Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
षण्मुखात्षण्मुखो नाम कार्त्तिकेयस्तु कृत्तिकात् । कुमारश्च कुमारत्वाद्गङ्गागर्भोऽग्निजोऽपरः
ṣaṇmukhātṣaṇmukho nāma kārttikeyastu kṛttikāt | kumāraśca kumāratvādgaṅgāgarbho'gnijo'paraḥ
Parce qu’il avait six visages, on l’appela Ṣaṇmukha; à cause des Kṛttikās, il fut connu comme Kārttikeya. Éternellement jeune, il fut nommé Kumāra; et l’on le célébra aussi comme Gaṅgā-garbha et comme Agnija, «né du Feu».
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Gaṅgā-garbha); Agni (Agnija); Kṛttikā (nakṣatra sanctity)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Bhārata (contextual)
Scene: A composite iconographic tableau: Skanda shown with six faces (Ṣaṇmukha), a starry Kṛttikā cluster above, Agni as a radiant flame-form to one side, and Gaṅgā as a flowing goddess-river below; inscriptions of names around the halo.
FAQs
Divine names preserve sacred history: each epithet encodes a dharmic meaning and a lineage of divine care and purpose.
Gaṅgā is honored through the epithet Gaṅgā-garbha, portraying her as a sanctified bearer of the divine child.
None; the verse is a theological naming (nāma-māhātmya) that supports devotion through remembrance.