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The Story of Ma Skandamata

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After Devi Parvati defeated Jatukasura in the form of Ma Chandraghanta,

Tarakasura’s worries soared. The boon of protection that he received from
Lord Brahma, that he would only be defeated by the son of Lord Shiva, was
about to turn into his boon of doom.

The union of Shiva and Shakti

The son of Lord Shiva and Shakti that everyone was eagerly waiting for
would need extraordinary strength, wisdom and valour. The severe
austerities that both Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati undertook was to pour all of
their Tapas Shakti into the creation of such a being, the One who would
indeed defeat the invincible Tarakasura.

It so happened that when both Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati were meditating, a
flame set forth from both their foreheads and merged to form a great fiery
ball of fire. Lord Shiva instructed Agni to carry the fire to a safe place. The
ball of fire was so hot that even Agni, the very personification of Fire, could
not carry it( such was the Taposhakti of Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati). He
dropped the ball of energy into the river Ganga. The energy of fire was too
much for Ma Ganga to carry, and She then placed it in a forest of reeds called
‘Saravana’ or ‘Sarkanda.’

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The birth of Skanda

As soon as Ma Ganga placed the fiery ball on the reeds, a beautiful baby
emerged. The six of the seven brightest stars of Kṛttikā nakshatra (Pleiades
constellation) set eyes upon Him. The baby was so beautiful that He strongly
invoked the motherly instinct in them. These stars, personified as his
mothers, all wanted to take care of him and nurse the baby. The dispute
ended when the baby grew five more heads in order to have a total of six
heads so that he could look at all six mothers and let them each nurse one
aspect of him.

The baby came to be known as Skanda since he was found in the ‘Sarkanda’
reeds. Skanda is derived from skand-, which means “to leap or to attack”.

In Kalidasa’s epic poem Kumarasambhava, as in most versions of the story,

the Gods wished for Skanda to be born in order to destroy the demons
Taraka, Simhamukha, and Surapadma. The brothers had been granted a boon
that they could be killed only by Shiva’s son (Skanda was purely born of
Shiva and Shakti’s seed). Lord Skanda is known by many names. Kartikeya,
because He was brought up by Krittikas. Gangeya, because Ma Ganga gave
Him refuge. Saravana Bhava, because He took birth among the reeds of
White lotuses. He is also called Kumara, because He is ever-youthful. He is an
epitome of beauty, grace, youthfulness and all things good in life. As Gauri’s
son, He is also called Gauri Tanaya. In Southern India, he is very popular as
Muruga and Subrahmanya. Skanda also means one who stops, or destroys.
He destroys our suffering.

After a while, Ma Parvati visited the forest of reeds and took the child in Her
loving embrace. Skanda’s childhood exploits in Kailasha have references in
many Puranas. He is the brother of Ganesha. He is said to have given an
Upadesha about the meaning of Pranavam to Lord Shiva Himself, also
gaining the name, ‘Swaminathan– the One who has been a master to Swami.’

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When the time came for Skanda to take on Tarakasura, He received great
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weapons from Lord Shiva in 11 of His hands. In His twelfth hand, Ma Parvati
gave Him the Shakti weapon, popularly called ‘Vel’. She guided Him astutely
during His battle with Tarakasura. Skanda is often lovingly referred to as Vel
Murugan.

Ma Skandamata, the fifth Nav

Durga

On the 5th day of the Navratri, Ma Durga is invoked as Skandamata, the

mother of Kumar Kartikeya or Skand Kumar, the elder brother of Lord
Ganesh.

Skanda represents the coming together of Jnana Shakti (power of

knowledge) and Kriya Shakti (power of righteous action). Skandamata is that
form of the Divinity that brings practical wisdom and action together.

The Shiva Tattva is the blissful principle, ever calm and disengaged from
action. The Devi Tattva (Mother Divine) is the primordial energy responsible
for action and activity in creation.

It is said that the Devi represents the confluence of Iccha Shakti (power of
intention), Jnana Shakti (power of knowledge) and Kriya Shakti (power of
righteous action). When the Shiva Tattva unites with these three powers,
then what emerges is Skanda.

Skandamata represents the very origin of Jnana (knowledge) and Kriya (the
principle of action or activity). It can be understood as Kriyatmak Jnana

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(knowledge in action or action driven by right knowledge).

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We often say that the divine is manifest everywhere and is omnipresent; but
when you have a difficult situation to deal with in your life in the present
moment, what do you do? What knowledge would you use then? In order to
resolve the problem, you need to act, you need to put knowledge into
action. So, when you take action that is guided by knowledge, it is the
Skanda Tattva that manifests. And Goddess Durga is considered as the
mother of the Skanda Tattva.

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The iconography of Ma
Skandamata

Seated on a lotus, the fair complexioned Ma Skandamata affectionately

cradles Her son, the infant Skanda or Kartikeya on Her left thigh with Her
right hand. She holds lotuses in Her other two hands and the fourth displays
the Abhay mudra. In this form, Mother Divine does not hold any weapon. Her
three lustrous eyes radiate maternal love for all Her children. Since she sits on
a lotus flower while meditating, taking the name Padmasani, Her fair-
complexion earns Her the name’ Shubhra’.

