The Birth of Ahaṅkāra as Guha/Skanda and His Appointment as Divine Commander
देवा ऊचुः । भवस्व देवसेनानीर्महेश्वरसुत प्रभो । षण्मुख स्कन्द विश्वेश कुक्कुटध्वज पावके ॥ २५.४० ॥
devā ūcuḥ | bhavasva devasenānīr maheśvarasuta prabho | ṣaṇmukha skanda viśveśa kukkuṭadhvaja pāvake || 25.40 ||
ദേവന്മാർ പറഞ്ഞു— “ഹേ പ്രഭോ, മഹേശ്വരസുതാ! നീ ദേവസേനകളുടെ സേനാനിയായിരിക്ക. ഹേ ഷൺമുഖ സ്കന്ദാ, വിശ്വേശാ, കുക്കുടധ്വജാ, ഹേ പാവകാ!”
Devāḥ (the gods)
It preserves a conventional Purāṇic stuti-formula where the gods invoke Skanda/Kārttikeya as commander (devasenānī), reflecting the wider Sanskritic motif of divine military leadership and the crystallization of deity-epithets for liturgical and narrative use.
No geographic toponym is explicit in this verse; the content is primarily invocatory and titulary rather than site-specific.
The verse does not present a direct moral injunction; its philosophical emphasis is on legitimate leadership and collective order, expressed through the gods’ request for a capable commander and the recognition of responsibility attached to authority.
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