Navratri Story Day 5: Maa Skandamata | Narrator: Rohini Vij
Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriNavratri Day 5: Maa SkandamataMaa Skandamata is worshipped on the fifth day of the nine day-long festival of Navratri. ‘Skanda’ means Kartikeya who was the firstborn child of Shiva and Parvati and ‘mata’ means mother so Skandamata essentially is the story of goddess Parvati. We all know that after Sati immolated herself, Shiva became completely disconnected from the world he lived away from everybody deep in tapasya and he did not care at all about what was happening. He lived as an ascetic.Around that time there were two demons Surahpadman and Tarakasura and they had got a boon that they could not be destroyed. In fact, the only person who could kill them was the offspring of Shiva and Parvati. However when Shiva completely disconnected himself from the world, all the gods and goddesses got really worried, ‘What if they’ll never manage getting rid of the two demons Tarakasura and Surahpadman? And that’s when they all went to Lord Vishnu and begged him to find a solution. Lord Vishnu told them that it was absolutely their mistake. Had they not gone to Daksha Prajapati’s Yajna without Shiva and Sati being a part of it, this would have never happened. Sati would have never immolated herself and Shiva would have never been disconnected from everybody. So Vishnu had no solution. That’s when Narad Muniji went and told Parvati, who had taken birth again, she was another incarnation of Sati, and this time she was born to the god of the mountains. Narad Muniji visited Parvati and told her that in this life too – she could get married to the love of her life, which is Shiva, however that would require severe penance, severe tapasya. Parvati really wanted to get married to Shiva and she went through thousands and thousands of years of tapasya – severe penance, after which Shiva was finally pleased he relented. And they both got married.When their union happened a blinding seed – a powerful seed – took birth. This seed was so radiant that Lord Agni himself was given the job of taking care of the seed because from its radiance the child of Shiva and Parvati would be born. However, Agni could not bear the radiance of the seed and he took help from Ganga. Ganga looked after the seed and then Parvati herself took the form of water because she knew that only she could carry the seed that was born of her union with Shiva. And then Kartikeya was born. He had six faces and he was looked after by six mothers also called ‘Krittikas’ which is how he got the name of Kartikeya.In south India, Kartikeya is also known as Lord Murugan. He’s the commander-in-chief of the Army of Gods. He is ever so powerful and he’s blessed by all gods and goddesses not just with powerful weapons but also immense knowledge.It is said that when he grew up a little bit he went to Brahma himself to gain knowledge. And on the first day, he asked Brahma a question. He asked him the meaning of ‘Om’ and Brahma took 12,000 verses to explain him the meaning of but Kartikeya was not satisfied so he went to his own father Lord Shiva and asked him. Shiva explained the meaning of ‘Om’ in 12 lakh verses this but Kartikeya was not satisfied. But by now he had figured out the meaning of ‘Om’ and he explained it to everybody in 12 crore verses. That was Kartikeya – ever so powerful – which is why it is believed that if you pray to Skandamata you automatically end up praying to Kartikeya.Skandamata has four hands. In one hand she carries Kartikeya as a baby, in her second and third hand she carries a lotus, and with her fourth hand, she blesses her devotees. Skandamata rides a lion and she sits on a lotus. Skandamata is believed to be the powerful mother of a powerful god and so she’s worshipped on the fifth day of Navratri.About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram