Chapter 7

The Taraka war

The impossible son now existed, and was exactly the age the boon had fixed

Face to face

Skanda took the army of the gods and marched on Tarakasura.

There was a battle — large, long. And in the end Skanda killed Taraka with the vel.

He was six (or seven) days old. The boon broke on its own cleverness — the "impossible" son existed, and was exactly that age.

Heaven restored

The gods returned to heaven.

Skanda was called Mahasena — the great general. Indra kept his throne.

The north ends here, the south goes on

In the northern Taraka cycle followed here, Taraka is the central enemy, and his death closes that arc.

The southern Skanda-Purana tradition (the Shankara Samhita) carries a larger war against three asura brothers — Surapadman, Simhamukha and Taraka — with Surapadman as the final enemy; the Tamil Kanda Puranam develops that same cycle. It is the next chapter.

Note: In the Sanskrit tradition the Taraka war is mostly confined to Tarakasura, and Skanda kills him with the vel / shakti at six or seven days old — the boon breaking on its own terms. The southern Skanda-Purana / Shankara-Samhita tradition carries the larger war against Surapadman, Simhamukha and Taraka; the Tamil Kanda Puranam develops that same cycle, with Surapadman as the final enemy (chapter 8).

Source: from several texts and traditions, The Taraka war

Now — how much stayed with you?

Fact

With what did Skanda kill Tarakasura?

  • A discus
  • A trident
  • The vel (the shakti)
  • His hand
Read the whole story — With the lance

Skanda took the army of the gods and marched on Taraka.

The battle was large and long.

In the end he brought Taraka down with the vel.

Fact

How old was Skanda when he killed Taraka?

  • One year
  • Six or seven days
  • Sixteen years
  • One month
Read the whole story — Exactly that age

The boon was — death only from a few-days-old son of Shiva.

Skanda was exactly that age.

The boon broke on its own condition.

Why is that?

How did Taraka's boon "break on its own cleverness"?

  • Because Brahma took the boon back
  • Because Skanda was not Shiva's son
  • Because Taraka surrendered
  • Because the "impossible" son really was born, and was exactly the age the condition named
Read the whole story — The trap in the condition

Taraka thought a seven-day-old son of Shiva would never exist.

The gods brought about exactly that.

The condition he thought was safety became his end.

Fact

Which of Skanda's names is Mahasena, a name connected with the great celestial army he commands?

  • Devaraja
  • Trilokapati
  • Yugavatara
  • Mahasena
Read the whole story — Mahasena

Skanda is made commander of the celestial forces before the Taraka victory.

Mahasena is already one of his established names in that martial role.

The name also appears in Kushan-period evidence.

What happened?

What happened to Indra's throne after the war?

  • Skanda took it
  • Indra kept it
  • It was given to Brahma
  • It was left empty
Read the whole story — General, not king

Skanda restored the gods to heaven.

But he did not take Indra's throne.

He remained the general, Indra the king.

The texts disagree

In the northern Taraka cycle followed in chapters 1–7, Taraka is the central enemy; in the southern Skanda-Purana tradition, who are the three asura brothers of the larger war?

  • Only Ravana
  • Only Mahishasura
  • Three brothers
  • No enemy
Read the whole story — One enemy, or three

The northern Taraka cycle ends with Taraka's death.

The southern Skanda-Purana tradition carries a larger war against three asura brothers.

There the final enemy is Surapadman.

Whose son?

Whose sons are the three asura brothers of the southern tradition?

  • Kashyapa and the asura woman Maya
  • Hiranyakashipu's
  • Vajranga's
  • Ravana's
Read the whole story — The line of three

In the southern story Surapadman, Simhamukha and Taraka are brothers.

They are the sons of Kashyapa and the asura woman Maya.

This expansion comes from the southern Skanda-Purana / Shankara-Samhita tradition, not from the Tamil poet.

Put it in order

Put Kartikeya's story in order.

  • The birth → Taraka's boon → the wedding → the killing of Taraka
  • The wedding → the boon → the birth → the killing → Taraka's conquest
  • Taraka's conquest → the birth → the boon → the wedding → the killing
  • Taraka's boon → Taraka's conquest of the three worlds → the wedding of Shiva and Parvati → Skanda's birth → the killing of Taraka
Read the whole story — One long plan

First Taraka gets the boon and conquers the worlds.

Then the gods draw Shiva out of his meditation and get him married.

Then Skanda is born and kills Taraka in six days.

Why is that?

"The northern Taraka cycle ends here, while the southern war goes on" — why?

  • Because the northern text is lost
  • Because the northern Taraka cycle closes with Taraka's death, while the southern Skanda-Purana tradition and the Tamil Kanda Puranam continue toward Surapadman
  • Because Skanda is more popular in the south
  • Because there is no war in the north
Read the whole story — Two endings

The northern Taraka cycle followed here closes with Taraka's death.

The southern Sanskrit Skanda-Purana stream carries the larger Surapadman war.

The Tamil Kanda Puranam develops that southern cycle in the next chapter.

Riddle

The demon that only a week-old child could kill was killed by a week-old child. Which demon?

  • Tarakasura
  • Surapadman
  • Mahishasura
  • Andhakasura
Read the whole story — The boon reversed

Taraka set a condition to make his death impossible.

The condition was a seven-day-old son of Shiva.

The gods made that son exist, and the condition was met.