Who is Skanda/Kumara/Karthikeya?

Om Saravana Bhava!!!

On the auspicious occasion of Thaipoosam (month of Thai and Star of the day Poosam) I would like to share the essence of the divinity called Skanda or Saravanan.

The itihasic origin of Skanda and its technical significance are highly philosophical and greatly relevant. Skanda is a favourite divinity specially adored in South India.

Before I dive deep in the story I would like to remind you that as mentioned in my previous blogs http://essenceofhinduism.blogspot.in/ Puranas and Itihasas are not history or mythology but technical commentaries of the Vedas. The so called scholars, pseudo pundits and modern interpreters, writers have reduced Puranas and Itihasa into meaningless mythologies and absurd Indian histories.

The Puranic and Itihasic story goes like this:

Once upon a time Siva and Parvati began to enjoy together for pretty long Yugas. The Devas began to fear that a child born of the conjunction of Siva and Parvati would be destructive of all the Lokas. They therefore sent a message through Agni praying to avert the calamity. Accordingly Agni proceeded to the spot, praised the Lord and submitted the prayer of the Devas. The Lord was highly pleased and an abortion occurred which was delivered to Agni. Agni delivered it to Ganga and she dropped the same at the foot of Himavan in a Saravanam or a forest of reeds. The whole forest immediately became golden. The heat of the molten gold removed all alloys from it which became silver, copper, zinc and lead. The child was called Jata-roopa or gold. Gold itself took that name from that day.

ydSya ingRt< tSmaÄÝja<bUndà-mœ, kaÂn< xr[I< àaÝ< ihr{ymml< zu-mœ,

taè< ka:[aRys< cEv tEú{yadeva_yjayt, ml< tSya-vÄÇ ÇpusIskmev c,

sv¡ pvRtsÚÏ< saEv[Rm-vÖnmœ, jatêpimit Oyat< tdaà-&it ra"v,

yÇ jatae mhateja> kaitRkeyae=i¶s<-v>.

The Devas brought down Kritikas consisting of six stars to give milk to the child and the child appeared before them with six faces. In one day it destroyed all the Asuras and was crowned by the Devas as their Senapati or commander-in-chief of their armies known as Deva-senapati. The child was also called Kartikeya because he was suckled by the Kritikas.

Now let us make some enquiries and analyse the Puranic story philosophically.

This Itihasa has given rise to many a quixotic representation owing to the simple ignorance of the subject. It is totally condemned as obscene mythology by Western scholars. For the last several years , modern local intellectuals tried to explain it ( still explaining) astronomically in apish imitation of the Western method of interpreting Eastern subjects wherever the names of heavenly bodies are introduced in an Itihasa as in the present case.

There are however five parents for the six-faced child, namely, Siva, Parvati, Agni, Ganga and Kritikas. What does all these mean?

The extremely wise and learned authors of our sacred texts could not have written in such excellent style such nonsense as everything technically is now foolishly made out. Whatever is not understood could not be disposed of as mythology.  To an ordinary layman, then all science is mythology.

The itihasic narration must surely have some highly philosophical import. Otherwise the Moorti of Skanda will not be so ardently adored.

It is sheer mythology to the Western philosophers and thoughtless  Puranic story to our own Pseudo Pundits, many of our own writers and authors. The Western criticisms from an alien religionist is excusable, but what do you say about the attitude of our own smart alecks?  How many of the Pseudos’ have ever attempted to study and understand the sacred literature? If not, how they condemn the whole of the 18 Puranas and 18 Upa-Puranas in by a contemptuous use of the term Puranic?

Whatever they do not know is Puranic. Most of them up to date do not know the meaning of the word Purana. Puranic is the adjective of that word and they use it as abuse without understanding its meaning. This seems to be the level of Sanskrit study in India.

So let us continue our enquiry on Skanda?

1.    Who is this Skanda according to itihasic narration?

2.    Where are we to seek information from?

3.    Suppose we need to know what a square is, where are we to enquire for its meaning?

Why make guesses astronomically or medically? Surely everyone knows that the science of geometry should be looked into for the significance of a square.

Similarly the religious literature should be referred to for the technical significance of Skanda. None can deny this fact.

