The gods hastened to Indra with tidings of Kartikeya’s sudden ascendancy and entreated him to restrain the boy lest he fall into peril under his hand; Indra summoned the Saptamatrikas—Brahmī, Maheshvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Varāhī, Indrāṇī, Chamundā—the concentrated powers of the universe, and bade them overwhelm the youth by their dread; they went forth and, awed by his sovereign radiance, found themselves unable to contend and, seeking refuge, implored him to accept them as mothers, an appeal he graciously honored.
Meanwhile, Agni, attended and revered by the child, ministered to him, and the celestial woman born of the matrikas, Lohitasya, tended the boy as a mother would; so, all the hosts of heaven rallied to his side of their own accord. Indra, perceiving how the strength of Kumara waxed, was consumed by ire and, arraying the fourfold celestial host in the pride of his might, marched against him; the gods, armed with their divine weapons, followed Davendra, but the youth’s roar rose like a lion’s and from his six faces he vomited a consuming flame that rent the celestial ranks.
Overwhelmed, the gods yielded, praying for mercy and declaring themselves his servants; Kumara, appeased by their unconditional surrender, stilled the fire and vowed to protect them. Indra, however, unconvinced, hurled his vajra at the boy; it struck his right side and from that wound a new celestial being issued, saffron-gold of hue, with a goat’s face, and about him daughters appeared as centres of power—Visākha born holding the divine śakti. Alarmed at this metamorphosis, Davendra and the host, perceiving that they faced no ordinary child, feel prostrate and begged refuge.
The sage Markandeya proclaimed that the son of Agni had grown with vast sinews, girded with an extraordinary shield; his countenance shone as if sun and moon were one, his raiment deep crimson, his diadem set with precious gems that flashed like stars, his youth exuberant, his hand bearing a white lotus and his every quality that of a peerless hero; Lakshmi herself joined to lend him wealth that made him full as the moon, and the gods, beholding such glory, were confounded. On the sixth day the assemblies of sages worshipped and cried, “O son of Agni, Kumaraswamy, thy fame is wondrous; within six days of thy birth, thou hast subdued the universe; thou art the invincible champion of worlds—assume Indra’s station, govern and protect us.”
Kumara, asked of the duties of Indra, answered that he should fill the world with harmony, chastise wrong and defend the righteous, restrain the five elements, and fix the sun and moon in steady balance for the universe’s order.
Indra confessed that the gods and seers had rightly urged him; he could no longer bear the mantle of Indra, for the youth’s brilliance outshone him, and the gods had entreated that he be their sovereign; he came to surrender and to anoint him. Smiling with affection, Kumara bade Davendra lay aside fear: “We shall not be enemies by another’s tale; thy dominion and experience are great—rule the heavens, and I will be thy kinsman and support. Tell me now what task I must first fulfill.” Joy suffused Indra as he assented and named him commander of the celestial host, that by Kumara’s valor and chivalry fear might be banished from the righteous.
Kumara accepted without doubt, and with the blessings of gods and sages he was installed in that coveted place; kinnara and Gandharva filled the heavens with their transcendent music, flowers rained from the skies and the air was heavy with rare perfumes, while a nine-gemmed crown, sanctified by seers, was set upon Kumaraswamy’s head and a white celestial umbrella, borne by angels, hovered above him like the autumnal full moon over Meru.
At that moment Śiva, with his attendants and his consort Pārvatī, came to behold the boy; and the tale of his origin was told: in the privacy of Śiva and Pārvatī’s chamber Agni, having hidden as a lizard within the wall, was espied by Pārvatī and, to avert a greater disorder when Śiva’s seed was loosened, Śiva directed it into Agni, who, burdened, preserved it in a golden urn upon the slopes of Sertha; therefrom Kumaraswamy was nourished by the Saptamatrikas and so is called both son of Agni and descendant of Śiva. Embraced by Śiva and garlanded by Viśvakarma with the essence of worlds, he was acknowledged in all lineages: the Vedas name Agni as Rudra, so the youth is ascribed to both fires.
Indra then bade that Devasena, created by Brahmā and entrusted to his care, be brought forth; Davendra presented her, declaring she was fashioned for Kumara alone, and in full Vedic rite the son of Pārvatī took her as wife—the ceremonial day named Śaṣṭhī, a sacred festival to the world, while Lakshmi’s favour shone on the fifth day, a day of divine prosperity.
After the nuptials the sage-wives, pale with grief and the sting of rumor that they had been abandoned, entreated the boy to grant them the honour of motherhood and rescue them from reproach; he answered, “Ye are my mothers,” and promised them station befitting their worth. Indra proposed placing the Kṛttikās—who had served Agni and borne the child—in the place left vacant among the stars; thus the Kṛttikās took their place near Rohinī and became a constellation, enshrined with Agni as their patron.
Swahā approached and named herself his mother; the matrikas—Haviṣā, Kali, Kaushikī, Uddhātā, Saurīka, Āryā, Vidhātrī—bowed and besought to be proclaimed mothers of the universe, while the earlier Saptamatrikas were themselves worshipped as goddesses; Kumara, smiling, granted them due boon and thought for a while before bestowing other favors to satisfy them. Thus, as he assumed his office, step by step he restored harmony to the worlds and unfolded a beneficent design for the universe, his ascendance knitting the celestial order into one grand and peaceful economy.
