Janamejaya asked, ‘How did the illustrious Shakra commit the offence of killing a brahmana? How was he freed from his sin by bathing in that tirtha?’
Vaishampayana replied, ‘O lord of men! Listen to that account, exactly as it happened. In ancient times, Vasava broke his treaty of peace with Namuchi. Because of his fear of Vasava, Namuchi hid inside one of the sun’s rays. Indra entered into a pledge of friendship with him and told him, “O best of asuras! O friend! I will not kill you with anything that is wet, or with anything that is dry, nor during the day or during the night. I swear this to you truthfully.” Having thus entered into an agreement, the lord created a mist. O king! Vasava severed his head with the foam of water.116 Namuchi’s severed head pursued Shakra from the rear and said, “O friend! You have committed a crime.” He was repeatedly spoken to by the head. In torment, he went to the grandfather and told him what had happened. The preceptor of the worlds said, “O Indra of the gods! You have committed the crime of killing a brahmana.117 Perform a sacrifice in accordance with the decreed rites and bathe in Aruna.” O Janamejaya! Having been thus addressed, the slayer of Bala performed a sacrifice in the grove of Sarasvati and bathed in Aruna. He was freed from the crime of killing a brahmana. Cheerfully, the lord of the thirty gods returned to heaven. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O supreme among kings! Namuchi’s head was submerged in those waters and he118 obtained many eternal worlds that grant every object of desire.
‘The great-souled Bala bathed there and gave away many different kinds of gifts. Devoted to dharma and the performer of supreme and noble deeds, he then went to the great tirtha of Soma. O Indra among kings! In earlier times, in accordance with the prescribed rites, Soma had himself performed a royal sacrifice there. In that best of sacrifices, the intelligent and great-souled Atri was chief among the officiating priests. When it was over, there was a great clash between the danavas, daityas and rakshasas on one side and the gods on the other. That extremely terrible battle is known as Taraka and in this, Skanda killed Taraka. Mahasena,119 the destroyer of the daityas, became the commander of the gods there. Kartikeya himself lives at that spot. Kumara always dwells there and there is a king of plaksha trees there.’
Chapter 1262(43)
Janamejaya asked, ‘O supreme among brahmanas! You have told me about the powers of Sarasvati. O brahmana! You should tell me about Kumara’s consecration. O supreme among eloquent ones! Tell me about the time and the place where it happened. O illustrious one! How was the lord consecrated according to the proper rites? How did Skanda create great carnage among the daityas? Tell me everything about this. I have great curiosity.’
Vaishampayana replied, ‘Your curiosity is characteristic of someone belonging to the Kuru lineage. O Janamejaya! My words will generate delight in you. O lord of men! I will tell you about that wonderful account, about the great-souled Kumara’s consecration and powers. Listen. In earlier times, Maheshvara’s seed fell down into fire.120 The illustrious one who devours everything121 was incapable of destroying that eternal seed. Instead, because he was bearing that energetic seed, the one who bears oblations became energetic and radiant. On Lord Brahma’s instructions, he went to the Ganga and flung that divine seed, as energetic as the sun, there. However, Ganga was also not capable of bearing that seed and flung it on the beautiful slopes of the Himalayas, worshipped by the immortals. Agni’s son122 began to grow there, pervading the worlds. The Krittikas saw the blazing womb there.123 The lord, the great-souled son of the fire god, was lying down in a clump of reeds. Desiring a son, all of them exclaimed, “This is mine.” Discerning the sentiments of the mothers, the illustrious lord assumed six mouths and drank milk from all their breasts. Seeing the powers of the child, the divine goddesses, the Krittikas, celestial in their forms, were filled with great wonder. O supreme among the Kuru lineage! Since Ganga had cast the illustrious one on the peak of the mountain, that mountain is beautiful and golden everywhere. The child began to grow and made the earth beautiful. It is because of this that all the mountains began to yield gold. The immensely valorous Kumara is known by the name of Kartikeya.124 Before this, with his great powers of yoga, he had been known by the name of Gangeya. The god possessed prowess and austerities. O Indra among kings! He began to grow and was as handsome as the moon. Surrounded by prosperity, he lay down on that divine and golden clump of reeds. As he lay down there, he was praised by the gandharvas and the sages. Thousands of celestial maidens danced around him. They were beautiful and skilled in dancing. They played on divine musical instruments and praised him. The celestial river Ganga, supreme among rivers, also worshipped him. The earth, assuming the most beautiful of forms, bore him. Brihaspati performed the rites, including those connected with birth. The four Vedas presented themselves before him, hands joined in salutation. The four branches of dhanurveda and collections of weapons, not just arrows, presented themselves before him.