4.    Why should absurd explanations be volunteered without proper reference to authoritative texts?

5.  Why such a persistent aversion for the sacred texts on the part of our modern orthodoxies and Pundits? 

    

     They want all at once to offer what they falsely style “traditional interpretations”. Some of our own popular authors have also reduced our Puranas and Itihasa into meaningless mythologies and absurd Indian histories.

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.       Are there any written texts for such interpretations? None.

    Then how do they know that a hundred years ago the thoughtless interpretation now offered was prevailing?

Neither this self-imposed orthodoxy nor the uncivilized have ever studied the subject. When questioned they suddenly and indifferently give out some nonsense which comes uppermost in their mouth. This is the traditional procedure of these deceptive and selfish wiseacres.

Who or what is Skanda is clearly explained in Skandopanishad whose authority no Hindu dare deny. Let me reproduce the texts found in the skandoupanishad.

n inj< injvÑait ANt>kr[ivj&<-[atœ , ANt>kr[nazen s<ivNmaÇiSwtae hir>,

s<ivNmaÇiSwtíah< Ajae=iSm ikmt> prmœ, ic¾fana< tu yae Ôòa sae=Cyutae }aniv¢h>,

s @v Jyaeit;a< Jyaeit> s @v prmeñr>, s @v ih pr<äü tdœäüah< n s<zy>.

“It is the up-rising of the internal organs that veils the truth, and when that is destroyed, I become real Hari or Mahadeva who perceives the difference between the spiritual and the material. Parameswara the light of lights is verily the Parabrahman. I am doubtless that Parabrahman myself.”

Skanda here represents the knowledge that Aham or the individual Jiva is not different from the almighty Iswara Himself. Where is astronomy or medicine here? Let me again reproduce another Sanskrit sloka from the Chhandogyopanishad.

AaharzuÏaE sÅvzuiÏ> sÅvzuÏaE Øuva Sm&it> Sm&itl<-e svR¢NwIna< ivàmae]> tSmE m&idtk;ay

tms> par< dzRyit -gvanœ snTk…marSt< SkNd #Tyac]te t< SkNd #Tyac]te.

“Purity of food produces purity of mind which produces strength of memory. By memory all bondages are loosened. The divine Sanat-kumara displays to the soul thus purified the bright region beyond the confusion of ignorance. This Sanat-kumara is known as Skanda.” Sage Sanat-kumara who teaches Gnana to the devotee who is strictly Satwic in his food is called Skanda.

The flesh and meat eater, the drunkard and the butcher of a Dikshit and similar dignitaries have no claim for Skanda. Will the religious authorities of the temples dedicated to Skanda proclaim this fact at least when flesh-eaters and drunkards frequent these temples for worship?

The idea that temple authorities must be religious people has for some time now been forgotten. Some of the modern Dharmakartas themselves are meat eaters. Let us leave that question aside for the present. Let people understand that there is something religious in Vigraha-Aradhanam. As mentioned earlier, many of our Pseudo Pundits and popular authors have reduced everything to human history. To them Skanda is a great man in India with six heads on his shoulders and seated over a large peacock with a Danda or big stick in his hand. He has married two Kurava girls named Valli and Devayani. His Sishya is sage Agastya a dwarfish man of South India spelt as Akatiya in Bowddha Tamil meaning ‘lead inside’. The Akatiya wrote a number of medical works and also book on Yoga in Bowddha Tamil.

The indirect object of spreading these so-called traditional interpretations is no other than the condemnation of all the sacred literature Hindus own in the Sanskrit language, and all this is the intentional mischief of the anti-Hindu brigades. Let all the misguided advocates of Budha Tamil be assured once for all here that sage Agastya is no human being. He is situated in the sky above the Dakshina-Dic or Semushi.

A reproduced text from Skandoupanishad of the above meaning is as follows:

AgSTyae di][amazamaiïTy n-is iSwt>.

