The Living Memories of Skanda

Skanda, or Kartikeya, was a very important deity upto the 9th century AD across North India, before it starts to fade. Several Gupta era as well as other period sculptures and panels and wall panels evidence the importance,as can be evidenced in the National Museum collection in New Delhi. For instance, there is a 6th century AD panel of Skanda from the Punjab region (shown on the side)highlights a beautiful peacock on which Skanda is seated, with his trademark spear. Professor T S Maxwell writes about the earliest references to Skanda and his iconography in the north as follows:

'Probably the earliest six-headed representations of this god-and, apparently, of his consort-occur upon coins minted by the Yaudheyas, a traditionally warlike people settled in modern Rajasthan who 'lived by their weapons' (āyudhajīvinaḥ) and had Skanda as their principal god. Although the Yaudheyas persisted as a social group during the rule of the Guptas, to whose suzerainty they submitted, and even later, it is possible that these particular coins antedate Gupta rule. This numismatic evidence shows the six heads of the god, and of a goddess on the reverse of one specimen, arranged in two rows of three set one above the other. In sculpture, such an arrangement of multiple heads does not appear until after the Gupta period.'

While the question of the decline of the cult of Skanda is a puzzling one, it is my belief that the cult actually did not die out entirely. There are several attributes to Skanda that show that it survived well into the modern era, and probably in some parts got transformed due to various subsumptions; however, in its various broken strands, it is alive even today.

Himachal's Memories of Skanda
The Presence of a peacock is significant in several parts of Himachal Pradesh. Molu Ram Thakur in his book on folk art of Himachal Pradesh has stated that there is a tradition of fasting called Chidiyon ka Vrat (A fast dedicated to birds), where women fast and create frescoes in the traditional sense. Interestingly, the key feature in this frescoes is the prominence of the peacock in the fresco. Kartikeya himself is absent on this day, but the icon of the peacock is a significant one. This fast is kept on the third day in the Shukla paksha of the month of Bhadrapada.

Himachal Pradesh interestingly houses temples to Kartikeya even today. One temple, in old Bilaspur, sadly has submerged by the Gobindsagar Dam, was a popular pilgrim spot. Known as the Shanmukheshwar or Shankheshwar temple, the temple had several practices particular to it, as Kartikeya is worshiped as a celibate form, even in the rehabilitated temple, a part now of the Lakshmi Narayan temple complex. As Omacandra Handa in his tome on Naga cult in Himachal Pradesh notes:


'In the old Shanmukheshwar temple, although the principal deity is Kartikeya, yet his image was always kept covered. For, being celibate, Kartikeya does not permit females in his temple. To facilitate the women to worship the Shiva lingam and Ganesha in the 'shared' sanctum, Kartikeya preferred to keep himself covered with an apron. That practice holds good in the rehabilitated setup also.'

Laxmi Narayan Temple in Bilaspur, where the Shankeshwar Temple Now Stands

Another place where Kartikeya temples can still be found in Kullu. One particular temple is the Kartikeya temple at Khakhnal, enroute from Naggar to Manali, where Skanda is still worshipped with full rituals. Sanjeeva Pandey had documented the same nearly a decade ago for this Hillpost article, and had described certain interesting things she had seen as follows:

Only about a km ahead of Sajla, on the main Naggar-Manali road, I had to climb up the village of Khakhnal to see this chalet type newly renovated beautiful temple. The location of the temple is simply breathtaking as I could have the full view of the mountain range above the Solang nala.
The temple has two tall poles in its compound denoting the renovations that it has undergone.

.....Close to the front door of main temple, there is an open hut for a Sadhu. As a coincidence, I could meet Baba Dhyan Giri, the current occupant of the Sadhu Hut, who told that he came from Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu), now living in Himalchal for past 19 years visiting and meditating in various temples and forests. Baba narrated the story of Kartikey as son of Shiv and Parvati with six heads, twelve hands but one body, all shown in the image in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

The Original Skanda Kshetra of Pehowa and Achleshwar Dham in Batala

Kartikeya Temple in Pehowa, Haryana

Achleshwar Dham in Batala, Punjab

Jats even today have a gotra name Sheokhand, which they believe comes from the name Skanda. Pehowa, near Kurukshetra, even today houses a temple of Skanda, and many Jats worship him as their clan deity. This temple is believed to be the spot where Kartikeya first came from Kailasa after losing the wager with Ganesha upon the instruction of Siva. The temple strictly observes the celibate form of Skanda, and women are strictly prohibited from entering the temple. Kartikeya manifests here in the form of a pindi or rock formation, as he is said to have sacrificed his skin and blood to Agni in a rage, and mustard oil is poured here on him to cool him down. This temple also is believed to have two lamps burnt by Yudhishthira of the Mahabharata era in memory of the millions who were slain in the war. Achleshwar Dham of Batala, Punjab, carries a similar story, and also houses a temple for Kartikeya. it is believed that Siva, Parvati and other deities had all gathered here to placate Kartikeya and convince him to come back to Kailasa. This place also has a gurdwara dedicated to Nanak Dev ji, where he had come as a bridegroom and performed a miracle of not letting a decrepit wall from collapsing.

The Cult of Baba Balak Nath and its Proximity to Skanda Worship

Perhaps the strongest elements of the survival of the cult of Skanda can be seen in the tradition of Baba Balak Nath. Called the incarnation of Siva in Kali Yuga, His temple is situated in Deotsidh, Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, but is revered by people across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. His association with "Skand" in Satyug, as "Kaul" in Treta and as "Mahakaul" in Dwapara probably relates to the association with Kartikeya.The iconography of Baba Balak Nath is strongly reminiscent of Skanda, with the peacock as a ride, and the snake under the peacock's foot. Baba Balak Nath is also a celibate, and women were not allowed into his cave till last year, where the actual shrine is, much like the practice in Kartikeya temples where he is worshiped in his celibate form. There is also animal sacrifice done at the temple premises to propitiate Balak Nath ji, which also has significant parallels with the animal sacrifices done to propitiate Murugan across various temples in Tamil Nadu. Baba Balak Nath ji is interestingly the kula and/or ishta deva or a large number of Pahadi Rajputs of Hamirpur, a typical trait observed earlier with ruling clans and their worship of Skanda.