A Heavenly Message to Skanda

Check out the theme here: A Retelling of Valli and Karttikeya’s Love Story

This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026.

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Narada muni almost skipped his way to Tanikai, Skanda’s abode in the other world. He was excited about his newfound discovery and had to put his thoughts into action right away.

“No time to waste!” he said to himself.

However, outside Tanikai, he slowed to a casual walk, appearing nonchalant as he entered the luminous space. The pichasas and a few other celestial beings greeted him. They were all Skanda’s followers, some gifted by his father, Shiva, and some he created himself during his coronation earlier. They worked for him, prayed to him, and performed whatever duties they had wished. A few women, also called mothers, were rather gruesome in appearance. They were the dark forms who asked Skanda for a boon to allow them to eat children.

Though he found their request disturbing, Skanda granted it on condition. The women roamed the earth, trying to scare little kids, entering their nightmares, causing diseases, or using maya to create strange illusions. However, the other mothers protected the children from being fully harmed and helped with the recovery process. They co-existed in the same space and were both called mothers.

The pichasas and others like them did the same to grown-up men, preferring to target the males rather than women. Yet, they couldn’t hurt anyone with a pure heart and true devotion. It didn’t matter if they worshipped Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, or Skanda. Nor did it matter if Shakti, Kali, or Bhairavi commanded their devotion. The men only had to call out the name of the deva to keep them safe.

Narada found Skanda in a garden with vibrant flowering plants. His peacock danced, the massive tail fanned in the air, shimmering like invaluable gemstones. A peahen sat on the side, munching something, and unimpressed by the display of its mate’s tail. The rooster was beside Skanda, pecking at the ground, hunting for food. Sensing his arrival, Skanda turned and stood with a smile.

“Welcome, Narada muni. Hope you are well. Have you brought news from my parents?” he asked.

Narada accepted the arghya and the seat offered to him and settled into the comfortable chair with a satisfied sigh. “With Narayana’s name on my lips, I will always be well. Son of Shiva, I come from Bhuloka.”

Skanda looked surprised and interested. “Then you must have found something there.”

Narada hummed yes. “Indeed. I was in Merpati, a little village bordering the forest. It is in the same region as Ceruttani.”

Skanda’s smile grew wider at the mention of the hills. He had retired to Ceruttani after defeating an asura in a battle. He had been simmering in rage despite the crushing end of the asuras. However, the hills had cooled his temper. Skanda gradually felt calmer and peaceful, as he felt in Kailasa with his parents. Once in a while, he would visit Ceruttani to enjoy its beauty and the devotion of the locals.

“What did you find, Narada muni?” Skanda asked.

Narada described his interaction with the daughter of a hunter-chief and her determination to marry Skanda. He described her beauty in great detail, comparing the arch of her eyebrows to twigs, her long braid to Sesa, the snake, her lithe body to the creeper she was named after. “She is like no other, O Son of Agni, and vows to marry no one else but you. With skin shining like the emeralds in your crown, she is a forest woman with divine energy, the daughter of the earth but also of the sky.”

The words mesmerized Skanda. He wanted to meet her immediately. “I shall visit her right away.”

Narada let out a fake cough. “Slow down, deva. Did you plan how to approach her? Would you reveal yourself at the first meeting? Wouldn’t you want to woo her before getting married?”

“You mean… woo her in disguise, like a test?”

“Like a human instead of a deva.” Narada muni countered. “Tell her who you are, but what’s the rush to get married?”

Skanda thought about it and agreed. His marriage to Devasena happened in a day. While they had grown to love each other, he hadn’t experienced the romance of love that the gandharvas and yakshas sang about so often in Indra’s sabha. Narada had given him a good idea.

“As you say, Narada muni,” he replied with a cheerful grin.