva at the divine wedding and places it in the river Kuṭilā. The river carries it for five thousand years and then places it in the Śaravaṇa reed forest on Udayagiri. There the six Kṛttikā women nurse the six-faced child. The Vāmana Purāṇa gives him four names, one for each of his four divine parents.

The chain of his birth

Tārakāsura could be destroyed only by the son of Bhagavān Śiva. The union of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī was broken off by the devas, through Agni, before a son could be born in the natural way. The divine seed then passed through a chain of bearers: Agni, the river Kuṭilā and the Śaravaṇa forest. Only then was the child born. (Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 31)

Birth in Śaravaṇa: the six faces

Kārttikeya was born in the Śaravaṇa, the sacred reed forest, on the slopes of Udayagiri. He was bathed in the light of the rising sun. He came forth with six faces (shaḍānana). This is one of his best known forms.

The six faces match the six Kṛttikā women who nursed him. Each face drank from one of the six divine foster mothers. His name Kārttikeya comes from these Kṛttikā nurses, who cared for him from birth. (Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 31)

Four names for four parents

After his birth a dispute arose over whose son he was. Each of these had a share in his coming: Agni, who first carried the seed; Kuṭilā, who bore him for five thousand years; Umā-Pārvatī, who claimed him through her bond with Bhagavān Śiva; and Bhagavān Śiva, the first father. Bhagavān Śiva settled the dispute by giving the child four names, each in honour of one claimant.

• Kumāra: the son of Bhagavān Śiva
• Viśākha: the son of Umā
• Śākha: the son of Kuṭilā
• Mahāsena: the son of Agni

The name Kārttikeya, from the Kṛttikā nurses, is a fifth name that applies across all four. (Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 31)

The abhisheka at Pṛthūdaka

The royal abhisheka (consecration) of Kārttikeya as Senāpati, general of the divine armies, was held at Pṛthūdaka tīrtha (holy place) in Kurukshetra. Bhagavān Vishṇu performed the svastivācana (blessing). All the devas came and gave Kārttikeya bands of Gaṇas. Chapter 31 holds long lists of the Gaṇas given by each river, tīrtha and deva. (Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 31)

The slaying of Tāraka

Kārttikeya was born to slay Tārakāsura. The devas had arranged this unusual birth because Tāraka could not be overcome in any other way. After the abhisheka, Skanda led the army of the devas against Tāraka and killed him with his śakti (spear). The three worlds were freed from the cruelty of Tāraka. (Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 32)

The Krauñca episode

Mahishāsura was first defeated by Kātyāyanī. He then fled to the Krauñca mountain. Kārttikeya would not kill him directly, because Mahishāsura was his mātuleya-bhrātā (maternal cousin), and he held that this was against dharma.

Kārttikeya and Indra held a contest to go around Krauñca. The mountain won it for Indra by deceit. Kārttikeya was angry at the trick and hurled his śakti at Krauñca. It pierced the mountain and killed Mahishāsura, who was hiding inside. (Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 32)

Other names

• Skanda: the name used most for his side as the deva of war
• Kumāra: the eternal youth
• Shaḍānana: the six-faced, from the six Kṛttikā mothers
• Senāpati: general of the divine armies
• Śaktipāṇi: the bearer of the śakti weapon
• Kārttikeya: the son of the Kṛttikās

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa account of his birth

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa gives a different chain for the birth of Kārttikeya. The retas (seed) of Bhagavān Śiva was too forceful for the body of Pārvatī to hold. It went first into Agni, who stood there as a stand-in receiver. Agni was also overwhelmed, and it passed from him to all the devas together. From the devas it passed to the six Kṛttikā women. From the Kṛttikā women it went into the sands of the Gaṅgā, and there Kārttikeya was born.

