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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Valli hummed as she cleaned the bead jewelry and polished it with a soft cloth. She did this every month, just like her amma taught her. Instead of wearing them again, she bundled the jewelry in another cloth and carried the pouch in her hands. It was time to return to the field and guard it until dusk. Then she would go home and help her mother with dinner.
A fierce roar startled her, and Valli jumped in fright. Though she lived near a forest, she never heard anything so loud and furious. The second roar was louder and nearer. Valli gasped as she saw a strange animal rush toward her with great speed. She looked around for a place to hide. The riverside has always been calm, so she didn’t bother to bring anything more than a stick with her. It would have been helpful to shoo away smaller animals, but not the beast.
What is it even, she wondered, walking backward toward the trees. She didn’t want to take her eyes off the animal lest it attacked her.
“Go away, whatever you are!” she cried, stumbling over a protruding rock.
Calling for help wasn’t likely to bring results, as the riverside was deserted during that hour. That was the reason she came in the afternoon. Valli did the only thing she could think of. She called Skanda to save her. “Skanda, Murugan, Subramanya, Karttikeya, Kumara… deva, please save me from his strange beast. I did no harm to anyone, nor do I want to harm this creature. Make it go away from here!”
Hearing her words, Skanda stepped forward from behind the trees. He was in the ascetic’s disguise as he calmly walked to where Valli was. The beast was none other than Ganesa, who took on the form of a three-headed elephant with six trunks. He expanded four times his size and was purely terrifying to look at.
“Svami! What are you doing here? The animal will hurt you!” Valli called out. She was worried that she now had to save the old man as well.
However, he ignored her protests and stood between the animal and her. It came to a screeching halt a foot away from him, its breath raspy and heavy. Valli stared, astonished, as the ascetic placed a hand on one of its trunks and murmured something. The beast calmed down and stayed put for a few seconds. Then, it backed off and turned away.
Valli continued to stare at its retreating back. She could swear it disappeared after a few feet. The riverside was tranquil again with a soft breeze that barely created ripples on the water’s surface.
“What… Svami, you have my utmost gratitude for saving me today. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here,” Valli said, once her heartbeat returned to a normal, steady rhythm.
Skanda turned to her with an assuring nod and said, “He meant no harm.”
“Do you know what animal he is, Svami? I never saw him in the forest, and no one spoke of him either.”
“He is not from here and is now back in his place,” he replied. That was enough truth without revealing everything, at least for now. Skanda knew he would tell Valli who the beast actually was, but not yet.
Valli nodded. “I hope he doesn’t hurt anyone, or that no one hurts him. Svami, if there’s anything I can do to express my gratitude, please, I will do what is possible.”
“O daughter of Nampi,” he said with a mischievous smile, “indeed, there is something you can do. I have seen many women, humans and celestial beings, but you make my heart come alive. To be loved by you would be the biggest gift you could give me, Valli!”
She gasped and shook her head, anger, fear, and guilt dancing on her face. Valli didn’t want to feel guilty about saying no to someone who saved her life, but what he asked for wasn’t fair. After all, she had clearly stated her clause.
“No, Svami, anything else but me or my love,” she replied.
“Do you go back on your word?” he asked.
“I said anything that is possible, and what you want is not possible. I have told you already, I belong only to Skanda.”
“Then, Skanda asks you himself,” he said, revealing his true form.
