Skanda
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A right-turned trunk holding a modak or flower, never a dancing Ganesha at home
A right-turned trunk (Dakshinavarti) holding a Modak or flower is considered supreme, dancing (Nritya) forms should be avoided, and Ganesha is best established alongside Goddess Lakshmi or with Riddhi-Siddhi and Shubh-Labh.
Agni placed the burning Tejas in six of the Sapta Rishis' wives, and it passed through the Himalayas and the Ganga to a reed forest, where it became the child Skanda
Unable to bear the burning Tejas, Agni deposited it into six of the Seven Sages' wives while they bathed in the month of Magha; rejected by their husbands once pregnant, the six released the embryo onto the Himalayas, which passed it to the Ganga, who finally set it down in a forest of reeds — where it became the child Skanda (Kartikeya).
On what date was Lord Kartikeya born, and what happened at his birth?
Lord Skanda (Kartikeya) manifested on Shashthi (the sixth day) of Shukla Paksha in the Margashirsha month, bringing auspiciousness across the three worlds and disruption to the realms of demons.
Why did Sage Vishwamitra become Lord Kartikeya's priest despite being born a Kshatriya?
When the newborn Skanda (Kartikeya) asked Vishwamitra — a Kshatriya by birth, son of King Gadhi — to perform his Vedic rites and become his priest, Kartikeya declared him a Brahmarishi by divine decree, and later imparted him divine knowledge, elevating him among the foremost of Brahmins.
How did the four warriors Shakha, Vishakha, Naigama, and Skanda arise, and why are their names recited daily?
After Skanda (Kartikeya) single-handedly destroyed an attacking demon army, a startled Indra struck him with his Vajra — the strikes on his right side, left side, and chest manifested the warriors Shakha, Vishakha, and Naigama; daily remembrance of these four names together is said to grant complete protection.
Why does Lord Kartikeya have six faces (Shadanana)?
When six celestial maidens, the Krittikas, each wished to nurse the newly discovered child as her own son, Skanda (Kartikeya) manifested six faces so he could nurse from all six simultaneously — the origin of his epithet Shadanana.
What weapons and powers did the deities bestow on Kartikeya at his coronation on Mount Kailash?
At his formal coronation on Mount Kailash, the deities presented Skanda (Kartikeya) with their supreme weapons and powers — including Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra, Shiva's Trishula and Pashupatastra, Brahma's Vedas and Brahmastra, and Indra's Airavata and Vajra — before Vishnu formally conferred cosmic sovereignty upon him.
The goat carried the weight of the universe across all worlds in a single moment, and Kartikeya forbade its slaughter, promising the Yajna's fulfillment through his grace
When a Brahmin's sacrificial goat, intended for an Ajamedha Yajna, fled and was found causing disturbances in Vaikuntha, Skanda (Kartikeya) mounted the goat, who carried the weight of the universe across the entire cosmos in a single moment — Kartikeya then declared the animal must not be slaughtered, promising the Yajna's fulfillment through his grace instead.
What benefits come from worshipping Lord Kartikeya and hearing his birth narrative?
Worship of Skanda (Kartikeya) and hearing his birth story is said to remove obstacles in spiritual practice, ease Mangal Dosha (Mars-related astrological afflictions), grant noble offspring to childless couples, and protect children up to age 13 through his consort Devasena (Shashti Devi).
Month-long nag kesar vidhan of the Daridra Dahan Shiv Stotra anushthan
The speaker's daily vidhan: finish the household's regular puja, take a sankalp to Sadashiv that the daridrata in one's home end and dhan-dhanya grow — adding rog and dukh too, since disease is itself a kind of poverty — then sit on one's asan holding one fistful of nag kesar and recite the Daridra Dahan Stotra at least 8 times, best 16, and tie the nag kesar in a yellow cloth or pouch. Then take a lota of water with a little mishri (milk too if possible), two ghee lamps, flowers and bilva patra, touch the lota to the chaukhat of the house one lives in — even a rented one — and go to a Shiva temple: light both lamps, do abhishek and shringar, pour water over Ganpati, Gauri, Nandi and Skanda (durva for Ganpati, bilva patra and flowers for the rest, a shami leaf on the shivling if found), open the potli, restate the wish and offer all the nag kesar on the shivling. Pick up two or three grains, carry them home and keep them where money is stored; the same cloth is reused every day. This is continued daily from a Shivratri to the next month's masik Shivratri — a full month (Phalgun Mahashivratri to the Chaitra masik Shivratri, for example) — and on the closing day gau vansh are fed according to capacity, even ₹100 worth, best of all stray cattle.