Each of the six Kṛttikā women came to nurse him. The milk of Pārvatī flowed of itself at his birth. His wife was Sena (Devasena), the daughter of Mṛtyu, who was given to him in marriage. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27)

The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa: the consecration as Senāpati and the march

The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa (Chapter 31) tells in detail how Kumāra was consecrated as Senāpati and how he marched against Tārakāsura. The birth had taken place, the six Kṛttikās had nursed him, and Pārvatī had recognised him. Then the devas performed the formal abhisheka of Kumāra as commander. Bhagavān Vishṇu gave his auspicious blessing, and Indra gave his weapons and divine forces. The divine army gathered: all the devas, all the Gaṇas of Bhagavān Śiva, and the whole host of the devas.

Kumāra led the army with his śakti in front. Signs of victory marked the march. The banners of the devas opened in favourable winds, and the forces of Tāraka began to tremble even as the divine army came near. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 31)

The five Liṅgas at Guptakshetra

After the defeat of Tārakāsura, the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa tells how five great Liṅgas were set up at the Mahīsāgara Saṅgama (Guptakshetra), in Chapters 33–36. They are lasting consecrations that mark the events of the war.

1. Pratijñeśvara at the western entrance of Guptakshetra.
2. Kapāleśvara with Kapālikeśvarī, a Śaktipīṭha in the south-eastern zone.
3. Kumāreśa, the central Liṅga, made by Brahmā himself. Pārvatī and Gaṇeśa are set up nearby.
4. Stambheśvara, set up by Kumāra on the jaya-stambha (victory pillar) after his triumph.
5. Siddheśvara, set up by all the devas together, and linked with Siddhāmbikā and Siddhakuṇḍa.

These five Liṅgas make up the Śaiva holy place of Guptakshetra. The Kumāreśa Liṅga (Chapter 34) is known for the many varas (boons) promised to those who worship it. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 33–36)

Teaching on the types of Liṅga

The war against Tāraka ended, and Yama came to pay respects to Bhagavān Śiva. Then Kārttikeya gave a talk to Nandī on the types and materials of Śivaliṅgas. He set out the order of Liṅgas made of different materials. He named the Bāṇaliṅga, the naturally formed oval stone from the Narmadā, as the highest of all. He also passed on the teaching of the Pañcāksharī mantra on this occasion. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 31)

The Brahma Purāṇa: the Kumāra Tīrtha and the Kṛttikā Tīrtha on the Gautamī

The Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Mahā Purāṇa tells of two episodes of Kārttikeya at the sacred tīrthas of the river Gautamī.

The Kumāra Tīrtha (Chapter 11)

Tārakāsura died, and peace came back to the three worlds. Pārvatī spoke with great love to her eldest son Kārttikeya: “With my consent and the grace of your father, be glad. Enjoy as you please the pleasures of the three worlds.”

His mother had allowed it. So Viśākha (Kārttikeya) sported with the wives of the devas, and the wives of the devas sported with him willingly. The devas could not stop him and complained to Pārvatī. She tried again and again to turn him away. The six-faced Kārttikeya did not stop, so fond was he of the company of women.

Pārvatī then found a way. She made every woman whom Kārttikeya came near appear to him in her own form. The six-faced Kārttikeya called the wife of Indra or Varuṇa and looked at her, and he saw the form of his own mother. He stepped back in respect and called another woman, and again the form of his mother appeared. In every woman in the world he now saw only the form of his mother.

He was deeply ashamed and understood what had happened. He went to the Gautamī and said before the river: “Let this river, whose form is also like that of my mother, hear my words. From now on, whatever has a feminine name will be like a mother to me.”

Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī came to him. Skanda said, “It has already happened.” Bhagavān Śiva was pleased and asked what he could give. Kārttikeya asked for no vara (boon) for himself. He asked only that those who had done great pāpa (sin), even those who had defiled the bed of their guru, be freed from their pāpa by bathing in this river. He also asked that even the low and the ugly gain a fine birth and beauty by bathing there. Bhagavān Śiva agreed. From then on that holy place became the tīrtha of Kārttikeya (Kumāratīrtha) on the Gautamī. (Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 11)

The Kṛttikā Tīrtha (Chapter 12)

The next tīrtha on the Gautamī is the Kṛttikā Tīrtha. Its account is a different one.

