Call of War by 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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Skanda stood, tall as his father, Shiva, and just as imposing. As the commander of Indra’s army, he was preparing to fight Tarakasura and end his atrocities forever. He knew this wasn’t the end of evil. Another asura would be born or get a boon, and the cycle would repeat. That was the way of things. For now, Taraka was his target.

Dressed in golden armor, holding his golden spear in his right hand, Skanda rode a muscular white horse across the clouds. The devas followed in the chariots, weapons in hand and determination in hearts. Shiva and Parvati shared a glance, knowing that their son had everything under control and would return victorious. He had visited them earlier to take their blessings, as well as those of Brahma, Vinshu, Agni, Ganga, Svaha, and the six Krittikas.

Indra tightened his grip on his Varja, the thunderbolt weapon made of rishi Dadica’s bones. He smiled to himself, thinking of the little surprise he had planned for Skanda upon their return.

The echo of the hooves and chariot wheels alerted the asuras. Since they were ready for a fight and looked forward to defeating the devas again, the army was ready. However, they didn’t expect someone as radiant as Skanda at the front.

“Who is this new deva? He glows like gold!” they whispered amongst themselves.

“Whoever it is, we’ll teach him also a lesson.” Taraka shut them up. He was on a horse too, white as the moon and large as hills, to carry someone of his size.

Skanda blew the conch, the sound reverberating throughout the three worlds. People trembled on the earth. Rishis looked up toward the sky in excitement and continued their chants. The Trimurtis nodded from their lokas.

The battle began.

With the devas and asuras having powers and celestial weapons, maya hung heavy around them. Astras were released in rapid succession. Some devas fell and were revived. Some asuras fell and were replaced. Skanda right in the middle of it, blocking Taraka from attacking Indra. He toyed with the asura king for a while, breaking his bow, mace, spear, and sword, and then destroying his crown and shredding his armor, all from a distance.

Taraka roared, loud and terrifying. Skanda shrugged and shot another arrow. Taraka deflect edit and released one of his own, charged with magic. Skanda eliminated it midair. The angrier Taraka got, the more he attacked. Skanda and his horse were firm as the Meru itself.

“End it now,” Indra called from behind.

Skanda notched his arrow. It was the same as others, but charged with the intention to kill Taraka. “I, Skanda, the son of Shiva and Parvati, Kartikeya, the son of the Krittkas, Kumara, the son of Agni, pray to my parents to let this arrow of mine destroy Tarakasura.”

The arrow whizzed through the dust of clouds and maya, growing and glowing as it cut off Taraka’s neck. The asura’s head fell to one side and his body to the other.

His army shrieked and fought in frenzy, their anger making them sloppy and easy targets. The devas dispatched a few, while the others escaped. The battle ended with the devas emerging victorious.

They let out a loud cheer, hailing Skanda for his prowess, and marched back to Amaravati, Indra’s capital city. Celebration has already begun, and Saci, Indra’s wife, along with the wives and consorts of other devas, as well as the apsaras, gandharvas, yakshas, kinnaras, and rishis, welcomed them with flowers and scented water.

With them stood a beautiful young woman with wide eyes, a flawless complexion, and a shy smile. Indra grinned at her and turned to Skanda. “You have protected Svarga as Devasenapti. Now, marry my adopted daughter, Devasena, and become a true Devasenapati.”

Earlier, Indra came across a distraught but determined Devasena and promised to find her a groom who was the best protector the three worlds had ever witnessed. Now, he was fulfilling his promise to her.

Skanda inclined his head in agreement and nodded at Devasena.

The wedding happened in the presence of all the devas, celestial beings, rishis, and the Trimurtis.

***

Note: Devasena has other names such as Amritavalli, Sinivalli, Asa, Sashti, Kuhu, Aparajita, Sadvritti, Sukhaprada, and Lakshmi, while Valli’s full name is Sundaravalli. Both are the wives of Skanda.