Guest guest Posted October 22, 2000 Report Share Posted October 22, 2000 http://hinduism.about.com/religion/hinduism/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://x\ lweb.com/heritage/skanda/index.htm Iranian Sraosa and Indian Skanda By Sukumar Sen, M.A., Ph.D. The Avestan deity Sraosa and the Indian deity Skanda - Kumara - Karttikeya - Guha have not a few common features which, so far as I know, have not been noted before. The Sanskritic equivalent of Sraosa is Shrausa (a derivative from the aorist base of shra and literally meant 'obedience, allegiance'; it occurs as an epithet of two of the attendants of the Sun god in some of the mediaeval iconographical texts. Thus, from a quotation by Sarvananda in the Tîkâsarvasa (middle of the twelfth century): yamo'pi daksine pârs’ve khyâto mâthara-samjnâyaya, pûrvadvâre haraguhau râjas’rasau kramena tau. Here râjas’rasau, meaning 'obedient messengers of the king', qualifies Hara and Guha. In Avestan the deity has lost his proper name and is known only as Sraosa, being the obedient and watchful messenger of Ahura Mazda. Both deities are young, good-looking, swift, active and victorious. Sraosa is a killer of the demons (jantâ daêvayâ drujô); Skanda is the leader (senânî) of the army of the gods. The Iranian god is remembered for his victory over Aêsma, the demon of lust and hate (in Brahmanic mythology this credit is given to Skanda's father Siva, the smarajit, and in Buddhistic mythology to the Buddha, the mârajit), while his Indian counterpart is extolled as the killer of the demon Târaka. l In Avestan the cock is the animal sacred to Sraosa. In later Hindu mythology Karttikeya rides on a peacock (mayûra). 2 Sraosa is borne in a chariot drawn by four ruddy horses (yim cathwâro aurvantô aurusa…vazanti). There is no reference to this in Brahmanical mythology, although as a satellite of the Sun god, like Aruna, he must have done so. In the Rgveda, however, there is a slight hint. In a hymn to Yama (X. 135) Kumara (generally though unconvincingly interpreted as 'boy') is repeatedly mentioned with the chariot of Yama, 'the wheel-less chariot' which has one pole but faces in all directions (acakram…ekesam vis’vatah prâncam prîcam). There is little doubt that the Kumara here is the prototype of post-Vedic Kumara and a counterpart of Iranian Sraosa. End Notes 1.This may be a reminiscence of Indo-Iranian Srausa, the attendant of the Sun god who obliterates the stars and dispels darkness before sunrise. In Avestan there is abundant evidence of this aspect of the deity (Yasna LVII). 2.Mayûra originally included game fowl as the Asokan usage shows. Article from Indo-Iranica, Vol IV No. 1, p. 27. Research articles from the First International Conference on Skanda-Murukan Murugan.org home page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.