SIVA RAHASYA 5

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Om Namah Sivaya

 

 

Nativity and Boyhood

 

 

 

 

 

While the Devas, with Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Indra at their head, were proceeding towards Mount Kailasa as narrated in the preceding chapter, the great sages, Sanaka, Sanatkumara, Sanatana and Sanandana had arrived at Kailasa to receive instructions from Lord Siva, regarding the fourfold path to Self-realisation i.e., Yama, Niyama, Yoga and Samadhi. The Lord explained to them the various details of these four stages, and by way of demonstrating the last stage, viz., Samadhi, He Himself remained in it, completely absorbed in Supreme Silence (Maha Mouna). Thus He showed the Rishis that the last stage is not to be explained but to be realised actually in that state of Supreme Silence.

 

At this critical juncture, the Devas along with Indra, Brahma and Vishnu entered the hills and were stopped from proceeding further by Nandi Deva, who explained to them how it was not a suitable time to see the Lord. Overcome by disappointment at this, the Devas retreated, not knowing what to do. They held an emergent council of war, determined to find out some way out of this impasse. They were quite convinced that without Lord Siva’s grace and help they could not dream of overthrowing the tyranny of the Asuras; but they were unable to devise any means by which this grace and help could be obtained; nor, at the same time, had they the courage to approach and disturb the Lord in His meditation. Hence they found themselves at their wit’s end.

 

Brahma suggested that Manmatha, the god of love, should essay to wake up the Lord from his Yogic trance. Though at first he refused, Cupid was forced to yield to the request of all the Devas and made his way to the presence of Lord Siva. With his arrows of flowers he awoke Lord Siva from His Maha Mouna. At this disturbance, there broke out from the Trikuti of the Lord terrific beams of unendurable light and heat which burnt Manmatha to ashes. This made the Devas more panicky. They rushed in to the presence of the Lord, fell at His feet and beseeched Him to save them from His Rays and from the Asuras. The Lord sympathised with their plight and assured them of protection. And at the request of Rati, the wife of Manmatha, the latter was brought back to life and made visible to Rati, though invisible to all others. Having thus been assured of help, the Devas left Kailasa, anxiously awaiting the day of their release from the tyranny of the Asuras.

 

 

Parvati Devi, who had been born as daughter to the Himavan, was doing severe Tapas on Lord Siva for attaining Him as her husband. The Lord, much pleased with her penance, appeared before her in the guise of a hunter. After testing the purity, sincerity of Parvati and her intense devotion to Him, He revealed Himself to her and promised her that He would marry her very soon. Parvata Rajan (Himalayas), father of Parvati, accordingly made preparation for the marriage; and it was duly performed on a lavish and grand scale.

 

 

 

Lord Siva retired with Parvati to Mount Kailasa. Shortly after this, the Devas appeared before Him and reminded Him of His promise to redeem them from their present slavery to the Asuras.

 

 

 

In order to help them as desired, He assumed His original form with six faces. From each of these faces a Divine spark shot forth. The resplendence of these Divine sparks only tended to increase the sufferings and confusion of the Devas. But the Lord ordered Vayu (wind-god) and Agni (fire-god) to carry these six sparks and leave them in the sacred Ganga, who was to take them to a tank known by the name of Saravanappoihai. Vayu and Agni obeyed at once. By the grace of the Lord, the sparks were carried by holy Ganga to Saravanappoihai. On arriving at the tank, the sparks assumed the form of six children of unparalleled beauty.

 

 

 

Each baby was lying on a lotus and was being lulled to sleep by the Devis of the Karttikai (the 3rd constellation of the 27 Stars).

 

 

 

To witness this Avatara of the Saviour, all the Devas hastened to the tank along with Lord Siva and Parvati. Parvati, out of the extreme fondness of a mother, took up the babes together and called them Skanda. Instead of they remaining as six separate individual babes, there arose the form of one Deity with six faces and twelve hands. Hence he was known as Lord Shanmukha, the Lord with six faces. As he was nursed by the six Devis of the Karttikai Star, he was known also as Karttik Swami, or Karttikeyan. Thus, to the great joy of the persecuted Devas, the Lord Himself appeared in the form of Shanmukha to protect the good and to punish the wicked. As the form of Lord Shanmukha originated in a tank of shrubs, he was known as Saravanabhava. Along with Him there appeared nine other divine heroes, the eldest of them being Veerabahu by name. These nine brother heroes were to assist Lord Skanda in His war with the Asuras.