The boasted devotees in South India of the Buddhistic ‘Chanmukom’ and Muruga are non-vegetarians. There are several pseudo-vedantins among them. What the Buddhists wrote about five or six centuries ago in the false names of some Chithars, Pulavars, Masthan Sahibs in the mutilated alphabet are their authorities for pseudo-vedantism which in plain language means the plea for complete immoral habits. Their admired Sannyasins are credited with the power of eating dozens of living sheep and of drinking hundreds of brandy bottles in a single moment. There is no mystery in this affair. This became and continues to be a peculiar asset for the ignorant anti-Hindus. All is anti-Hinduism, anti-Sanskritism and particularly anti-Brahmanism.

The Muruga is a caricatured metathesis of Kumara and Chanmukom is a metathesis of Shanmukhom in Sanskrit.  But they plead that the Bowddha Tamil which is but the original Dravida language mutilated by the mischievous Buddhists five or six centuries ago is much older than chamukritom meaning Samskritam.

Where is the holy Skanda moorti whose very essence is purity of food (AaharzuiÏ>) and where is the non-vegetarian Buddhists who talk of Chanmukom, Murugan and Kandan along with his pseudo-vedantism of Bowddha Pulavars and Chithars?  Anti-Hinduism with a vengeance.

These advocates of Buddhistic distortions of the Dravida language and of Hinduism are enemies in disguise.

Who is ultimately responsible for this, many of our own, the blessed pseudo Pundits? Why blame anybody else? He is the originator of Buddhism and the editor of the three alien faiths (Jewish, Islam, Christian).

What is the knowledge level of the pseudos’ of the divine Kumara noticed above? He knows by intuition that Kumara is the son of god, because his original prototype (ancestors) taught this to the authors of the Christian Bible. That the son of God is the ill-borrowed Kumara.  Kumara defined thus in his own words.

ydaeTpÚStdEvah< k…mar #it ivïut>, tSmatœ snTk…mar< me namEtTkiwt< mune.

“Kumara represents the pure Jivatma in each individual. It is known by other names such as Soma-kala, Kshetragna etc.”……………..Skandoupanishad

yae=saE ]eÇ}s<}ae vE dehe=iSmnœ pué;> pr>, s @v saemae mNtVyae deihna< jIvs<}k>.

The essence of Skanda: (the answers)

As the issue of Siva and Parvati, Kumara and Skanda denote a lesser form of Jivatma and is directly connected with the Jiva-kala at a particular stage of yogic development in man. Agni and Ganga as additional parents have their own technical significance.

Agni refers to Gnana as noticed in my earlier blogs. Ganga yogically refers to the Sushumna-naadi lying between Ida and Pingala. The six Kritikas or stars as shining entities refer to the six mental Adharas of the Yogi. The Danda in the hand of Skanda denotes the spinal column through which the Sushumna-naadi is said to extend from the Mooladhara to the Brahma-rendhra. The peacock over which Skanda rides is the illusion of cosmos known as Prakriti which he has subdued. His golden form refers to the subtle Akasa showing that His Moorti is extremely subtle. The remaining four subtle elements are represented by silver, copper, zinc and lead which are described as the dross of gold in the narrative. We have enough of technical information now. Their application to our Vigraha-Aradhanam has alone to be ascertained here.

The Danda in the hand, the peacock as the vehicle and the six heads are the chief technical symbols which point to the peculiarity of the Moorti. It represents the highest stage of yogic development which a purified Jiva denoted by Kumara could attain. Itihasic (read technical commentaries) narration of the origin of Skanda of course furnishes all the necessary information pertaining to the gradual progress in yogic work.

First of all we should begin with a Saguna meditation i.e., of Siva combined with His Sakti named Parvati. This will produce Vignana symbolized by Agni. This Vignana must be utilized for yogic meditations. Ganga and Saravanam represents the Saravanam known to the Yogis. The golden form of the divinity denotes the highly subtle idea of the Maha-Akasa among the five Maha Bhootas which we reckoned as five Tatwams. The Danda denotes the spinal column in which the six Adharas from Mooladhara upwards symbolized by Kritikas are stationed. Riding over the peacock symbolizes the region far above this mundane illusory world.