‘The immensely valorous one saw that Uma’s consort, the lord of the gods, was seated, surrounded by a large number of bhutas.125 The daughter of the mountains was with him.126 Those large numbers of bhutas were without bodies and were extremely wonderful to behold. They were hideous, with distorted bodies. Their ornaments and standards were ugly. Their faces were like tigers, lions and bears. Some of them had faces like cats and makaras. There were those with faces like cats.127 There were others with faces like elephants and camels. Some had faces like owls. Others looked like vultures and jackals. Others had faces like curlews, pigeons and herons. Others had bodies like those of dogs, porcupines, lizards and mules. They assumed all these kinds of forms. Some were like mountains, others were like oceans. Some held chakras, maces and other weapons. Some looked like large masses of collyrium. Others possessed the complexion of white mountains. O lord of the earth! The seven matrikas and their followers were also there.128 So were the Sadhyas, the Vishvadevas, the Maruts, the Vasus and the ancestors. The Rudras, the Adityas, the Siddhas, the serpents, the danavas, the birds, the illustrious and self-creating Brahma and his sons,129 Vishnu and Shakra went there, desiring to see the supreme and undecaying Kumara. There were the best of gods and gandharvas, with Narada at their head. There were the devarshis and the Siddhas, with Brihaspati at their head. There were the lords of creation, supreme among the gods. Aryama130 and all the worlds went there. Though he was yet a child, the illustrious one possessed great powers of yoga. He advanced towards the lord of the gods,131 who wielded the trident and pinaka in his hands. On seeing him advance, Shiva, the daughter of the mountain, Ganga and Agni simultaneously wondered, “Whom will the child approach and show honours to first? He will come to me.”132 All of them thought in this way. Discerning their thoughts, he simultaneously divided himself into four bodies. The illustrious lord assumed these four bodies in an instant—Skanda, Shakha, Vishakha and Naigamesha as the last. Thus did the illustrious lord divide himself into four parts. Skanda, extraordinary in form, went to where Rudra was. Vishakha went to the goddess who was the daughter of the mountain. Shakha, the illustrious one’s form as the wind, went to Vibhavasu.133 Naigamesha, Kumara’s form that was as radiant as the fire, went to Ganga. All the four blazing bodies were similar in appearance. They advanced forward and it was wonderful. On beholding this great and wonderful sight, which made the body hair stand up, great sounds of lamentation arose among the gods, the danavas and the rakshasas. Rudra, the goddess,134 Agni and Ganga—all of them bowed down before the grandfather, the lord of the worlds. O bull among kings! O king! Having bowed down in different ways and to ensure Kartikeya’s welfare, they said, “O illustrious one! O lord of the gods! For the sake of our pleasure, grant this child some kind of sovereignty that is appropriate for him.” The illustrious and wise one, grandfather of all the worlds, thought about this. What could be given to him? All the riches had already been given away to the gods, the gandharvas, the rakshasas, the bhutas, the yakshas, the birds, the serpents and great-souled ones without any bodies. The immensely intelligent one thought about what p
rosperity might be bestowed on him. With the welfare of the gods in mind, he thought for an instant. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He then made him the general of all the beings. The grandfather of all the beings instructed all the gods, and the lords among them, to serve him. Together with Kumara, all the gods, led by Brahma, went to the king of the mountains, so as to consecrate him there. That sacred spot was on the slopes of the Himalayas, where the goddess Sarasvati, best among rivers, flowed. It is famous in the three worlds by the name of Samantapanchaka. That sacred bank of the Sarasvati possesses all the qualities. Cheerful in their minds, all the gods and the gandharvas seated themselves there.’
