Shloka 20
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
दिव्यसम्भारसंयुक्तैः कलशै: काउचनैर्न॑प । सरस्वतीभि: पुण्याभिर्दिव्यतोयाभिरेव तु
divyasambhārasaṃyuktaiḥ kalaśaiḥ kāñcanair nṛpa | sarasvatībhiḥ puṇyābhir divyatoyābhir eva tu || rudrair vasubhir ādityair aśvibhyāṃ ca vṛtaḥ prabhuḥ | mahāparākramī kumāraḥ kārtikeyo nṛśaṃsa-bhayaṅkaraḥ senāpatipade ’bhiṣicyata ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: O king, with golden pitchers furnished with divine requisites and filled with sacred, celestial waters, the seven holy Sarasvatīs performed the consecration. Surrounded by the Rudras, the Vasus, the Ādityas, and the two Aśvins, the mighty Lord Kumāra Kārtikeya—terrible to the asuras and of great prowess—was anointed to the office of commander-in-chief. The scene presents a model of rightful investiture: power is not seized, but ritually entrusted by the gods through purity, order, and collective sanction.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Authority and martial power are portrayed as legitimate when conferred through purity, ritual order, and collective divine sanction—suggesting that leadership should be entrusted, not merely taken.
The gods and divine classes (Rudras, Vasus, Ādityas, and the Aśvins) stand around Kumāra Kārtikeya while the sacred Sarasvatīs, using golden pitchers filled with divine water, perform his consecration as commander-in-chief.