Ma Skandamata is extremely protective of Her devotees like Her own

children and rides a lion to slay their internal and external demons in the
same way. She empowered Kumar Kartikeya to kill Tarkasura!

She is a highly benevolent form of Nava Durga. It is said that worshipping Her
automatically confers the blessings of worshipping the powerful and ever-
pleasant Lord Skanda too, since He is seated on Her lap in this form.

The immense blessings of

worshipping Ma Skandamata

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The iconography of Ma Skandamata with a six-headed baby Shanmukha, in

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Her lap signifies that one can invoke Her even when immersed in the world
of material responsibilities. Devi Skandamata is the mother of the six systems
of knowledge or philosophy – Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta,
and Mimamsa. They are the six limbs of the Vedas or body of knowledge.

There is special importance given to Sri Skandamata in various chapters of Sri

Durga Saptashati.

Worshipping Goddess Skandamata is known to have immense spiritual

benefits. She is forever eager to bless Her devotees with all the fortunes and
prosperity in very mysterious ways. Being a mother to Lord Skanda, Her
affection is always abundant towards her devotees. When called upon by
Her children with love and sincerity, she immediately graces them by
destroying all their obstacles. She is an embodiment of motherly affection;
she protects the motherhood of all mothers, blesses with a good progeny
and is the slayer of inner demons. The epitome of motherhood, she doesn’t
turn away anyone empty-handed.

Chanting her mantra helps you attain success and desired growth in all your
endeavours. It provides the inner strength and ability to deal with any
difficulty in life.

With her Abhaya mudra, those who seek Her refuge, can rest assured of Her
divine protection and feel Her motherly embrace of love and affection.

What Ma Skandamata’s grace

brings upon us:

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The worship of Maa Skandamata confers the boon of good progeny.

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This form of the Mother removes aggressive tendencies.

She resolves fights between arch enemies.

She protects in litigations and issues involving the police.

She also heals rashes and skin disorders.

She blesses Her devotees with material comforts and abundance.

She grants peace, happiness and harmony in family life.

She bestows upon us the strength to fight our inner demons.

Today, take a vow to be guided by your inner Self in all your actions. The
centre of your being is the abode of the Divine Mother, seek Her refuge
there.

Ma Skandamata and Kundalini

On this Path to spiritual growth and discovering our own truth, given to us
by the nine forms of the compassionate Ma Durga, we now learn about the
divine aspects of Devi Skandamata, the Goddess who Nurtures Divinity.

But, before that, let’s step back and calibrate the steps we have taken so far
and summarise the Path.

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First, we are inspired by Devi Shailaputri to learn the sacred scriptures, then
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by Devi Brahmacharini to undertake sadhana, then by Devi Chandraghanta in
an effort to purify ourselves in such a way that all our actions become
Tapasya and we are pregnant with divinity within like Devi Kushmanda.

The fifth Navadurga, Devi Skandamata, supports and nurtures our divinity,
enabling our divine nature to blossom as our love and compassion envelopes
everything we touch.

Ma Parvati married Lord Shiva for the purpose of blessing the Devas with a
commander-in-chief to lead the forces of unity in the war between the
asuras and devas.

The word “Mata” means Mother. Skandamata Devi is the Mother of Skanda,
the Commander of the forces of Divine Light.

She is our dearly Beloved Mother, who tenderly guides us on the path – just
like our very own mother. She represents the energy of self-restraint and
discipline, as a warrior’s strict and rigorous life. A warrior knows how to
utilise anger for positive results.

Anger and rage exist within all of us. Anger arises when there is a need to
protect our boundaries. It is important that we use anger wisely in the
correct space and time to annihilate our inner demons.

Skandamata is the form of the Mother that can move from a calm restrained
state to intense anger to protect her children.

In the human body, she resides in the Visuddha chakra (throat).

When this Chakra is balanced, we have open communication, speak truth

and listen patiently.

When it is under active our emotions are suppressed, and we don’t

communicate freely. With the grace of Skandamata Devi, we come to
experience divinity in everything and everything becomes an expression of
the divine.

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The Tantric invocation of Devi

Tantric invocation: Mritsanjivani, Sumukhi, Chamunda

One of the nine Tantric forms of Devi is invoked as Chamunda, Mritasanjivani,

and Sumukhi as per the Durga Tantra and Vamkeshvara tantra. Devi
Chamunda derived her name after slaying the twin demons “Chanda” and
“Munda”. Her energy transforms tragedy into a higher vibration without
covering it up in denial. Acknowledging your pain is a catalyst for radical
healing.

Call out to Devi Chamunda by chanting her subtle yet powerful mantra
which protects, heals and blesses her devotees with success, creativity, self-
confidence and a burst of joy arising out of the sublime union with the
Divine Mother. The sacred invocation of her potent mantra turns your body
into a cauldron of creation, acting as a cleansing and balancing agent to clear
your physical and subtle bodies of pain, suffering, fear, sadness and all
negative external influences.

May the grace of Devi Skandamata descend upon you!

Om Devi Skandamatre Namaha

Jaganmatruke Pahimam!

Om Namashchandikaye!

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