Chapter 1263(44)
Vaishampayana said, ‘In accordance with the sacred texts, they collected everything that was required for a consecration. In accordance with the decreed rites, Brihaspati kindled a fire and offered oblations. The Himalayas provided a celestial, golden and supreme seat, decorated with the best of jewels and divine gems. All the auspicious objects were brought by the masses of gods, objects required for the consecration. The required mantras were chanted. The immensely valorous Indra, Vishnu, the sun god, the moon god, Dhata, Vidhata, the wind god, the fire god, Pusha, Bhaga, Aryama, Amsha, Vivasvat,135 the immensely wise Rudra, Mitra, Varuna, the Rudras, the Vasus and the Adityas surrounded the handsome lord. With the ancestors, there were the Vishvadevas, the Maruts and the Sadhyas. There were gandharvas, apsaras, yakshas, rakshasas, serpents and large numbers of devarshis and brahmarshis. There were Vaikhanasas,136 Valakhilyas, those that lived on air and those that lived on the rays of the sun. There were great-souled sages descended from Bhrigu and Angiras. There were all the Vidyadharas,137 surrounded by Siddhas with sacred powers of yoga. O lord of the earth! The grandfather was there and Pulastya, the immensely ascetic Pulaha, Angiras, Kashyapa, Atri, Marichi, Bhrigu, Kratu, Hara, Prachetas, Manu, Daksha, the seasons, the planets and the stellar bodies. O lord of men! In personified form, the rivers were there and the eternal Vedas, the oceans, the lakes, the many kinds of tirthas, the earth, the firmament, the directions and all the trees. Aditi, the mother of the gods, Hri, Shri, Svaha, Sarasvati, Uma, Shachi, Sinivali, Anumati, Kuhu, Raka, Dhishana and all the wives of the residents of heaven were there.138 The Himalayas, the Vindhyas, Meru and many other mountains were there. O king! Airavata and his followers were there and Kala, Kashtha,139 the fortnights, the months, the seasons, night and day. Ucchaihshrava, best among horses, was there and Vamana, king among elephants. They were with Aruna, Garuda, the trees and the herbs. The illustrious god Dharma came there, with Destiny, Yama, Death and Yama’s followers. There were many others from the large numbers of gods that I have not named. They arrived there, for the purpose of Kumara’s consecration. O king! All the residents of heaven came there. They carried many auspicious vessels for the consecration. O king! There were golden pots filled with divine objects. They came to the divine and sacred waters of the Sarasvati. The residents of heaven were delighted that the great-souled Kumara, a terror to the asuras, would be consecrated as the general. O great king! In that ancient age, the illustrious Brahma, the grandfather of the worlds, consecrated him by pouring Varuna, the lord of the waters, over him. So did the immensely ascetic Kashyapa and the others who have been named.
‘The lord Brahma was delighted and gave him great companions who were powerful and as swift as the wind. They were successful and possessed valour that could be increased at will. They were Nandisena, Lohitaksha and Ghantakarna. The fourth companion was known by the name of Kumudamali. Sthanu gave him a great companion by the name of Kratu. He was immensely forceful and could summon a hundred different kinds of maya at will. He possessed valour and strength that could be increased at will. O Indra among kings! He was the destroyer of the enemies of the gods and he gave him to Skanda. In the battle between the gods and the asuras, he140 angrily killed fourteen million terrible daityas with his bare hands alone. The god also gave him soldiers that were full of demons.141 They destroyed and defeated the enemies of the gods and possessed all kinds of earthy forms. With Vasava, all the gods uttered roars of victory. So did the gandharvas, the yakshas, the rakshasas, the sages and the ancestors. Yama gave him two companions who were like Death and Destiny. They were Unmatha and Pramatha. They were immensely valorous and greatly radiant. Surya cheerfully gave the powerful Kartikeya two companions who were Surya’s followers. They were Subhraja and Bhaskara. Soma gave him companions named Mani and Sumani. They were like peaks of Kailasa. They wore white garlands and were smeared with white unguents. Hutashana142 gave him two brave companions named Jvalajihva and Jyoti. They were ones who crushed enemy soldiers. Amsha gave the intelligent Skanda five companions—Parigha, Vata, the immensely strong Bhima, Dahati and Dahana. They were fearsome and full of valour. Vasava, the destroyer of enemy heroes, gave Agni’s son two companions named Utkrosha and Pankaja. They were armed with the vajra and a staff. In battle, they had killed many enemies of the great Indra. The immensely famous Vishnu gave Skanda three companions named Chakra, Vikrama and Samkrama. They were immensely strong. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The Ashvins cheerfully gave Skanda companions named Vardhana and Nandana. They were skilled in all the arts. The immensely illustrious Dhata gave the great-souled one companions named Kundana, Kusuma, Kumuda, Dambara and Adambara. Tvastha gave Skanda supreme companions named Vakra and Anuvakra. They were strong, proud of their valour and had mouths like those of sheep. They had great powers of maya. The lord Mitra gave the great-souled Kumara two great-souled companions, Suvrata and Satyasandha. They possessed austerities and learning. Vidhata gave Kartikeya two handsome companions who were famous in the three worlds. They were Suprabha and the great-souled Shubhakarma. They were the granters of boons and the performers of auspicious deeds. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Pusha gave Kartikeya two companions, Palitaka and Kalika. They possessed great powers of maya. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Vayu gave Kartikeya Bala and Atibala. They were immensely powerful and possessed large mouths. Varuna, devoted to the truth, gave Kartikeya Ghasa and Atighasa. They had faces like whales and were immensely strong. O king! The Himalayas gave Hutashana’s son the great-souled Suvarchasa and Ativarchasa. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Meru gave Agni’s son two companions—the great-souled Kanchana and Meghamali. Meru also gave Agni’s great-souled son two others—Sthira and Atisthira. They were immensely strong and powerful. The Vindhyas gave Agni’s son two companions named Ucchrita and Atishringa. They fought with large boulders. The ocean gave Agni’s son two great companions, Samgraha and Vigraha. They were the wielders of clubs. The beautiful Parvati gave Agni’s son Unmada, Pushpadanta and Shankukarna. O tiger among men! Vasuki, the lord of serpents, gave the son of the fire two serpents named Jaya and Mahajaya.
