Chapter 224

“Markandeya continued, ‘O lord of men, the beautiful Siva endowed withgreat virtues and an unspotted character was the wife of Angiras (one ofthe seven Rishis). That excellent lady (Swaha) at first assuming thedisguise of Siva, sought the presence of Agni unto whom she said, ‘OAgni, I am tortured with love for thee. Do thou think it fit to woo me.And if thou dost not accede to my request, know that I shall commitself-destruction. I am Siva the wife of Angiras. I have come hereaccording to the advice of the wives of the other Rishis, who have sentme here after due deliberation.’

Agni replied, ‘How didst thou know that I was tortured with love and howcould the others, the beloved wives of the seven Rishis, of whom thouhast spoken, know this?’

Swaha replied, ‘Thou art always a favourite with us, but we are afraid ofthee. Now having read thy mind by well-known signs, they have sent to thypresence. I have come here to gratify my desire. Be thou quick, O Agni,to encompass the object of thy desire, my sisters-in-law are awaiting me.I must return soon.’

Markandeya continued, ‘Then Agni, filled with great joy and delight,married Swaha in the guise of Siva, and that lady joyfully cohabitingwith him, held the semen virile in her hands. And then she thought withinherself that those who would observe her in that disguise in the forest,would cast an unmerited slur upon the conduct of those Brahmana ladies inconnection with Agni. Therefore, to prevent this, she should assume thedisguise of a bird, and in that state she should more easily get out ofthe forest.

Markandeya continued, ‘Then assuming the disguise of a winged creature,she went out of the forest and reached the White Mountain begirt withclumps of heath and other plants and trees, and guarded by strangeseven-headed serpents with poison in their very looks, and abounding withRakshasas, male and female Pisachas, terrible spirits, and various kindsof birds and animals. That excellent lady quickly ascending a peak ofthose mountains, threw that semen into a golden lake. And then assumingsuccessively the forms of the wives of the high-souled seven Rishis, shecontinued to dally with Agni. But on account of the great ascetic meritof Arundhati and her devotion to her husband (Vasishtha), she was unableto assume her form. And, O chief of Kuru’s race, the lady Swaha on thefirst lunar day threw six times into that lake the semen of Agni. Andthrown there, it produced a male child endowed with great power. And fromthe fact of its being regarded by the Rishis as cast off, the child borntherefrom came to be called by the name of Skanda. And the child had sixfaces, twelve ears, as many eyes, hands, and feet, one neck, and onestomach. And it first assumed a form on the second lunar day, and it grewto the size of a little child on the third. And the limbs of Guha weredeveloped on the fourth day. And being surrounded by masses of red cloudsflashing forth lightning, it shone like the Sun rising in the midst of amass of red clouds. And seizing the terrific and immense bow which wasused by the destroyer of the Asura Tripura for the destruction of theenemies of the gods, that mighty being uttered such a terrible roar thatthe three worlds with their mobile and immobile divisions became struckwith awe. And hearing that sound which seemed like the rumbling of a massof big clouds, the great Nagas, Chitra and Airavata, were shaken withfear. And seeing them unsteady that lad shining with sun-like refulgenceheld them with both his hands. And with a dart in (another) hand, andwith a stout, red-crested, big cock fast secured in another, thatlong-armed son of Agni began to sport about making a terrible noise. Andholding an excellent conch-shell with two of his hands, that mighty beingbegan to blow it to the great terror of even the most powerful creatures.And striking the air with two of his hands, and playing about on thehill-top, the mighty Mahasena of unrivalled prowess, looked as if he wereon the point of devouring the three worlds, and shone like the brightSun-god at the moment of his ascension in the heavens. And that being ofwonderful prowess and matchless strength, seated on the top of that hill,looked on with his numerous faces directed towards the different cardinalpoints, and observing various things, he repeated his loud roars. And onhearing those roars various creatures were prostrate with fear. Andfrightened and troubled in mind they sought protection. And all thosepersons of various orders who then sought the protection of that god areknown as his powerful Brahmana followers. And rising from his seat, thatmighty god allayed the fears of all those people, and then drawing hisbow, he discharged his arrows in the direction of the White Mountain. Andwith those arrows the hill Krauncha, the son of Himavat, was rentasunder. And that is the reason why swans and vultures now migrate to theSumeru mountains. The Krauncha hill, sorely wounded, fell down utteringfearful groans. And seeing him fallen, the other hills too began toscream. And that mighty being of unrivalled prowess, hearing the groansof the afflicted, was not at all moved, but himself uplifting his mace,yelled forth his war-whoop. And that high-souled being then hurled hismace of great lustre and quickly rent in twain one of the peaks of theWhite Mountain. And the White Mountain being thus pierced by him wasgreatly afraid of him and dissociating himself from the earth fled withthe other mountains. And the earth was greatly afflicted and bereft ofher ornaments on all sides. And in this distress, she went over to Skandaand once more shone with all her might. And the mountains too bowed downto Skanda and came back and stuck into the earth. And all creatures thencelebrated the worship of Skanda on the fifth day of the lunar month.