Shakambhari Kavach for the head of a grihastha family: why, and its origin
The speaker says this teaching is for those in Grihastha life who carry the whole family's Yoga Kshema: running the house, earning, feeding the family, and making spiritual progress at the same time. Such a person needs the capacity to provide properly, and for him the Shakambhari Kavach is, in the battle of life, like the Vajra of Indra himself. He says Bhagwan Kartikeya taught this kavach to Devraj Indra, and that its Purashcharana is done with only 1000 recitations (when he later spells out the method, he gives the count as 1008).
Are the Shashthi Devi and Chhathi Maiya the same?
Yes. Ganga Maiya is also called Chhathi Maiya; Usha, Surya's consort, is held to be her; the six Krittikas who are Kartikeya's mothers are held to be Shashthi Devi; and Devsena, Kartikeya's wife, is also called Chhathi Maiya. But principally it is the Mother dwelling on the Vindhya, worshipped as Shashthi Devi since the Vedic period.
What does the nitya pujan of Shiva ji actually consist of?
The speaker says that if you read the Shiv Mahapuran, the Ling Mahapuran or the Vayu Mahapuran — the Shiv Mahapuran being a portion of the Vayu Mahapuran — all these things are told there in great detail: how the dwar pujan of the nitya pujan karma will be done, how the mandap pujan, how the symbolic shikhar pujan, how the first pujan of Nandi ji, then how the pujan of all Shiva ji's ganas seated in the temple — Ringi, Bhringi, Nagraj Vasuki, Bhairav ji, Mahakal — then Bhagavati Parvati, Skanda ji, Ganapati ji, his trishul, his damaru, and his Panchanan swarup.
In what order are the deities of the temple bathed?
Inside, first bathe Nandi ji — but if the vigraha of Ganapati ji is being given for bathing, then bathe Ganapati ji first, and Nandi ji after, with water. The karma sakshi deepak will already have been lit. After that bathe Bhagavati Parvati ji, Skanda ji and Kumar ji; then bathe the jaladhari of Bhagwan Shiva and perform the abhishek of the shivling.
What should be present with a shivling established at home?
In the shivling established at home there should be the Shiva parivar, he says: the shivling, its arghi, the trishul, Nandi ji, the serpent Vasuki ji. Besides that you may also keep a shri vigraha of the Shiva parivar in which Skanda ji and Ganapati ji also are; and if their murtis already exist separately, then there is no need to keep them again.
The Ganesha–Kartikeya marriage contest: circling the earth versus circling the parents
The speaker narrates the last chapter of the Kumar Khand of the Rudra Samhita: when Shiva and Parvati decide their sons are fit for marriage, Ganesha and Kartikeya each insist on marrying first, and the parents set the condition that whoever first circles the whole earth will be married first. Kartikeya sets off at once; Ganesha, who cannot walk even a kos, instead bathes, seats his parents on an asana, worships them, circles them seven times and prostrates seven times, then asks to be married — and when told to go round the earth like Kumar, answers that by worshipping and circling his parents he has, through his buddhi, already circled the ocean-bounded earth seven times. The speaker notes the text keeps saying this was done "taking recourse to lokachar": there was no real dispute, the whole leela is a message for society.
Why Kartikeya left Kailash for Krauncha mountain in the south
The speaker says that when Kartikeya returned from the earth parikrama, Narada — made the sutradhar before every great event, which is why he is called the mind of Bhagavan — told him by Shiva's inspiration that his parents had used the parikrama as a pretext to marry Ganesha, who now had two wives and two sons. Kartikeya bowed to his parents in anger, renounced Kailash despite their pleas, and went south to Krauncha mountain, where he remained Kumar for ever; the name Kumar destroys sins and grants Brahmacharya. The speaker calls the whole leela a matter of deep secrecy: it laid the foundation for the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga, was tied to Shiva's tasks against the three sons of Tarakasura at the Tripura slaying, and was a device to send Kartikeya south, for otherwise the asuras rampant there would have kept harming Sanatan — which is why he is in the south even today.
Restriction on women of menstruating age at Kartikeya's Kumar shrine
The speaker says the direct vigraha of Kartikeya that went to Krauncha mountain remains in the form of Kumar even today, while his marriage and his beloved known from the Skanda Purana — Shrivalli and Bhagavati Devasena — belong to his other avatars, which did marry. Because Bhagavan is worshipped there in this Kumar form, it is stated that a girl above thirteen who has not yet reached menopause should not go to that place. He says this was the reason behind the big controversy at the South Indian temple over women's entry.
