सप्तत्रिंशोऽध्यायः अथातो ग्रहोत्पत्तिमध्यायं व्याख्यास्यामः, यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः॥१॥
Now we shall discourse onthe chapter which deals with the origin of the (nine) Grahas (Grahotpatti-Adhyaya ). 1
नव स्कन्दादयः प्रोक्ता बालानां य इमे ग्रहाः । श्रीमन्तो दिव्यवपुषो नारीपुरुषविग्रहाः ॥ २॥
एते गुहस्य रक्षार्थं कृत्तिकोमाग्निशूलिभिः । सृष्टाः शरवणस्थस्य रक्षितस्यात्मतेजसा ॥ ३ ॥
स्त्रीविग्रहा ग्रहा ये तु नानारूपा मयेरिताः । गङ्गोमाकृत्तिकानां ते भागा राजसतामसाः ॥ ४॥
The nine presiding deities– viz., Skanda and others- of the nine diseases of infant life are all possessed of ethereal frames, divine effulgence and specific sex-distinction of their own. They were created by the gods Agni, Mahadeva and the goddesses Krttika and Uma for guarding the person of the new-born Guha through protecting himself with his own divine prowerss amidst the stems of Sara grass. Of these Grahas the females who are possessed of various shapes and described before are considered as originally made of the Rajasa essence of the godess Ganga, Uma and Krttika. 2-4.
नैगमेषस्तु पार्वत्या सृष्टो मेषाननो ग्रहः । कुमारधारी देवस्य गुहस्यात्मसमः सखा ॥५॥
स्कन्दापस्मारसंज्ञो यः सोऽग्निनाऽग्निसमद्युतिः | स च स्कन्दसखा नाम विशाख इति चोच्यते ॥ ६ ॥
स्कन्दः सृष्टो भगवता देवेन त्रिपुरारिणा ।
बिभर्ति चापरां संज्ञां कुमार इति स ग्रहः ॥ ७॥
The Naigamesa Graha who is possessed of a sheep’s face was created by the goddess Parvati as the friend and protector of the young god guha and who was as dear to him as his own self. Skandapasmara, the presiding deity of the disease named after him, was created by Agni the fire-god (Vulcan ). He is as bright as fire itself and is a constant companion of the god Skanda and is also known by the name of Visakha. The god Skanda, the tutelar divinity of the disease of that denomination, was begotten by His Holiness, the Almighty Destroyer of Tripura and is otherwise known by the name of Kumara (lit. a child, Viz., of Mahadeva). 5-7.
बाललीलाधरो योऽयं देवो रुद्राग्निम्भवः । मिथ्याचारेषु भगवान् स्वयं नैव प्रवर्तते ॥ ८ ॥
कुमारः स्कन्दसामान्यादत्र केचिदपण्डिताः । गृह्णातीत्यल्पविज्ञाना ब्रुवते देहचिन्तकाः ॥ ९॥
It is impossible that the god springing from Rudra and Agni with his exalted parentage would find pleasure in such a dangerous disease even out of childish frolic someness and it has also been asserted by eminent authorities on the physical science that some unintelligent persons have been misled into holding, through a mistake due to the identity of the names, that the author of the disease under discussion (Skanda) is no other than the invincibe Skanda. 8-9.
