Essay name: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
Author: A. D. Pusalker
This book studies Bhasa, the author of thirteen plays ascribed found in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. These works largely adhere to the rules of traditional Indian theatrics known as Natya-Shastra.
Page 445 of: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
445 (of 564)
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425
Vis峁噓 and Siva rose into prominence after the period of
the Vedas. The first germs of the tendency of placing either
of the gods at the head of everything and of proclaiming
everything as proceeding from either of them are to be
seen in the Upanisads. Thus the Kathopanisad proclaims
the superiority of Visnu, and the Svetasvatara, that of
Siva. Yet we do not meet with any disputes among the
devotees of both the gods which are found later on when the
worshippers of these gods formed themselves into different
systems as Vaisnavas and Saivas. Barring the professed
sectarian writings, there has always been an attempt on
the part of the writers of the epics, the Pur膩峁嘺s, etc., to
show the unity of these two gods and to prove their
equality by depicting Visnu as praising Siva and the latter
as praising Visnu. In the Mahabharata, we find mention
also of Skanda, Dattatreya, Durg膩, etc. Different
accounts are given as to the birth of Skanda. Skanda
was not included in the Vedic pantheon. It appears that
devotion to Skanda was practised on a greater scale in the
Mahabharata age than during the subsequent periods.
Patanjali refers to the worship of Siva, Skanda, and
Visakha in the Mauryan age. The Mahabharata and
the Pur膩峁嘺s give various accounts of the birth of Skanda
who is also known as K膩rtikeya, 峁danana,
Saravanabava, Sen膩n墨, Krau帽cad膩ra峁嘺, etc., most of the
epithets having reference to the circumstance of his
birth. Siva cast his seed into Agni who was sent by Indra.
Being unable to bear it, Agni cast it into the Ganges, from
where it was transferred to the six 碍峁泃迟颈办腻蝉 when they
came to bathe in the Ganges. Each of the
碍峁泃迟颈办腻蝉
conceived and brought forth a son, all the six sons being
mysteriously combined afterwards into one extraordinary
form with six heads and twelve hands and eyes (hence
K膩rtikeya, 峁岣嵞乶ana, 峁nmukha, 峁⒛佱箛m膩tura, etc.).
Another account relates that the Ganges cast the seed of
艢iva into a thicket of reeds (Saravana) whence the boy
was called Saravanabhava or Sarajanman. Yet another
account makes him the son of Agni through his consort
Sv膩h膩 who had assumed the forms of six R峁patn墨s (hence
Sv膩heya). Kartikeya is the Mars or the god of War of
the Indian mythology and was the commander-in-chief of
the army of gods in their war with T膩rak膩sura (hence
1 Mah膩bh膩峁a, (Benares Edition), V. 3, 2, p. 78.