 

 

Even as a boy Lord Shanmukha showed his extraordinary prowess and valour. His Lilas during boyhood supplied confirmation to the Devas that He was the fittest saviour and the best General to command the army against the mighty Asura, Surapadma. Once, while He was playing up and down the hills, some Devas, being ignorant of the real greatness of the Lord, dragged him playfully to fight, treating Him as an ordinary child. Ultimately Indra arrayed his army against this boy for a fight, but was defeated in the end and almost killed. At the intervention of Narada, the Devas realised their folly in fighting against their own saviour and begged His pardon. Out of compassion the Lord brought back the dead Devas to life.

 

On one occasion, He heard the news of the terror and destruction caused by a goat-headed Asura. The Lord immediately sought him out and, in a hand-to-hand fight, took hold of the Asura-goat by his horns. But out of mercy, instead of killing him, He made him his Vahana or vehicle.

 

Once, the Devas along with Brahma and Vishnu came to Mount Kailasa to have Darshan of Lord Siva. While returning after their worship, they had Darshan of Lord Shanmukha, and all others offered their humble obeisance to Him, too. But Brahma, obsessed by a sense of his rank and importance, declined to do so and ignored Lord Shanmukha. Noticing and resenting this attitude of Brahma, Lord Karttik called him to His hall and asked him to take a seat along with other Devas. When they were all seated, Subrahmanya put a series of queries to Brahma. Brahma answered them. Finally Lord Karttik asked Brahma whether he could explain the real significance of the Pranava (Om). Brahma was unable to do this satisfactorily. Thus proving the ignorance of Brahma, and with the intention of punishing him for his pride Lord Shanmukha ordered him to be imprisoned. The work of creation from that time onwards was taken over by Himself. The news of Brahma’s imprisonment

reached Lord Siva, when the Devas interceded on Brahma’s behalf and requested Him to release Brahma. Lord Siva proceeded with the other Devas to the abode of Lord Skanda and asked Him to release Brahma. But Lord Skanda at first refused to do so on the ground that a Deva who did not know the significance of the Pranava was not fit to function as the Creator of the universe. However, in obedience to the words of his father, Shanmukha released Brahma from prison.

 

 

 

Then Sankara playfully challenged Lord Skanda to explain the meaning of the Pranava himself. Shanmukha accepted the gage thus thrown to him and, treating his father as a disciple expatiated on the subject. Siva was delighted with the thoroughness of the exposition and Himself for the first time realised the immensity of the significance as expounded by his philosopher son.

 

 

 

After some days, Lord Siva thought it time to prepare Subrahmanya for the fight against the Asuras. He summoned him accordingly and blessed him with the peerless Vel (Spear) and many other formidable weapons. Veerabahu and his eight brothers made all the necessary arrangements for the expedition under the guidance of Lord Shanmukha. When everything was made ready, the Lord gave him His benediction and assurance of victory; and loudly cheered by the Devas, who were witnessing the scene, Lord Subrahmanya, accompanied by his nine brothers and hosts of other warriors, proceeded to south for the conquest of the Asuras.

 

On the way, He met the mountain-asura, Krowncha, who was entrapping and killing innocent passers-by. With one throw of his Vel, Lord Subrahmanya, ended the cruel pastime of the wicked wretch. The destruction of Krowncha, one of the lieutenants of Tarakasura, infuriated the latter, and he came raging to Lord Shanmukha. He had the Sudarsana Chakra of Lord Vishnu dangling around his neck as a token of his having defeated Lord Vishnu! In the grim fight that ensued, Tarakasura employed all the known tactics of warfare and used innumerable missiles against the army of the Devas battling under the generalship of Lord Subrahmanya. But to his utter disappointment and dismay, no missile had any effect on Him, and, what was disastrous to him, none returned to the sender, as it was the wont heretofore. Having failed with every other weapon, Taraka took up the Pasupatastra, which he had wrested from Lord Siva and sent it in due form against Lord

Karttik. The latter, meditating with concentration upon the glories of his Father, calmly received the Astra and kept it aside. This unexpected finale filled the Asura with dread and a sense of helplessness.

 

 

 

At last the Lord despatched his Vel, and Tarakasura, the younger brother of Surapadma, was killed. Lord Shanmukha then proceeded to south.

 

News of the death of Tarakasura was carried to Mahendrapuram, the capital of Surapadma, and to Asuram, the capital of Simhamukha, by Asurendra, son of the dead demon. After traversing many lands, the Lord reached the seashore in the south and halted at the place called Tiruchendur. Fresh news reached Him there through the Devaguru of the great atrocities and cruelties perpetrated by the Asuras afresh against the Devas.

----Sri Swami Sivananda

 

 

 

 

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