To quell Tāraka, Agni, the deva of fire, had drunk the śukra of Bhagavān Śiva. Six of the seven wives of the ṛshis became pregnant through the nearness of Agni. Only Arundhatī, the wife of Vasishṭha, did not, because she had just finished her bath after her monthly period. The six women had taken in such great divine energy that they felt a scorching heat in their monthly cycle. They asked one another in distress, “What shall we do? Where shall we go?” They went to the Gaṅgā and cast out the foetuses.

The foetuses floated in the water as foam. Through water and wind they joined together and became the six-faced Kārttikeya, born from the Gaṅgā. After they had cast out the foetuses, the six women went home. Their husbands saw their wasted bodies and cast them out. They said: “You may go quickly. It is not right for women to be unfaithful.”

The six women were left alone and unhappy, and they wandered. Nārada appeared and told them: “The son of Bhagavān Śiva is well known by the names Kārttikeya, Gāṅgeya, Agnibhava and Tārakāntaka. Go to him.”

The six women came to Kārttikeya and told him everything. He answered them with kindness: “Go to the Gautamī. Take your bath and worship Maheśvara. I shall come there and lead you to the world of the devas.” They said, “So be it.” The Kṛttikā women bathed in the Gaṅgā and the Gautamī and worshipped Maheśvara. By the grace of Bhagavān Śiva they went back to their home, and the ṛshis took them back. From then on that holy place became the Kṛttikā Tīrtha on the Gautamī. A person who bathes there on the full moon of the month of Kārttika, when the moon is with the Kṛttikā stars, gains the puṇya (merit) of all yajñas. (Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 12)

Māyūradhvaja: the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa

The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa gives one more name of Kārttikeya. It comes from an event in the Tretā-yuga.

Māyūreśvara is the avatāra of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa in the Tretā-yuga, and he rides a peacock. He finished his task of defeating Sindhu and married Siddhi and Buddhi. Then he gave his peacock as a gift to Kārttikeya. With this gift, Māyūreśvara gave Kārttikeya the new name Māyūradhvaja, “the one whose banner is the peacock.”

In this account the peacock was first the mount of Māyūreśvara himself, and it passed to Kārttikeya as a gift. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 126)

The Kumāra Khaṇḍa account: Śiva Purāṇa

The Kumāra Khaṇḍa of the Rudra Saṃhitā in the Śiva Purāṇa gives the longest account of the birth, installation, war and later life of Kārttikeya. It runs through twenty chapters.

The chain of the birth

Agni took the form of a bird and entered the home of Bhagavān Śiva. He took in the tejas (radiance) of Bhagavān Śiva. Pārvatī found out about the intrusion and spoke two curses: the wives of the devas would be barren, and Agni would devour everything.

The tejas passed from Agni to six of the seven wives of the Saptarshis, all except Arundhatī. They had come to bathe at dawn in the month of Māgha. They could not bear it, and they placed the tejas on Himavān. Himavān placed it in the Gaṅgā, and the Gaṅgā placed it in a reed thicket.

On Mārgaśīrsha Śukla Shashṭhī the child was born. The six Kṛttikā women of the stars found him. They nursed him from all six faces and gave him his name, Kārttikeya. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–2)

Early events

Viśvāmitra came to the child in the reed forest, and the child asked him to be his purohita (family priest). Indra tested the child by striking him with the vajra. Three beings came forth from the places where it struck: Śākha, Viśākha and Naigama. The Kṛttikā women then took Kārttikeya to Badrikāśrama. He was brought to the assembly of the devas and sat there in complete silence. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 3)

The reunion and abhisheka at Kailāsa

Pārvatī learned of the tejas that she had not received. Bhagavān Śiva traced the whole chain through each divine witness. Nandīśvara was sent as messenger to the home of the Kṛttikās, and Kārttikeya agreed to return.