ततो भगवति स्कन्दे सुरसेनापतौ कृते । उपतस्थुर्ग्रहाः सर्वे दीप्तशक्तिधरं गुहम् ॥ १० ॥
ऊचुः प्राञ्जलयश्चैनं वृत्तिं नः संविधत्स्व वै । तेषामर्थे ततः स्कन्दः शिवं देवमचोदयत् ॥ ११ ॥
ततो ग्रहांस्तानुवाच भगवान् भगनेत्रहृत् । तिर्यग्योनिं मानुषञ्च दैवञ्च त्रितयं जगत् । परस्परोपकारेण वर्तते धार्यतेऽपि च ॥ १२ ॥
देवा मनुष्यान् प्रीणन्ति तैर्यग्योनींस्तथैव च । वर्तमानैर्यथाकालं शीतवर्षोष्णमारुतः ॥ १३ ॥
हव्याञ्जलिनमस्कार जपहोमव्रतादिभिः । नराः सम्यक्प्रयुक्तैश्च प्रीणन्ति त्रिदिवेश्वरान् ॥ १४ ॥
भागधेयं विभक्तञ्च शेषं किञ्चिन्न विद्यते । तद् युष्माकं शुभा वृत्तिर्बालेष्वेव भविष्यति ॥ १५ ॥
On The effulgent god Skanda’s being elevated to the leadership of the armies of Heaven, the presiding deities of those diseases waited upon him and with folded palms asked him about the means of their subsistence. The god Skanda in his turn, referred them to His Holiness the god Siva for the answer, whereupon they went to the latter in a body and made the same query. Mahadeva, the Destroyer of Bhaga’s eyes, replied “Gods, men and other animals, O, ye Grahas, exist on the principle of reciprocal benefit.¹ The gods minister to the wants of men and beasts, etc., by marshalling different seasons of the year and by setting the air in motion and sending down the rain, and men, in their turn, propitiate the gods by duly and reverentially performingthe sacrificial rites, by saying their prayers with blended palms, by bowing down in reverence, and by repetition of prayers, religious vows and other religious observances. All services and their emoluments in consequence have been filled up and settled and there remains nothing for you to fill. Your proper means of subsistence will, therefore, be in the life of an infant (though the emoluments you shall receive shall be stained with the tears of many an anxious, watchful and night-worn parent). 10-15.
कुलेषु येषु नेज्यन्ते देवाः पितर एव च । ब्राह्मणाः साधवश्चैव गुरवोऽतिथयस्तथा ॥ १६ ॥
निवृत्ताचारशौचेषु परपाकोपभोजिषु । उत्सन्नबलिभिक्षेषु भिन्नकांस्योपभोजिषु ॥ १७॥
गृहेषु तेषु ये बालास्तान् गृह्णीध्वमशङ्किताः । तत्र वो विपुला वृत्तिः पूजा चैव भविष्यति ॥ १८ ॥
1. Exchange or reciprocity of services underlies the foundation of all distinct and cognitive, existences, whether beasts, men or gods. the worlds are linked to one another by bonds of service. Give-and-take is the law of the universe. Duty implies obligation.
Children of the families in which the gods, the Pitris (departed fathers), the Brahmans, the pious, the preceptors and the seniors and the guests are not properly worshipped and attended upon and wherein the rules of clanliness and virtues are not observed and the members of which do not make daily offerings to the gods and give alms to beggars and live on food prepared by others and eat from broken bowls and plates of Indian bell-metal would be the proper persons whom you might strike with impunity, and by your malign influence lay them up with diseases peculiar to infant life. (It shall be your duty to see that iniquities of the parents are visited on their children. Attack them without least compunction of heart and ample means of subsistence will be thereby secured to you). There the parents of those children will worship you in their calamities and you shall get plenty to live upon.” 16-18.
एवं ग्रहाः समुत्पन्ना बालान् गृह्णन्ति चाप्यतः । ग्रहोपसृष्टा बालास्तु दुश्चिकित्स्यतमा मताः ॥ १९ ॥
वैकल्यं मरणञ्चाशु ध्रुवं स्कन्दग्रहे मतम् । स्कन्दग्रहोऽत्युग्रतमः सर्वेष्वेव यतः स्मृतः । अन्यो वा सर्वरूपस्तु न साध्यो ग्रह उच्यते ॥ २० ॥
Thus the Grahas came into being and began to attack the children (of iniquitious parents), and it is therefore that a child attacked by a malignant Graha becomes very hard to be cured. Death or permanent disfigurement of any limb or organ is sure to ensure from an attack of Skanda Graha, since he is the most d readful of all the Grahas. A case of full-developed attack by any other Graha should be likewise held as incurable. 19-20.
इति सश्रुत संहितायामुत्तरतन्त्रे ग्रहोत्पत्तिव्याख्यानाम सप्तत्रिंशोऽध्यायः ॥ ३७॥
Thus ends the thirty-seventh chapter of the Utiara Tantra in the Susruta Samhita which deals with the origin of the Grahas.
