The splitting of Skanda: distancing and assimilation narratives in the Mahabharata and ayurvedic sources.

AuthorMann, Richard

INTRODUCTION

The Hindu narrative tradition is full of stories that involve a splitting of a god or goddess to form a new entity. At times these accounts become a formalized aspect of a sect's theology, as may be the case with Vaisnavite vyuha and avatara theories; at other times the splitting narrative does not lead to philosophical speculation and remains an implicit message as to how the divine is perceived and how the personality of the divine developed over time. (1) This paper studies narratives about Skanda from epic and ayurvedic sources that involve a splitting of the deity to form another being. (2) By "splitting" I mean both an actual physical splitting of Skanda to form a new being or beings, and splitting in the broader sense of the division of Skanda's duties and the appearance of different forms of Skanda. (3) These narratives have not generally led to extensive interpretation by the tradition itself, but they do suggest significant shifts in certain aspects of the tradition. I argue that these narratives illustrate two underlying processes: distancing and assimilation. Some of the narratives attempt to distance Skanda from disease causation. In such accounts a being is split from Skanda to form a separate entity linked to disease; these new beings are, in effect, pathogens. I argue that disease causation was once within the purview of Skanda himself, and that these splitting narratives were designed to separate him physically, and in some cases morally, from the causes of disease. Other splitting narratives attempt to assimilate Skanda with entities similar to him, by suggesting that he and these beings are not really separate figures, but are simply forms of Skanda. The deciding factor between a splitting narrative of distancing and one of assimilation is disease causation. Where the effects of disease are a concern, the splitting narrative tends towards distancing. Where Skanda has been sanitized and is no longer closely associated with disease, the splitting narrative gravitates towards assimilation.

Phyllis Granoff has argued for what she calls "narrative distancing" in some Saivite narratives. (4) In the puranic narratives that she examines, Siva does not act himself, but either creates or summons another entity to act in his stead. In the early Skanda Purana account of the slaying of Andhaka, for instance, Siva does not battle Andhaka himself; Nandin, his chief gana, performs the task. (5) Through such a process Siva is distanced from direct physical action and is also able to maintain a non-anthropomorphic form; he is typically described as an orb of blazing light in these puranic accounts. The ganas and other beings created by Siva in effect act as his body in the three worlds. Granoff argues that many of these narratives of distancing began as stories of other gods and ganas that the Saivite tradition appropriated as it spread, absorbing local traditions and narratives. Hence, these stories may be simultaneously viewed as narratives that physically distance Siva from violent acts and as evidence for the historian about the formation of Saivism and the assimilation of local cults. The narratives about Skanda that I examine here follow a similar track in that they distance the deity from acting in a certain manner, and they also function to assimilate various other figures into Skanda's cult. While these two Saivite narrative traditions, that of Siva and that of Skanda, are clearly related, there are some significant differences in the material on Skanda that this paper will explore.

If the puranic stories of Siva are designed to separate the deity from direct physical action, the epic and ayurvedic stories of Skanda differ in that in these stories Skanda does act. The Skanda distancing narratives do not distance him from action or from taking an anthropomorphic form; instead they distance him from certain types of action and certain aspects of his characterization. I will propose that these splitting narratives are about Skanda's transformation and absorption into the "orthodox" pantheon. (6) In their approach to the Skanda narratives the epic poets display an anxiety about this deity's connection to disease and about the potential blame that may fall on him because of this connection. The transformations he undergoes in these stories separate him from the causes of disease. We can trace the gradual process of this physical and moral separation. While the earlier epic and ayurvedic narratives only hint at a moral distancing for Skanda, the later ayurvedic accounts elaborate on this point. Through these narratives we can follow the process of Skanda's assimilation into the orthodox tradition: first, his character is redefined and distanced from more ambivalent representations of him, and, second, related figures and cults are drawn into this now "orthodox" figure. I will discuss five narratives of physical splitting related to Skanda from the Mahabharata, and then I will explore these themes as they are found in early ayurvedic sources that have a particular interest in disease causation and the links this god has to pathogens.

