Chapter 229
“Markandeya continued, ‘Those six ladies, the wives of the seven Rishiswhen they learned that good fortune had smiled on Mahasena and that hehad been made leader of the celestial forces,[79] repaired to his camp.Those virtuous ladies of high religious merit had been disowned by theRishis. They lost no time in visiting that leader of the celestial forcesand then addressed him thus, ‘We, O son, have been cast out by ourgod-like husbands, without any cause. Some people spread the rumour thatwe gave birth to thee. Believing in the truth of this story, they becamegreatly indignant, and banished us from our sacred places. It behoovesthee now to save us from this infamy. We desire to adopt thee as our son,so that, O mighty being, eternal bliss may be secured to us by thatfavour. Do thou thus repay the obligation thou owest to us.’
“Skanda replied, ‘O ladies of faultless character, do you accordinglybecome my mothers. I am your son and ye shall attain all the objects ofyour desire.’
Markandeya continued, ‘Then Sakra having expressed a wish to saysomething to Skanda, the latter enquired, ‘What is it?’ Being told bySkanda to speak it out, Vasava said, The lady Abhijit, the younger sisterof Rohini, being jealous of her seniority, has repaired to the woods toperform austerities. And I am at a loss to find out a substitute for thefallen star. May good luck attend on thee, do thou consult with Brahma(for the purpose of filling up the room) of this great asterism.Dhanishtha and other asterisms were created by Brahma, and Rohini used toserve the purpose of one such; and consequently their number was full.And in accordance with Sakra’s advice, Krittika was assigned a place inthe heavens, and that star presided over by Agni shines as if with sevenheads. Vinata also said to Skanda, ‘Thou art as a son to me, and entitledto offer me the funeral cakes (at my funeral obsequies). I desire, myson, to live with thee always.’
“Skanda replied, ‘Be it so, all honour to thee! Do thou guide me with amother’s affection, and honoured by thy daughter-in-law, thou shaltalways live with me.'”
“Markandeya continued, ‘Then the great mothers spoke as follows toSkanda, ‘We have been described by the learned as the mothers of allcreatures. But we desire to be thy mothers, do thou honour us.'”
“Skanda replied, ‘Ye are all as mothers to me, and I am your son. Tell mewhat I can do to please you.”‘
“The mothers replied, ‘The ladies (Brahmi, Maheswari, &c.) were appointedas mothers of the world in bygone ages. We desire, O great god, that theybe dispossessed of that dignity, and ourselves installed in their place,and that we, instead of them, be worshipped by the world. Do thou nowrestore to us those of our progeny, of whom we have been deprived, bythem on thy account.'”
“Skanda replied, ‘Ye shall not recover those that have been once givenaway, but I can give you other offspring if ye like.'” The mothersreplied, ‘We desire that living with thee and assuming different shapeswe be able to eat up the progeny of those mothers and their guardians. Dothou grant us this favour.'”
“Skanda said, ‘I can grant you progeny, but this topic on which ye havejust now dilated is a very painful one. May ye be prosperous! All honourto you, ladies, do ye vouchsafe to them your protecting care.'”
“The mothers replied, ‘We shall protect them, O Skanda, as thou desirest.Mayst thou be prosperous! But, O mighty being, we desire to live withthee always.'”
“Skanda replied, ‘So long as children of the human kind do not attain theyouthful state in the sixteenth year of their age, ye shall afflict themwith your various forms, and I too shall confer on you a fierceinexhaustible spirit. And with that ye shall live happily, worshipped byall.'”
