THE STORIES OF LORD KARTHIKEYA VII

Karthikeyas Foster Parents:

Although undoubtedly worshipped as the son of Lord Shiva, just with all other myths
there are alternative birth narratives.
According to the Indian Epic Mahabharat, Lord Muruga is born of the Fire God Agni and
his wife (daughter of Lord Brahma the creators son King Dhakshin, created from the
creators thumb) Swaha. (Note: As a feminine noun, svh in the Rigveda may also mean
"oblation"; svh is an interjection, approximately "hail!" in mantras indicating the end
of the mantra. In the Tibetan language, it is translated as "so be it") Whenever fire
sacrifices are made, svh is chanted. Swaha is thought to preside over burnt offerings.
Her body is said to consist of the four Vedas and her six limbs are the six Angas of the
Vedas. It is said that the gods to whom offerings are being made through yagna refuse
the offerings unless the word svh is uttered during the sacrifice.
Etymologically, the term is probably from su "well" and the root ah "to call". Thus
exhorting only the good and the divine are channelled through the fire ritual.
It is believed that the six-handed Goddess Swaha, the personification of piety and
sublimation, impersonated six of the seven wives of the seven sages (sapta rishis) and
made love to the fire god. The Saptarshi, hearing of this incident and doubting their
wives' chastity, divorced them. These unfairly cast-out wives then became the
Kttik/Krithikas (the constellation of the Pleiades).
They in turn are believed to be the foster mothers of Lord Muruga in the Skanda
Puranam (Story of Skanda/Muruga) hence the name Karthikeya and the lords close
association with the days of the Krithika star and Tamil lunar month. [See Birth of Lord
Karthikeya: http://www.scribd.com/doc/205365537/The-Stories-of-Lord-Kathikeya-i]
The name Kttik literally translates to "the cutters." The 3rd of the 27 nakshatras/stars.
It is ruled by Krtikeya literally "Him of the Kttik").
Other foster parents of Lord Skanda include Vayu (The Wind God); Ganga the most holy
of Indian rivers and the Goddess Parvatis elder sister; and the the consort of Lord Shiva,
incarnation of Dakshins daughter Sati, and the daughter of the Himalayas the Goddess
Parvati. Born of the divine sparks emitted from Lord Shiva the destroyers third eye.
*
In Greek mythology, the Pleiades are the nymph companions of the Goddess of the
Moon and Hunt Artemis. Born to the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione on Mount
Cyllene.
They are also believed to be the teachers to the infant Bacchus (Greek God of Wine).
The name Pleiades may derive from (to sail) because of their importance in
delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea.
Maia, eldest of the seven Pleiades, was mother of Hermes by Zeus.
Electra was mother of Dardanus and Iasion, by Zeus.
Taygete was mother of Lacedaemon, also by Zeus.
Alcyone was mother of Hyrieus, Hyperenor and Aethusa by Poseidon.
Celaeno was mother of Lycus and Eurypylus by Poseidon.
Sterope (also Asterope) was mother of Oenomaus by Ares.
Merope, youngest of the seven Pleiades, was wooed by Orion. In other mythic
contexts she married Sisyphus and, becoming mortal, faded away. She bore to
Sisyphus several sons.
After Atlas was forced to carry the heavens on his shoulders, Orion began to pursue all
of the Pleiades, and Zeus transformed them first into doves, and then into stars to
comfort their father. The constellation of Orion is said to still pursue them across the
night sky.
The loss of one of the sisters, Merope, in some myths may reflect an astronomical event
wherein one of the stars in the Pleiades star cluster disappeared from view by the naked
eye. (Thus it is there are 6 stars like in the Hindu Myth)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_%28Greek_mythology%29
July 21, 2014, Monday (Adi Kirthigai)
(Uploaded on Prince Georges 1st Birthday 22/7/14)