‘In that way, the Sadhyas, the Rudras, the Vasus, the ancestors, the oceans, the rivers and the immensely strong mountains gave him the leaders of soldiers, armed with spears and battleaxes. They wielded divine weapons and were attired in many kinds of garments. Listen to the names of the other soldiers that Skanda obtained. They were armed with many kinds of weapons and attired in colourful ornaments and armour. O king! O Indra among kings! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They were143 Shankukarna, Nikumbha, Padma, Kumuda, Ananta, Dvadashabhuja, Krishna, Upakrishna, Dronashrava, Kapskandha, Kanchanaksha, Jalamdhama, Akshasamtarjana, Kunadika, Tamobhrakrit, Ekaksha, Dvadashaksha, the lord Ekajata, Sahasrabahu, Vikata, Vyaghraksha, Kshitikampana, Punyanama, Sunama, Suvaktra, Priyadarshana, Parishruta, Kokanada, Priyamalyanulepana, Ajodira, Gajashira, Skandhaksha, Shatalochana, Jvalajihva, Karala, Sitakesha, Jati, Hari, Chaturdamshtra, Ashtajihva, Meghanada, Prithushrava, Vidyutaksha, Dhanurvaktra, Jathara, Marutashana, Udaraksha, Jhashaksha, Vajranama, Vasuprabha, Samudravega, Shailakampi, Putramesha, Pravaha, Nanda, Upanandaka, Dhumra, Shveta, Kalinga, Siddhartha, Varada, Priyaka, Nanda, the powerful Gonanda, Ananda, Pramoda, Svastika, Dhruvaka, Kshemavapa, Sujata, Siddha, Govraja, Kanakapida, the lord of great companions, Gayana, Hasana, Bana, the vali
ant Khadga, Vaitali, Atitali, Katika, Vatika, Hamsaja, Pankadigdhanga, Samudronmada, Ranotkata, Prahasa, Shvetashirsha, Nandaka, Kalakantha, Prabhasa, Kumbhabhandaka, Kalakaksha, Sita, Bhutalonmatha, Yajnavaha, Pravaha, Devayaji, Somapa, Sajala, Mahateja, Krathakratha, Tuhana, Tuhana,144 the valiant Chitradeva, Madhura, Suprasada, the immensely strong Kiriti, Vasana, Madhuvarna, Kalashodara, Ghamanta, Manmathakara, the valiant Suchivakrta, Shvetavaktra, Suvaktra, Charuvaktra, Pandura, Dandabahu, Subahu, Raja, Kokila, Achala, Kanakaksha, the lord Balanamayika, Samcharaka, Kokanada, Gridhravaktra, Jambuka, Lohashvavaktra, Jathara, Kumbhavaktra, Kundaka, Madgugriva, Krishnouja, Hamsavaktra, Chandrabha, Panikurma, Shambuka, Shakavaktra and Kundaka. There were other great-souled ones who possessed powers of yoga and were always devoted to brahmanas. O Janamejaya! These great companions were given to him by the great-souled grandfather and they were children, youths and the aged. Thousands of companions presented themselves before Kumara.
Mahabharata: Volume 7 Page 52