Worship of Moorthis (wrongly interpreted as Idols)

In Hinduism hundreds of Moortis are provided for Vigraha-Aradhanam in the interest of lower intellects of various capacities. They are in fact pictorial representations of religious (Dharmic) matters Itihasically narrated in the literature. Their selection for worship must be left to the wise discretion of the devotees themselves. The divinity invoked for Aradhanam in all the Vigrahas being one and the same, namely, the Jiva-kala, there is no chance of being misled. But if highly philosophical Tatwams are associated with the Moortis there would be difficulties in conceiving them. Herein lies the choice of the Ishta-Devatas or Moortis which would suit one’s own capacities and inclinations. There is no further secret about them. The composition of Moortis is specially intended to furnish specific lessons in religious matters along with the practice of Aradhanam.

Some terminologies used in the essay:

1.       Metathesis

(“Metathesis (/məˈtæθəsɪs/; from Greek μετάθεσις, from μετατίθημι "I put in a different order"; Latin: trānspositiō) is the rearranging of sounds or syllables in a word or of words in a sentence. Most commonly, it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis[1] or local metathesis:[2]”)

2.       Skanda                             Jivatma ( the soul)

3.       Yogic                                Development ( religious/Dharmic development)

4.       Agni                                 Gnana Agni refers to the supreme being

5.       Kritikas                            Six mental Adharas of a Yogi

6.       Danda                               Spinal column through which the Sushumna naadi is said to extend

                                           from the mooladhara to the Brahma- rendra

7.       Peacock                            Illusion of the Cosmos

8.       Parvati                              Prakriti ( cosmos)

9.       Golden form of Skanda    Refers to the subtle elements ( Tanmatras) Akasha/Space

10.   Worship of Skanda            Represents the highest stage of yogic development which a purified                                                       Jiva could attain

11.   Kumara                              Purified Jiva ( cleansed soul)

12.   Dandayudhapaani              Danda-yudha-Paani- Paani refers to the hand that holds the Danda

13.   Valli & Devayani               The two consorts of Skanda refers to the Ida & Pingala Naadi

A little detail on the Nadis:

Valli (Ida) and Devayani (Pingala) are the Nadis (nerves) in the human body.

Ida is associated with lunar energy. The word Ida means "comfort" in Sanskrit. Ida has a moonlike nature and feminine energy with a cooling effect. It courses from the left testicle to the left nostril and corresponds to the Ganges River.

Pingala is associated with solar energy. The word Pingala means "tawny" in Sanskrit. Pingala has a sun like nature and masculine energy. Its temperature is heating and courses from the right testicle to the right nostril. It corresponds to the river Yamuna.

The Ida and Pingala Nadis are often seen as referring to the two hemispheres of the brain. Pingala is the extroverted, solar naadi, and corresponds to left hemisphere. Ida is the introverted, lunar naadi, and refers to the right hemisphere of the brain. Ida naadi controls all the mental processes while Pingala naadi controls all the vital processes.

Gana or Sushumna, which interpenetrates the cerebrospinal axis, and in swara yoga is associated with both nostrils being open and free to the passage of air. The lunar channel Ida is pale in colour and located on the left side. It is associated with feminine attributes, the moon and an open left nostril. The solar channel Pingala is red in colour and located on the right side. It is associated with masculine attributes, the light of the sun, and an open right nostril.

Sushumna connects the base chakra to the crown chakra. It is very important in Yoga and Tantra in general. In Raja Yoga or Yoga of Patanjali, when the mind is quietened through Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama the important state of Pratyahara begins. A person entering this state never complains of Dispersion of Mind. This is characterized by observing the movements/jerks in sushumna in the subtle body. Sushumna makes the way for the ascent of Kundalini.

In the space outside the Meru, the right apart from the body placed on the left and the right, are the two Nadis, Sasi and Mihira. The Naadi Sushumna, whose substance is the threefold Gunas, is in the middle. She is the form of Moon, Sun, and Fire even water also; her body, a string of blooming Dhatura flowers, extends from the middle of the Kanda to the Head, and the Vajra inside Her extends, shining, from the Medhra to the Head.

Sources

1.       Skandopanishad

2.       Chandogya Upanishad

3.       Prasna Upanishad

4.       Varaha Upanishad &

5.       The Bible

HariOm

HV Nath