PALANI

ANTIQUITY

KALIDAS' VERSION

There are several legends embodying the birth of Subrahmanya - the Commander-in-chief of Devasana, and the necessity of his presence, when the Devas were feeling every second a living death due to the atrocious acts of danavas.  And the authors too are of no mean distinction.  According to one legend, he was the son of Uma and Maheswar.  He was born only' to put an end to the atrocities of Taraka, a cruel demon, who perpetrated countless wicked acts on devas for years.  When the entire amarakula was totally debilitated, they sought the advice of Lord Srimannarayanan, who counseled that the son born to Lord Siva alone would kill that remorseless Danava.

But Siva was doing penance after the self immolation of Sati, reborn as Parvathi.  And she was offering worship to Lord Siva at the behest of her father Himavan.  They utilized the services of Manmatha to awaken his love instincts. Poor Manmatha was burnt to ashes, when the Lord opened his third eye as punishment for disturbing his tapas, yet in the end Siva was wedded to Parvathi and the son begotten to them became the Chief-Marshal of Amarasena, who vanquished Taraka; and the devas breathed freely.  Devendra gave his daughter Devasena to the valorous Subrahmanya in wedding then.  This legend was immortalized by Kalidas in his Kumarasambhava.

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