Skanda as Shiva's tejas: foremost in virility, strength and brahmacharya
The speaker says that in every matter related to virility, fierceness, strength, Brahmacharya and blood, the name of Kumar stands first. Kartikeya was born directly from Shiva's Tejas: just as Ganesha, formed from the ubtan of the pores of Bhagavati's whole body, is Bhagavati's own embodied form, so Kumar Skanda, born of Shiva's tejas, is Shiva himself. Each of the two, he says, has his own speciality.
Kartik Purnima darshan of Kartikeya at Krauncha mountain
The speaker says Kartik Maas, Narayana's most famous month, is named after Kartikeya, because Narayana too has always loved him deeply. On Kartik Poornima all the tirthas, all the devas and devis, rishis, munis and siddhas go to Krauncha mountain for darshan of Kumar. If Krittikas nakshatra falls on Kartik Purnima, the tithi becomes so meritorious that taking darshan of Kumar Kartikeya that day burns all sins to ash and fulfils every wish.
Shiva visits Kumar on Amavasya and Parvati on Purnima
The speaker says that when Kumar saw Parvati and Shiva had come to Krauncha, he became detached, since his heart was still pained, and went to live three yojanas further away — a place the speaker guesses should be the Sabarimala region. It is said that on parva days Shiva and Parvati always go to that place: on Amavasya Shiva certainly goes there, and on Poornima Parvati goes to meet Kumar.
Listening to the Shiv Mahapuran is not enough — it has to be studied, even a chapter a day
Nothing will come from listening alone; you must study it yourself. Read even half a shloka as your capacity allows and understand its sense — read a chapter or so a day and a great deal will come to be known, heard and understood.
Indra, Kartikeya the commander of the Devas, and Shiva's chief Ganas were ordered into the battle next
Shiva, greatly angered, ordered in the fierce Indra — held in the Rudrashtadhyayi's third chapter to be a form of Shiva himself — with Kartikeya, the commander of all the Devas, and all of Shiva's principal Ganas, the Bhuts, Prets and Pishachs, to surround the boy from every direction.
Kartikeya alone did not flee; the two Shaktis cut apart every Deva's weapon and all ran back to Shiva
All the Devas fled; only the valorous Kartikeya did not, and stood firm before Ganesh, holding the rest back. The two Shaktis meanwhile made every one of them fail, cutting apart the weapons of all the Devas.
Karali, Kubjika, Khanja and Lambshirsha — Shaktis named here who appear among the sixty-four Yoginis
Four are named — Karali, Kubjika, Khanja, Lambshirsha — and their names occur among Bhagavati's sixty-four Yoginis; infinite such Shaktis were seated there. They began catching the Devas by hand and putting them into their mouths.
Who belongs in the complete Shiva parivar for worship?
Asked whether, apart from Bhagavan Shiva, Mata Parvati, Shri Ganesh and Bhagavan Kartikeya, Nandi and anyone else come in the complete Shiva parivar who should be worshipped alongside, he answers: no, this much is enough. This much should ordinarily all be there — Bhagavan Ganpati, Bhagavan Kartikeya, Ma Parvati and Bhagavan Bholenath, along with Nandi ji. Apart from this, if you go further, then there is Kartikeya ji's mayur, Shri Ganesh ji's mushak and Bhagavati's simha.
What should be done with a six-petalled bilva patra that has been offered?
He tells the listener Shashikant that the six-petalled bel patra he offered should, after the pujan, be picked up with a pranam, or picked up at the time of nirmalya when it is to be lifted, and kept in the Shiv Mahapuran or the like. You can worship it in the form of Skanda, he says. Mangal will be very strong and pleased — keep it.
What must be kept with a Narmadeshwar at home?
If you keep Narmadeshwar ji at home, Nandi ji has to be kept with him, and his Trishul. If the full Shiva-parivar Vigraha comes — with Ganpati ji, Kartikeya ji and Bhagavati — that is better still. And Nandi should be such that his sight reaches the Shivling: Shiva ji should be visible to him.
Should the Panchadev Vigrahas be kept at home, and how is Kartikeya worshipped?
The Panchadev Vigrahas should certainly be kept at home. For Kartikeya, install either his Shri Vigraha alone or one joined with his Shakti, and then perform the whole Panchanga Seva by his prescription. But his worship, like Hanuman ji's, carries the strict obligation of full Brahmacharya.
Which bal swaroops should also be remembered?
Look at the bal swaroop of Bhagavan Ganpati ji, of Bhagavan Hanuman ji, of Bhagavan Shri Ramchandra ji Maharaj, of Bhagavan Krishna ji; look at Bhagavati Bala Tripurasundari; look at the bal swaroop of Bhagavan Kartikeya. The smaran and pujan of these too, he says, you should perform — when a special need arises, you can perform the pujan of all these bal swaroops.
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