Here I come again and today with letter K. You all must be thinking that I would be writing about my dear friend little Krishna here isn’t it? But you got it wrong my dear friends. Today I am going to tell you about the boy with Six Heads. He is also the Army Chief for Gods in our Indian Mythology.
His name is Karthikeya. He is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Karthikeya was born with six heads. Can you imagine how a baby with six heads would look like? Funny isn’t it? When Shiva and Parvati decided to have the baby, nobody could carry that baby who would be as powerful as Lord Shiva and Parvati, so he fell down from the sky into the river Ganges. The river Ganges has cooled this baby with all its cool water, as the baby was very hot in the initial days. Then six Krithika’s (the stars in the dark night) have given milk to this baby and so he had six heads for that reason. That’s the reason why he is named as Karthikeya.
There is this bad demon named Tarakasura, who was troubling all the sages and gods alike. Since Tarakasura has a boon that he would be killed only by the son born to Lord Shiva, all the god’s request Karthikeya to get rid of Tarakasura and give them peace. So, this small boy with six heads goes to the fight and kills Tarakasura. All the god’s become so happy that they award him the post of Army Chief from their side.
After returning back to his parents, in Kailash, Kartikeya finds out that he has a brother named Ganesha. So both of them started to play together and have lots of fun together. But at the same time, Karthikeya used to tease a lot for the vehicle Ganesha uses. Ganesha uses the small rat, whereas Karthikeya uses the Peacock which can also fly and it looks beautiful too.
One day, the sage Narada came to Kailash and gave a beautiful fruit to Shiva and Parvati. At that time, as both the kids were sitting with their parents, they both started asking Lord Shiva to share that fruit with them. So then Shiva had kept a test for them.
The test is that – whoever goes around the world and takes bath in all the holy theerathams (i.e., lakes/waterfalls/rivers/seas – depending on the holy place) and comes back to the parents first would get that fruit.
As soon as, Lord Shiva narrated the rules of the test, Karthikeya flew fastly using his peacock. Then Ganesha felt sad and sat there crying. Seeing Ganesha’s plight, Sage Narada told him a secret. Can you guess that secret?
For Kids – their parents should be their world and so if he can go around his parents, he would cover the entire world. Ganesha just did that, and he completed going around his parents three times.
So in the meantime, where ever Karthikeya went, he saw Ganesha coming out after the bath from that holy theeratham. So Karthikeya didn’t understand what’s happening. When he returned back to Mount Kailas, he saw Ganesha playing with his parents. He got curious and asked his parents for the reason behind this magic?
Then Lord Shiva has explained that for Kids, their parents are the whole world and the kids should never leave their parents and go out alone. And since Ganesha just did that, it’s as good as going around the world. Hearing this fact, Karthikeya realized this mistake and kept quiet. Both the brothers became friends once again.
Lessons I learnt from this Army Chief:
- We should always be willing to help others when they ask for help. (This small boy had killed a big demon as the god’s had requested for his help right?)
- We always should be friendly and affectionate towards our brothers
- For kids, their parents should be their whole world. Irrespective of whether the kids themselves have more strength and wisdom than their parents.
So, Friends, I have completed the story of the boy with six heads, who has become the chief of the army for the gods. Hope you liked it. Please click this link to know more about my stories under this #A to Z Challenge. Loved to be here and excited to share my Indian Mythology stories here.
Interesting read.
The story about the fruit… some say it’s to explain something related to science. Relate it to an atom, proton/neutron and electrons….
Very nicely written. Kids are going to enjoy it.
Thank you Paromita for loving it. And also for visiting my blog
I knew soms and learnt some more from your stories. great series.
Thank you Ujjwal for liking the series
I was waiting for this one, K has to be Karthikeya. I had once visited Karthikeya temple an dI was so amazed to see his baal rrop, just like kanha..
I liked the ‘ lessons learnt ‘ at end of the interesting story. My son , when he was kid, always preferred to have a moral of the story at the end.
Indian mythology is fascinating for kids and adults . Guessing what tommorow’ s mythological character will be
https://ideasolsi65.blogspot.com/2019/04/kidneys-parts-of-body.html?m=1
Thank you Kalpana…keep guessing
That’s some good learnings you took from that story.
As a working mother I feel I *do* have six heads – how else would I be able to wear so many different hats? 😉 Chef, Maid, Driver, Psychologist, Laundry Person, Supporter,…
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2019/04/under-arrest-k-is-for-k9.html
Thank you Tamara. Yes as a working mother we do wear additional hat of our job too, apart from all the other hats
Beautiful message. All places of pilgrimage is completed if one takes a round around parents. What a grand essence. In our part of the country, Karthikeya is called Kartik. He is very handsome. He comes with mother Durga every autumn. Mothers want their sons should look as handsome as Kartik.
Yes very true Abhijit. I know in some versions, Karthik is called son of Durga maa
That was wonderful Indian mythology with a very important message. Thanks.
insightful.co.in
Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and liking the post
Love the lessons you have shared, A must read post especially for the kids.
Thank you Vartika
I am a big fan of Indian mythology and you have brpughb my childhood back. I am now regularly narrating your stories to my kid.
Thanks a lot Sweta. I am humbled with your kind words
I honestly thought it would be K for Krishna. So glad you chose Karthik instead. Durga Ma is supposed to be the mother of Karthik and Ganesha as per the Mythology popular in Bengal. Good to know a new story from you today.
My son talks about Krishna all the time. So we used this letter to teach him new character
True.. thanks for liking my post
Some names I recognise but Karthikeyan is a new one to me. Traditional stories generally contain such good concepts for children learning to cope in the world. – Thank you!
Thank you Nancy for liking it. And, Yes that’s the beauty of the traditional stories that they can be applied even today and we can learn lot of lessons from them.
This one is a familiar story for me…Beautifully penned…. It’s a lovely post again Suhasini..
Thank you Singhal for liking the post.
I am intrigued by your exhaustive mythological knowledge and great research begins this series buddy. Keep it up!
Thank you Roma
What a delight to make my way here today. Love your theme and today’s story and will work my way back to the earlier letters.
Thanks a lot Deborah for liking my story. Please feel free to explore my earlier stories as well.
I knew this secret! 😀 Do I get prize?
Definitely dear…my kid would love to share his goodies with you, as you are his staunch supporter.
I knew about Ganesh and Karthikeya’s race around the world story but wasnt aware of the earlier life story of Karthikeya. Thanks for sharing it. An interesting read!
Thank you Shilpa for liking it.