“Markandeya continued, ‘And then a fiery powerful being came out of thebody of Skanda for the purpose of devouring the progeny of mortal beings.He fell down upon the ground, senseless and hungry. And bidden by Skanda,that genius of evil assumed a terrific form. Skandapasmara is the name bywhich it is known among good Brahmanas. Vinata is called the terrificSakuni graha (spirit of evil). She who is known as Putana Rakshasi by thelearned is the graha called Putana; that fierce and terrible lookingRakshasa of a hideous appearance is also called the pisacha, Sita Putana.That fierce-looking spirit is the cause of abortion in women. Aditi isalso known by the name of Revati; her evil spirit is called Raivata, andthat terrible graha also afflicts children. Diti, the mother of theDaityas (Asuras), is also called Muhkamandika, and that terrible creatureis very fond of the flesh of little children. Those male and femalechildren, O Kaurava, who are said to have been begotten by Skanda, arespirit of evil and they destroy the foetus in the womb. They (theKumaras) are known as the husbands of those very ladies, and children areseized unawares by these cruel spirits. And, O king, Surabhi who iscalled the mother of bovine kind by the wise is best ridden by the evilspirit Sakuni, who in company with her, devours children on this earth.And Sarama, the mother of dogs, also habitually kills human beings whilestill in the womb. She who is the mother of all trees has her abode in akaranja tree. She grants boons and has a placid countenance and is alwaysfavourably disposed towards all creatures. Those persons who desire tohave children, bow down to her, who is seated in a karanja tree. Theseeighteen evil spirits fond of meat and wine, and others of the same kind,invariably take up their abode in the lying-in-room for ten days. Kadruintroduces herself in a subtle form into the body of a pregnant woman andthere she causes the destruction of the foetus, and the mother is made togive birth to a Naga (serpent). And that mother of the Gandharvas takesaway the foetus, and for this reason, conception in woman turns out to beabortive. The mother of the Apsaras removes the foetus from the womb, andfor this reason such conceptions are said to be stationary by thelearned. The daughter of the Divinity of the Red Sea is said to havenursed Skanda,–she is worshipped under the name of Lohitayani on Kadamvatrees. Arya acts the same part among female beings, as Rudra does amongmale ones. She is the mother of all children and is distinctly worshippedfor their welfare. These that I have described are the evil spiritspresiding over the destinies of young children, and until children attaintheir sixteenth year, these spirits exercise their influence for evil,and after that, for good. The whole body of male and female spirits thatI have now described are always denominated by men as the spirits ofSkanda. They are propitiated with burnt offerings, ablutions, unguents,sacrifices and other offerings, and particularly by the worship ofSkanda. And, O king, when they are honoured and worshipped with duereverence, they bestow on men whatever is good for them, as also valourand long life. And now having bowed down to Maheswara, I shall describethe nature of those spirits who influence the destinies of men after theyhave attained their sixteenth year.
“The man who beholds gods while sleeping, or in a wakeful state soonturns mad, and the spirit under whose influence these hallucinations takeplace is called the celestial spirit. When a person beholds his deadancestors while he is seated at ease, or lying in his bed, he soon loseshis reason, and the spirit which causes this illusion of sensibleperception, is called the ancestral spirit. The man who shows disrespectto the Siddhas and who is cursed by them in return, soon runs mad and theevil influence by which this is brought about, is called the Siddhaspirit. And the spirit by whose influence a man smells sweet odour, andbecomes cognisant of various tastes (when there are no odoriferous ortasteful substances about him) and soon becomes tormented, is called theRakshasa spirit. And the spirit by whose action celestial musicians(Gandharvas) blend their existence into the constitution of a humanbeing, and make him run mad in no time, is called the Gandharva spirit.And that evil spirit by whose influence men are always tormented byPisachas, is called the Paisacha spirit. When the spirit of Yakshasenters into the system of a human being by some accident, he loses hisreason immediately, and such a spirit is called the Yaksha spirit. Theman who loses his reason on account of his mind being demoralised withvices, runs mad in no time, and his illness must be remedied according tomethods prescribed in the Sastras. Men also run mad from perplexity, fromfear, as also on beholding hideous sights. The remedy lies in quietingtheir minds. There are three classes of spirits, some are frolicsome,some are gluttonous, and some sensual. Until men attain the age of threescore and ten, these evil influences continue to torment them, and thenfever becomes the only evil spirit that afflicts sentient beings. Theseevil spirits always avoid those who have subdued their senses, who areself-restrained, of cleanly habits, god-fearing and free from lazinessand contamination. I have thus described to thee, O king, the evilspirits that mould the destinies of men. Thou who art devoted toMaheswara art never troubled by them.”