The great reunion at Kailāsa led to his formal installation by Bhagavān Śiva himself on a golden throne. Each deva gave him particular weapons or gifts:

• Bhagavān Vishṇu gave a crown and the cakra (discus).
• Bhagavān Śiva gave the śūla (trident), the pināka (bow), the śakti and the pāśupata (weapon).
• Brahmā gave the yajñasūtra (sacred thread) and the Brahmāstra.
• Indra gave Airāvata and the vajra.
• Varuṇa gave a white umbrella and the ratnamālā (jewel garland).
• Sūrya gave a divine chariot.
• Yama gave the yamadaṇḍa (staff of Yama).
• Candra gave the amṛtakalaśa (pot of nectar).
• Agni gave a śakti.
• Kāmadeva gave the kāmāstra (weapon of desire).
• Pārvatī gave sovereignty and immortality.

Viśvakarman built a city and a palace for him. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 4–5)

The brāhmaṇa and the goat

An ordinary brāhmaṇa named Nārada came to Kārttikeya in distress. A goat that he needed for his yajña was missing. Kārttikeya sent his chief attendant Vīrabāhu to look for it. Vīrabāhu found the goat at Vaikuṇṭha. Kārttikeya then rode the goat on a pradakshiṇā (walk around) of the whole universe and declared it sacred. By his grace the yajña of the brāhmaṇa was completed. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6)

The war against Tārakāsura

The armies of the devas marched, and a voice from the sky (ākāśavāṇī) announced victory. The fighters were matched in pairs, among them Tāraka against Indra, Śaṃprada against Agni, and Jambha against Yama.

Tāraka defeated Indra, broke the gadā (mace) and cakra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and struck down Vīrabhadra. Brahmā told Kārttikeya plainly that only he could slay Tāraka, as the vara of Tāraka had fixed. Tāraka gave a long speech that listed the wrongs of the devas. Kārttikeya stepped forward and slew Tārakāsura in single combat with his śakti. The rest of the rākshasas fled to Pātāla. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 7–10)

After the war: Bāṇāsura and Pralamba

Krauñcāsura sought refuge with Bāṇāsura. Kārttikeya slew Bāṇāsura with his śakti. Four Liṅgas were then set up: Pratijñeśvara, Kapāleśvara (with Kapālikeśvarī), Kumāreśvara and Stambheśvara.

Later, Kumuda, the son of Śesha, sought refuge from Pralambāsura. Kārttikeya slew Pralamba as well. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 10–11)

The contest of going around the world, and his withdrawal

Kārttikeya and Gaṇeśa both wished to marry. Their parents set a contest of going around the world. Kārttikeya set out on his peacock. Gaṇeśa walked around his parents seven times. He quoted the teaching of the śāstras that parents equal all tīrthas and all worlds. Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī declared Gaṇeśa the winner.

Kārttikeya heard of this from Nārada and felt wronged. In vairāgya (detachment) he withdrew to Krauñca Mountain. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 19–20)

His lasting home at Krauñca, and Mallikārjuna

Bhagavān Śiva visited Krauñca Mountain on every Amāvāsyā (new moon) and Pārvatī on every Pūrṇimā (full moon). Each time they came, Kārttikeya moved three yojanas further away. At the request of Pārvatī, Bhagavān Śiva appeared there for good as the Mallikārjuna jyotirliṅga at Krauñca Mountain.

From this time the lifelong brahmacarya (celibate life) of Kārttikeya was fixed. A pilgrimage to Krauñca Mountain in the month of Kārttika was declared to bring very great puṇya. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20)

Kumārasvāmī as the teacher of knowledge: Kailāsa Saṃhitā

The Kailāsa Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa (Chapters 11–23) shows Kumārasvāmī (Skanda) in a role apart from his roles as warrior and son. He is the supreme jñāna-guru (teacher of knowledge) and the source of the line of teaching of sannyāsa-dharma (the way of renunciation).

