Navaratri Night 5 — Skandamata, Mother of the War God
A demon who could be killed only by Shiva's son, a child carried by fire and river and raised by six star-mothers — and the goddess who holds him on her lap.
The fifth night honours Skandamata — "the mother of Skanda". She is seated on a lotus, often on a lion, with four arms: two hold lotuses, one is raised in blessing, and with the other she holds the infant Skanda on her lap. She is the only one of the nine shown holding a child, and devotees say that worshipping her honours the son as well as the mother.
Why the gods needed a child
This is where the story that began on the second night pays off. The demon Taraka had won from Brahma a boon that only a son of Shiva could kill him. Shiva had no son and wanted no wife; that is why Kama was burned and Parvati went into the forest. Now Shiva and Parvati were married, and the gods were waiting.
The child no one could carry
The Puranas and the Mahabharata tell Skanda's birth in many different ways, and they all agree on one thing: Shiva's fiery energy was too powerful for anyone to hold for long.
In the most familiar telling, the fire god [Agni](/gods/agni) took it first and could not bear the heat. He gave it to the river [Ganga](/gods/ganga), who carried it until she too could bear it no longer, and laid it in a forest of reeds on her bank — the Sharavana. There a child was born, shining like the sun.
Six of the Krittikas — the star-mothers of the Pleiades — found him and each wanted to nurse him. The child grew six faces so that none would be refused. That is why he is Shanmukha, "the six-faced", and Kartikeya, "the son of the Krittikas".
Then Parvati came for her son. In many tellings she gathers the six into one, and holds him for the first time.
The general of the gods
The child grew in days, not years. The gods made him their general, Senapati. He rode out on his peacock with the spear his mother gave him, and he killed Taraka — the thing every god together had failed to do. In the south he is [Murugan](/gods/murugan), among the most beloved of all Tamil gods.
What is old here
Skanda is one of the oldest gods in this set: his birth is told at length in the Mahabharata and in Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava, whose very title means "the birth of Kumara". The name Skandamata for Parvati as his mother comes from the Devi Kavacha.
To carry from the fifth night: The gods had every weapon, and no answer. The answer was a child — and a mother who went and found him. Raising a child is also a way of fighting for the world.
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Related teachings
Navaratri Night 1 — Shailaputri, Daughter of the Mountain
Sati walks uninvited into her father's sacrifice and gives up her body there. She is born again as the daughter of the Himalaya — and the nine nights begin.
Navaratri Night 2 — Brahmacharini, the Austerity That Moved Shiva
When beauty failed to reach Shiva, Parvati went into the forest and did not come back until he came to her. The second night honours the young woman who gave up even leaves.
Navaratri Night 3 — Chandraghanta, the Bell and the Wedding
Shiva arrives for his wedding with ghosts and goblins, and the bride's mother faints. The third night honours the bride who stood her ground — a story the devotional tradition reads into a name.
Navaratri Night 8 — Mahagauri, the Dark Goddess Made Bright
Shiva teases Parvati about her dark skin, and she leaves to do austerities until she shines. Placed straight after the darkest night, the eighth is its answer.
Navaratri Night 4 — Kushmanda, the Smile That Lit the Dark
Before there was anything, there was darkness — and then a goddess smiled. The fourth night's story is a creation story built entirely out of a name, and it says so.