Birth of Kārttikeya
This is the account of the birth of Kārttikeya, the son of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī, who became the commander of the deva army. It is told in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa. The child was not born in the usual way. Bhagavān Śiva’s retas (his creative energy) passed from one bearer to the next, because no single bearer could hold it, until it came to rest in the sands of the Gaṅgā.
The need for Kārttikeya
After the marriage of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī, the devas waited for the birth of their champion. Only a son of Bhagavān Śiva could slay Tāraka, who had received the vara (a boon) that no one could defeat him except Bhagavān Śiva’s son.
The devas knew that when Bhagavān Śiva’s energy found the right bearer, it would give birth to a warrior of unequalled power. But the retas was itself a cosmic fire that no ordinary bearer could hold. As the events showed, not even Pārvatī could hold it.
The journey of Śiva’s retas
Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī were together in the innermost chamber, and his retas was released. Its energy was so great that Pārvatī could not hold it in her body, and it passed outward.
The devas had placed Agni, the deva of fire, to receive it instead. They arranged for the retas to flow into Agni. But Agni too could not hold the full force. It became too hot even for the deva of fire. So the retas was shared out further, from Agni to all the devas together.
The devas were overwhelmed, and they gave it in turn to the Kṛttikā women, the six stars of the Pleiades. By divine arrangement these six had been chosen as foster-mothers for this child. Each of the six received a part of the retas and carried it within her for the time of pregnancy. But even they could not carry it to full term, because the heat became unbearable. They released the retas into the Gaṅgā.
Birth from the sands of the Gaṅgā
The Gaṅgā received Bhagavān Śiva’s retas in her sacred sands on the river bank. From the sand the divine child was born, by himself, without an ordinary birth. He came with six heads, one face for each of the six Kṛttikā women who had each carried a part of the retas. This is why he is Shaṇmukha, the six-faced one. He had twelve arms and twelve eyes. The light of his birth filled the three worlds.
Each of the six Kṛttikā women at once felt a rush of mother’s love for the child she had partly carried. All six came to nurse him at the same time.
When Pārvatī heard of the birth, the same flood of mother’s love came over her, and milk flowed from her breasts of its own accord. She went to the bank of the Gaṅgā and embraced the child. He was her son through Bhagavān Śiva, though he was not born from her body.
His names
The child received many names:
- Kārttikeya: son of the Kṛttikās
- Shaṇmukha: the six-faced one
- Skanda: the one who sprang (from skand, to leap)
- Kumāra: the eternal youth, the pure one
- Senāpati: general of the armies
- Guha: the one hidden in the cave (of the heart)
- Murugan: beloved master (in the Tamil tradition)
- Subrahmaṇya: he who is dear to brāhmaṇas
Marriage with Sena-Devasena
Sena, also called Devasena, was the daughter of Mṛtyu (Death). She was given in marriage to Kārttikeya.
Installation as Senāpati
The installation of Kārttikeya as commander of the deva army was a great ceremony, and all the devas came. Indra gave him weapons made by Viśvakarman. Bhagavān Vishṇu gave him blessings. Brahmā gave him the title Senāpati.
The Kṛttikā women were set in the sky as the Kṛttikā constellation, the Pleiades. There they remain as the foster-mothers of Kārttikeya.
Sources
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27