Kritika
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Agni is the symbol of brightness and brilliance and all weapons with
fire-power. And otherthings of this same category come within the range of
Krittika group. The fire is consideredas purifier for it burns away all that is
sordid, dark and dull, also all that is low and sinfuland inauspicious in the
world. The dross thus blazed away, only effulgence and lightremain. Fire gives
the earth its activity and dynamic and revives it after spells of cold
thatperiodically inflict comatose condition on the earth.It is easy enough to
deduce from fire the causal effect of the Krittika group. Mangal is thelord of
that part of Krittika which is in Mesa Rasi and Mangal is like a mass of
lightning inshining splendor. So the Krittika in Mesha is devastatingly
brilliant, the effulgence beingclosely associated with an incendiary
character.The Krittika of Vrshabha Rasi is brilliant but unlike the Krittika of
Mesa, is notincendiary. The lord of Vrshabha Rasi is Sukra and Sukra stands for
worship of beautyand for poetry and imagination. He is radiantly white like
Snow, the ‘Kunda’ flower andthe 'Utpal’. He is also the encyclopedic expounder
of all branches of learning. It followsthat the Krittika of Vrshabha Rasi is
brilliant but the brilliance does not burn. It is soft andsweet and
benign. The Krittika of Mesha Rasi is doubtless brilliant, it has plenty of
heatwhich burns. The Krittika of Vrshabha Rasi has on the contrary a softened
radiance, awave of brightness that does not hurt. In Western Astrology Krittika
has been described asan incendiary star.Devata Agni is the oldest of all gods
and used to be worshipped all over the world. OldRomans addressed Him Vesta and
worshipped Him without image.“No image Vesta’ssemblance can expressFire is too
subtle to admit of dress”'Agni remains hidden in wood, plants and water
[terrestrial or aerial] Born in the sky itdescends in form of lightning and the
Sun and is the source of energy. It is at the root of allcreation and
expression of speech. In mythology it is ‘Master of the House, Domestic godand
head of the clan’. There are many names of Agni, each is used in inviting
andworshipping Agni for particular function and occasion.Krittika, therefore,
denotes capability to give a desired change in a form by burning out allthe
impurities of life or the wrongs and give birth to purity, morality and
virtues.Mythology describes Krittika as the foster mother of Kartik devata who
is beautiful inappearance and an able commander in a battle. He is still
worshipped in South India. Theideas of Krittika are related to the ideas of a
commander, fighter, a foster mother, nurse oran adopted child;. Since the root
power of every action is Agni, either action of the senses,or digestion, or the
existence of life, it is first worshipped in all Pujas (divine service).
Fordifferent actions (Karmas) the same Agni is worshipped by different names.
Agni isconceived in three planes physical, mental and spiritual. Krittika in
Mesa (Tamo Guna)represents physical creative force. Krittika in Vrshabha (Raja
Guna) represents thefunction of Agni (creative faculty) in mental plane
Ascendant in Krittika: Dignified, proud, honourable, ambitious, skilful,
wealthy, truthful,honest, strong apetite, wavering mind at times.
Moon in
Krittika: Brilliant appearance, well-known, peaceful nature, good advisor,
strongin purpose, determined, intelligent, unstable mind, gifts in fine arts,
moves away from birthplace, combative nature at times. The moon in Krittika
indicates a person who is sharp,penetrating, sarcastic and critical. They are
proud, ambitious, determined and focused onachieving their goals. They can be
crusaders against injustice, protective of others,persistent and stubborn, but
also aggressive and fiery.
After
their marriage, Lord Shiva and Parvati lived happily at Mt. Gandhamadana.
Once, while they were enjoying an intimate moment, a small quantity of Shiva's vital fluid fell
on the ground. Tremendous amount of heat began emanating from it and it
threatened to engulf the entire world in flames. Acting on the advice of Brahma and Vishnu, Agni went there in the guise of a mendicant
and devoured the vital fluid.
Parvati felt insulted. She cursed Agni saying, "From this day thou shall be omnivorous and eat unclean things. The vital fluid that you have devoured shall cause an unbearable inflammation on your body." (Note: See this story for an alternate curse for why Agni became omnivorous.) Instantly, Agni got unbearable inflammation on his body. He beseeched Lord Shiva for a way to end his agony. Lord Shiva said, "You will be relieved of this affliction when you transfer my vital fluid to the womb of a woman." Agni retired to a desolate place, waiting for a suitable woman to arrive. He beheld the six Kritikas, all shivering with cold who arrived there. He then transfered Shiva's vital fluid to their wombs. They became pregnant. When their husbands came to know of this, they cursed the six women, to be turned into stars in a constellation in the sky. Before the transformation, the Kritikas aborted their fetuses on the Himalaya mountains. The holy river Ganga carried the fetuses to a secluded place, called the Sara Vana, which was covered with reeds. After some time, Lord Kartikeya (also calledSkanda) manifested from those reeds. Since he was born to six mothers, he had six heads. Since he was born in the Sara Vana, he is also known as Saravana. [Note: The Six Kritikas are the stars of the constellation pleiades. In other texts, Agni carries the six sparks that fell from the third eye of Shiva, not his vital fluid. The sparks are deposited in a pond in the Sara Vana, where a six babies are born on a lotus each. The Krittikas who came there, nursed the babies. When Parvati and Shiva came there, Parvati took all the babies in her arms and made them into one, albeit with six heads.] The Devas rejoiced at the birth of this child. Lord Shiva and Parvati went to the place where the child was born. Parvati prayed to Shiva that the child may no her and none other as his mother. Shivagranted her this boon. As per a prior prophesy, the child Kartikeya was anointed as the command-in-chief of the Devas. It had been foretold that only he could kill a a demon named Taraka who had been plaguing the Devas. However, that incident is part of another story.
Swallowing of Lord Shiva's sperm had subdued
Agni's radiance. The deities advised him to take Lord Brahma's help. While he
was on his way to Brahma loka, he came across a river named Kutila and requested
her to hold Shiva's sperm. She agreed and requested him to release it in her
waters. In course of time, she became pregnant. The thought of giving birth to
an illegitimate child tormented her, so she went to Lord Brahma to take his
advice. Lord Brahma instructed her to abort her foetus at Udyachal Mountain,
which was covered by the dense forest of reed. Lord Brahma felt that it was a
very safe place for her and nobody will be aware of this incident. Kutila
followed his instructions. Kutila aborted her foetus just according to Lord
Brahma's instructions. The foetus remained there for 10,000 years after which a
child was born, radiant like a rising Sun and eyes like the petals of lotus
flower. The child being hungry started to cry. At that time, all the six Kritikas
were passing through that forest. They were so mesmerised by the child's beauty
that they started quarrelling among themselves as to who should first feed
breast milk to the child. Seeing their quarrel, the child appeared with his six
heads. This way, all the six Kritikas fed their breast milk to the child at a
time. This is the reason why Kartikeya has six heads. (Vamana Purana, Birth of
Kaartikeya) (This is a special lila.)
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