Mythical Roots
Durga, the demon-slaying goddess,
Kartik: The warlord
Kartik, the general of the divine army, the handsome bachelor god, is shown in some accounts as the off-spring of the union of Agni, the fire god, and Ganga, the river goddess. Ganga failed to go through with the pregnancy and expelled Agni’s burning seed from her body. The seed became a baby and was deposited on her banks from where six krittikas, or demigoddesses, rescued it.
But the more popular myth, based on Skandapurana, makes Kartik a son to Shiva and Parvati. Once Surapadma, the demon king, became powerful by Shiva’s boon. He defeated and enslaved the gods. The humiliated gods flocked to Kailash, Shiva’s abode. Shiva took pity on them. After all, it was according to his boon, that none but he could defeat Surapadma. He transformed himself into a six-headed figure and produced six glowing masses of light.
A divine pronouncement followed—the child born out of the glow would be the saviour of the gods. Shiva instructed that the balls of light be transported to Ganga, the river goddess, who would deposit them in the bulrushes near Mt Uday. As soon as the glowing balls reached the base of the mountain, they metamorphosed into six new-born babies.
They were spotted by six krittikas, who adopted them. But when the gods reached the riverbank, the babies became a six- headed boy. Shiva named the boy after each of the agents who played a part in its creation. The name by which he is known today is Kartik, a derivation of Kartikeya, son of the krittikas.
Soon after, Kartik was sent to war armed with Shiva’s spear. He defeated the demon Surapadma in battle. In the throes of death, Surapadma expressed repentance and sought his protection. Kartik forgave him and accepted hint as his mount, the peacock.
Ganesha: The giver of success
According to Shivapurana, Ganesha came into being as the result of a domestic squabble between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva let his rowdy followers into Kailash at ungodly hours. Parvati felt she had no privacy. So in consultation with her companions Jaya and Bijaya, she created a boy who would take orders only from her. The boy was put on duty at the gate with instructions to bar everyone.
Soon, Shiva and company arrived but were stopped at the gate by the intrepid boy. They reasoned with him, they pleaded with him, they threatened him—all to no avail. Instead, he beat up Shiva’s henchmen, Nandi and Bhringi.
The news of the scuffle soon reached the other gods, who challenged the boy to combat. Yet so successfully did the boy parry the charges that the gods had to resort to mischief. Vishnu engaged him in direct combat while Shiva chopped off his head from behind.
Parvati was overwhelmed with grief at the news of her son’s death and wreaked havoc on Creation. In order to propitiate her, Shiva ordered his followers to collect the head of any creature they set eyes on in the northern direction. They came back with the head of a one-tusked elephant. The elephant’s head was attached to the torso of the beheaded boy. lie sat up and all was well again. Shiva blessed him, saying that he would be worshipped at the start of all rituals and gave him the name Ganesha (lord of the masses).
There is another myth associated with Ganesha’s birth, related in Brahmabaibartapurana. Shiva and Parvati were childless for a long time. They practised penance for years and after that a son was born to Parvati. There was jubilation at Kailash. All the gods gathered to see the bonny boy and were showering blessings on him. But only Shani or Saturn,
the god of misfortune, was staying away from the cradle. He had been cursed by his wife that whatever he laid his eyes on would be destroyed. But Parvati did not know about the curse and the proud mother was highly offended at what she thought was Shani’s slighting of her newborn son. At last, Shani was forced to look at the baby, whose head immediately was destroyed under the cold gaze. Parvati was inconsolable. The rest of the story unfolds along similar lines. Vishnu rushed out to the forest with his Sudarshan Chakra, or divine discus. The elephant’s head he returned with replaced the boy’s.
Saraswati: The goddess of learning
The origin of the veena-bearing goddess is not as distinct as that of the other figures. In the Vedas, especially the Rig Veda, she is referred to as both a river and a river deity. The Saraswati river was a boundary of Brahmavartta, the home of the early Aryans, and was to them as sacred as the Ganga has been to their descendants. Gradually she became associated with the rites performed on her banks and started being regarded as an influence on the composition of the hymns that were an important part of the rituals. This might have led to her identification with yak, the goddess of speech. In later mythology she finds mention as the spouse of Brahma and the goddess of wisdom, eloquence and the arts.
The father of the universe prepared himself for Creation and sunk in deep meditation. The sublime quality of his spirit (sattvaguna) accumulated in his mind and was emitted from his forehead as Speech or Saraswati. He ordained that she stay on the tip of everyone’s tongue and exist on earth as a river. A part of her was also to stay in him.
But, according to another account, she was born so beautiful that the old hoary-headed god immediately desired her. She tried to escape his attentions but wherever she flew, he grew a head in that direction to keep a watch on her. Brahma thus came to have five heads, four on the sides and one on top. Saraswati fled to the forest as a deer and swam into the deep waters as a swan. But there was no escape. Finally she had to yield to his desire.
Laxmi: The goddess of prosperity
During Creation, a beautiful female form emerged from the left side of Paramatma, the Supreme Being. At a command from Paramatma, she split herself into two enchanting figures, both equal in splendour and majesty. One was Laxmi and the other Radha. Both wanted Paramatma as their consort. So he divided himself into the two-armed Krishna and the four-armed Vishnu. While Radha chose Krishna and stayed on earth, Laxmi wedded Vishnu and left for the heavens.
Laxmi has many manifestations. As Swargalaxmi (Laxmi of the heavens), she lived in the palace of Indra, the king of the gods.