Markandeya Recounts the Birth and Early Life of Skanda

The rishis saw the portents and grew afraid. The earth trembled. Meteors fell. The sky burned with colors no one could name. Something immense was coming into the world, and they did not know what it was — only that it threatened the order of things. The people of Chitraratha forest had an answer: Agni, the fire god, had lain with the wives of the saptarshis (the seven great sages). That was the source of the calamity. Others, who had seen a goddess depart in the form of Garudi (the great bird), blamed her instead. Neither was correct. No one knew that the deed had been done by Svaha, the goddess of the sacrificial offering. Svaha had loved Agni for a long time. But Agni, tormented by desire, had been drawn to the seven wives of the saptarshis — each one beautiful, each one forbidden. Svaha, knowing she could not have him any other way, took on the form of each wife in turn — six of them, one after another — and went to Agni. He did not know the difference. He lay with her six times, believing each time she was a different woman. The seventh wife, Arundhati, was so devoted to her husband and so filled with the power of her own tapas (austerities) that Svaha could not assume her form. She took the shape of a she-bird instead, and from that union, the child was conceived. Svaha carried the seed to a golden mountain and deposited it in a lake. From that lake, a boy was born — blazing, six-faced, armed with a spear, so powerful that the earth could barely contain him. Suparni, the daughter of the sage Kashyapa, heard of the child and claimed him as her own. She went to him slowly and said, "I am your mother." The saptarshis, hearing that an immensely energetic son had been born, abandoned their six wives — all except Arundhati. The forest people began to call the boy the son of the six. Svaha, watching this unfold, went to the saptarshis again and again: "I know he is my son. What is being said is not true." But no one believed her. The sage Vishvamitra, however, knew the truth. He had followed Agni unseen during those nights, when the fire god had been tormented by desire. He had witnessed everything — Svaha's transformations, Agni's ignorance, the true parentage of the child. Vishvamitra was the first to seek refuge with Kumara (the boy). He composed a celestial hymn of praise to Mahasena (the great army commander, another name for Skanda). He performed all thirteen birth and other rituals for the child. He spoke of the greatness of the six-faced one, the virtues of the cock, and the worship of the goddess Shakti and her companions. He told the sages what he had seen — that the women had committed no crime. But even after hearing this, the saptarshis did not take their wives back. The gods, meanwhile, had heard of Skanda's birth and were terrified. They went to Vasava (Indra) and said: "O Shakra! Skanda's strength cannot be tolerated. Kill him swiftly and without delay. If you do not kill him now, he will become Indra. With his great strength, he will oppress the three worlds, us, and you." Indra replied: "This child is immensely strong. With his valour, he can destroy the creator of the worlds in battle. Let the mothers of the world go to Skanda. They have the power and the will to destroy him." The mothers of the world agreed and went to Skanda. But when they saw his strength — unmatched, invincible — their faces became miserable. They realized they could not destroy him. Instead, they sought refuge with him. They said: "You are our son. We hold up the universe. Welcome all of us. We are overcome with affection for you. Our milk is flowing." Mahasena worshipped them and accepted them. Among the mothers was one who had been created out of anger — the daughter of an ocean of blood, who lived on blood. She nursed Skanda like her own son, with a spear in her hand. She embraced him and protected him. Then Agni approached. He transformed himself into Naigameya — goat-faced, with many offspring — and sported with the child on the mountain, as if with toys. Father and son, together at last, though the father still did not know the truth of how the child had been conceived.