\|/Doubts & Discussions about Lord Shiva Part-1\|/ - Page 85

Originally posted by: .Vrish.

I have no idea whether what the serial showed about Ganga accompanying Indra to Devalok was remotely accurate.  If it ain't, then she was w/ Himavan & Mena, and therefore available for Kartikeya,  and later Ganesh.  She may have gone to Swarga later on another pretext.

But even if she were in Swargalok, in Kartikeya's case, Agni & Vayu could easily take her to Ganga.  Question mark then remains as to whether Shravan and the Krittikas were based in Devalok or Bhulok.  But in the Ramayan, in Uttarkand, Rama narrates the story of Raja Ila who visited the forest when Shiva was newly married to Parvati, and had enchanted the forest that anyone who entered that beautious region would become a woman, which is what happened to Raja Ila & his retinue. 🤣

If one accepts the Ramayan aspect to this story, then all of this took place on Bhulok, so Ganga would have had to be there.  But in b/w, at some point of time after the birth of Ganesh, she may have left for Swarga in the Satya Yuga itself, and returned in the Treta Yuga during Bhageeratha.

I never heard of Ganga being Himavan's daughter before it was mentioned here. I thought she was river who flowed in the Swarga and was later on brought to the Earth by Bhagiratha.

Agni and Vayu took the sparks to the river Saraswati (also known as Saraswati Ganga) which was a tributary which flowed into Ganga. The sages Vasishta and Viswamitra lived on the opposite banks of this river. I thought Ganga reached the Earth before Karthikeya and Ganesha were born.

I really don't know when  exactly Ganesha and Karthikeya appeared. Is there any mention of them in the Ramayana? Mahabharatha perhaps, but I've never heard of them in Ramayana. Being Gods, they must have made an appearance somewhere. I thought they both were created in the Tretha Yuga.

Both Sharavan and Krittikas were based on Bhuloka. It was after Karthkeya was reunited with Shiva and Parvati, the 6 Krittikas obtained the status of stars and proceeded to the cosmos.

The forest Raja Ila wandered into was different from Sharavan. Also there is a grove called the forest of Karthikeya or Karthikeya's Grove. Anyone entering it will become a creeper in the forest - as was the case with Urvashi when she entered the grove thinking about Pururavas.

I am not really clear as when Ganga came to the Earth and when exactly Karthikeya and Ganesha were born.

Didn't Viswamitra show Ram and Lakshman the Ganga when he was taking them to his ashram? Also, Guha lived beside the Ganga, isn't it?


Edited by Vibhishna - 11 years ago

Where exactly did Tarakasur live after conquering the world and the heaven?

In Kanda Purana, Surapadma lived in Veeramahendrapuri - an island.

Did Tarakasur live in the Swarga or did he establish his capital in a specific place in Skanda Purana?

Edited by Vibhishna - 11 years ago

^^^^ Vibhishan

Yes, I know the Kandha Puranam and Ramayan are way too similar. I even wrote about it sometime back, a full comparison of Ramayan and Kandha Puranam, - not in IF, though.

True that Kacheeyappa's work was authorised by Skanda himself. but I haven't been able to obtain a translation of Skanda Purana so far.

I learnt Ramayan and Kanda Purana together and was in constant confusion till the end of both the stories 😆

One of the few differences between Ramayana and Kandha Puranam is that Skanda ordered Varuna to destroy Veeramahendrapuri after He had defeated Surapadma. So, nothing remains as relics of the battle and there was no bridge either. I kept thinking that Veeramahendrapuri was one of the islands in the Bay of Bengal which probably got engulfed by the sea later on - couldn't find any more info on that.

Since Skanda camped on Thiruchendur, the island and the Krauncha mountain must have been visible from this place. Thiruchendur is below Rameshwaram - some say its on the banks of the Indian Ocean as its quite close to Kanyakumari. So, I'm not really sure if Thiruchendur is on the banks of the Bay of Bengal or the Indian Ocean. The closest and the biggest island on sight is Sri Lanka but it could be any other island too.

As per the legends, Lanka was an island created by Viswakarma for Kubera which Ravana forcefully took over. If Sri Lanka did not exist before Tretha Yuga and if these evens had happened before the events of the Ramayana - then it could have been any island that existed in the same place or somewhere else but visible from Thiruchendur.

That's why I wanted to know where Tarakasur was staying. Was it in Swarga or any other specific place? Can probably find a clue from there as well. Also, from the accounts of Skanda's war with Sura, it happened in a field by the sea shore.



Edited by Vibhishna - 11 years ago

Hey u  analysed it very well ,u are right  Senthur coast is almost  in  Indain ocean ,but near Tuticorin . So Srilanka is much visible from there. Edited by vanadhi - 11 years ago

Adding my thoughts to the above discussion-

Vanadhi,

I too have heard that story from a friend but a slightly different version. She is from Madurai but is currently living abroad.

According to her, it was Ravan's mother Kekasi who asked for the island and Parvati had no go but to give it away. She also cursed Kekasi saying that this happiness wont last for her and that the land of Lanka will be cursed with all sorts of war and natural calamities as it was forcefully torn away from her. Parvati and Shiva then disappeared and Shiva was able to pacify Parvati later on. Hence, till date, Lankans consider India as a blessed land.

This was a story I heard - didn't read it anywhere. Thus, I doubted its authenticity earlier.



Varaali,

Thanks for the info - its the first time I'm hearing this. By the way, which literature is it? I can probably hunt it down here.

Lanka seems to have originated in Tretha Yuga. There was no mention of Lanka or Skanda in Valmiki Ramayan too. Hence I thought it wouldn't have existed at that time. Also, the ancestors of those who live in Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia seem to have been Dravidian from what I've read so far. But I doubt if these islands could  be seen from the Indian coast even if Lanka wasn't present in-between.


Also, is there a credible English translation of Skanda Purana?
Edited by Vibhishna - 11 years ago

Vow Varaali thanks for sharing the news .

Vibhishna, Edited by varaali - 11 years ago

I'm familiar with Thiruppugazh but haven't read it fully. Will try to find a copy and read it. I started searching the book for the lyrics of the song 'Muthai tharu . . .'  - took me ages to understand it eventually.


I haven't read Thirumurgaattrupadai (written by Nakkeeran) either but it concentrates only on the 6 main abodes of Lord Muruga.


Has anyone read (Kalidasa's)  Kumarasambhavam?




Edited by Vibhishna - 11 years ago