  1. THE FOUR SPLITTING NARRATIVES

    IN THE SKANDA EPISODE OF THE ARANYAKAPARVAN

    There are three birth stories for Skanda in the Mahabharata (3.207-21; 9.43-45; 13.83-86) and a total of five splitting narratives found in them: (7) four splitting episodes in the Aranyakaparvan account of the deity and one in the Salyaparvan. It may not be a coincidence that the Aranyakaparvan account of Skanda's birth contains so many of these splitting narratives. Many of these splitting narratives are about transformation, and the Aranyakaparvan account of Skanda is an extended narrative dedicated to transforming the characterization of this deity. (8) Most accounts of Skanda present him as the dutiful son of Siva, who was born to rid the three worlds of demons as the general of the army of the gods. The Aranyakaparvan account, however, begins with Skanda as a terrible being who must be transformed into the benevolent figure assumed by most other textual accounts of the deity. Initially, Skanda is a destructive force who inspires fear and requires propitiatory worship. He is remorseless in his actions and appears to act with the intention of inspiring terror in others. He is also closely associated with various fierce groups of Grahas (Graspers), Matrs (Mothers), Kumaras (Boys), and Kumaris (Girls), all figures associated with possession of children and pregnant women. These forms of possession were understood as a type of disease causation in the textual traditions that describe them. (9) As we shall see, texts from the ayurvedic tradition explain this connection between Skanda and Grahas by presenting Skanda as a Graha himself. The epic tradition moves away from such a depiction of the deity. Even by the end of the Aranyakaparvan account Skanda is separated from his more threatening characterization to take a role as the general of the army of the gods and as the son of Siva. The Aranyakaparvan account is peppered with narratives featuring beings falling off of Skanda to form new entities. Below I will discuss four "splitting off" stories that lead to the creation of five beings: Visakha, Skandapasmara, the Kumaras, the Kumaris, and Sisu. (10)

    I shall present these splitting narratives within the context of a brief account of the Ararnyakaparvan story of Skanda. (11) The story begins with Agni falling in love with the wives of the Seven Seers. Agni knows his desire for these women is improper, and he retires to the forest apparently to kill himself (MBh 3.213.35-46). A daughter of Daksa, Svaha, is in love with Agni and is aware of his feelings for the seven wives. She approaches Agni in the forest disguised as one of the seven wives and fools Agni into having sex with her. She repeats this act a total of six times, and after each encounter she takes the form of Garudi and flies to Mount Sveta, where she deposits Agni's semen into a golden jar (MBh 3.213.50-52; 214.1-14). (12) After six units of semen are placed in the pot on the first day of lunation, Skanda begins to take form as a six-headed child, growing at a preternaturally fast rate and reaching boyhood in four days (MBh 3.214.17-18). Unlike the innocent youth so often described in later accounts, this child is initially chaotic and violent. He is a massive being whose roar stupefies all of the beings in the three worlds (MBh 3.214.19). The divine war elephants Citra and Airavata attack Skanda, but he simply grabs the two elephants and is described as romping around holding them along with a spear and a giant cock (MBh 3.214.22-24). He shoots arrows at Mount Sveta and cleaves off Mount Kraunca, which groans loudly with pain as it crashes to the earth (MBh 3.214.31-32). The other mountains groan with fear, and we are told

    sa tam nadam bhrsurtanam srutvapi balinam varah/ na pravyathad ameyatma saktim ameyatma saktim udyamya canadat// That best of the strong, even after hearing the crying of the greatly afflicted, was not distressed, and that immeasurable being lifted his spear and roared. (MBh 3.214.33) Note the lack of remorse here. Skanda's attacks are random and without conscience. His victims are simply those within range; there is no sense that he attacks out of a moral mandate. He goes on to cut off the top of Mount Sveta. Out of fear Sveta and the other mountains leave the earth, causing her great pain. The only means of control that the earth, the mountains, and the creatures near Skanda have over this dangerous new force is propitiation. After his roar, which shocked all the beings of the three worlds, the text tells us

    tasya tam ninadam srutva nyapatan bahudha janah/ bhitas codvignamanasas tam eva saranam yayuh// ye tu tam samsrita devam nanavarnas tada janah/ tan apy ahuh parisadan brahmanah sumahabalan// sa tutthaya mahabahur upasantvya ca tan janan/ Having heard his cry the creatures, who were...

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