He lives for ever at Kumāraśikhara on Mount Meru. His two śaktis, Gajavalī and Suyaśā, are with him. He receives Vāmadeva Maharshi and gives him the whole teaching of:

• sannyāsa-dharma
• the theology of Pañcabrahma
• the knowledge of Śivādvaita
• the eight mahāvākyas (great sayings)
• the yogapaṭṭa ceremony
• the last rites (antima saṃskāra) with the five ātivāhika devatās

At the end of this teaching Kumārasvāmī places himself in the line of gurus as the parātparaguru (the highest guru, of the fourth order) for Śuka. The line runs from Kumārasvāmī through Vāmadeva, Sanatkumāra and Vyāsa to Śuka. In this teaching Kumārasvāmī is the Senāpati of the devas and also the Senāpati of the line of knowledge, the one from whom all Śaiva knowledge that frees the soul comes down.

The stotra of Kumārasvāmī by Vāmadeva praises him as the teacher whose teaching frees one from saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death). His home is on Meru, the centre of the world, and not on Kailāsa. (Śiva Purāṇa, Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Chapters 11–23)

The Mahābhārata account: Vana Parva (Chapters 223–232)

The Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata gives an early account of the birth of Skanda. Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi tells it to Yudhishṭhira.

The part of Svāhā

In the Mahābhārata the main agent is not Agni alone but Svāhā Devī. She is the daughter of Daksha and loved Agni deeply. Svāhā came to Agni in disguise. She took the form of Śivā, the wife of Aṅgiras, and of six of the seven Kṛttikā ṛshi-wives. She could not take the form of Arundhatī, the wife of Vasishṭha, because her virtue could not be broken.

Each time she gathered the divine seed (vīrya) of Agni in a golden vessel on the white Śveta mountain. Over six acts of gathering, the vessel held the divine seed from which Skanda was born.

The six ṛshi-wives were then falsely accused of unfaithfulness, and their husbands left them. Svāhā in the end cleared their names, and Skanda later accepted them as his divine mothers.

The birth on Pratipad

Skanda was born from the golden vessel on Pratipad, the first day of the bright half of the month. He came forth with six faces (matching the six acts of gathering), twelve eyes, twelve ears, twelve arms, one throat and one belly. His first act was to break the Krauñca mountain with arrows.

Viśvāmitra had followed Agni in secret and had seen the whole sequence. He performed all thirteen birth saṃskāras (sacred rites) for the child.

Viśākha from the wound of the vajra

Indra attacked the infant Skanda with the vajra. Skanda took the blow, and from the wound Viśākha was born. He was a golden divine being who carried the śakti weapon. (The Kumāra Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa tells of three beings, Śākha, Viśākha and Naigama, from the same event.) After Viśākha came forth, Indra gave way and received abhaya (freedom from fear) from Skanda.

The marriage to Devasena and the twenty-six names

Indra gave Devasena as wife to Skanda, and Bṛhaspati performed the wedding rites. Devasena is known by seven names for seven functions at once: Shashṭhī, Lakshmī, Āśā, Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Sad-vṛtti and Aparājitā.

Skanda slew the dānava Mahishāsura with a single śakti in his first battle as Senāpati. Svāhā received the vara that every havish (offering to the fire) would for ever carry the words “Agnaye Svāhā.”

The parva ends as Yudhishṭhira learns the twenty-six divine names of Skanda: Āgneyuḍu, Skanda, Dīpta-kīrti, Anāmaya, Mayūraketu, Dharmātma, Bhūteśa, Mahishāri, Kāmajit, Kāmada, Kānta, Priya, Candrānana, Dīpta-śakti, Praśāntātma, Bhadrakṛt, Kūṭamohana, Shashṭhīpriya, Dharmātmā, Pavitra, Mātṛvatsala, Kanyābhartā, Vibhakta, Svāheya, Revatīsuta and Prabhu.

Sources

• Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 31, 32
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 27–31
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 31–36
• Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapters 11–12
• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 126
• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–12, 19–20
• Śiva Purāṇa, Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Chapters 11–23
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 223–232