purusha (“person,” or spirit), and an
unconscious but active prakrti
(“nature”). According to the Samkhya
proponents, failure to discriminate
between the two leads to the evolution
of the world and the individual person,
whereas correct understanding reverses
this process. Samkhya provides the the-
oretical basis for the Yoga school, which
essentially details techniques to help
one gain the correct understanding
between these two entities. Purva
Mimamsa stresses the study of the Vedas
as the source of instruction for human
beings, an emphasis that led it to
develop sophisticated theories of lan-
guage and methods for textual interpre-
tation. These tools were used by the
Vedanta school in its efforts to reveal the
ultimate meaning of the Vedas. Most of
the first millennium during the com-
mon era was a time of lively debate
among these schools, each of which
held varying positions on basic things
such as the reality of the world. By the
end of the millennium Vedanta had
become the most significant philosoph-
ical perspective, largely eclipsing the
others, although it had absorbed certain
influences from them. For further infor-
mation see Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
and Charles A. Moore (eds.), A Source-
book in Indian Philosophy, 1957.Skanda
Hindu deitywho is the son of the god
Shiva. Skanda is born to destroy the
demon Taraka, who has received the
divine boon that he can only be killed by
a son of Shiva. When Taraka makes this
request, Shiva is deep in meditation in
his grief after the death of his wife Sati,
and it seems unlikely that such a son can
ever be born. After Taraka grows too
strong, the other gods begin the process
of trying to encourage Shiva to marry,
which results in his wedding with the
goddess Parvati.
Despite the marriage of Shiva and
Parvati, Skanda is born in an unusual
way. According to the legend, Shiva and
Parvati are disturbed while making love,
and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen
on the ground (the verb skandmeans
“to leap” or “to ooze”). In Indian culture
semen is seen as a man’s concentrated
essence, and for a deity like Shiva this
means that the semen is inordinately
powerful, capable of destroying the
earth. The semen is first held by the god
Agni, who is fire personified, but it
proves too powerful for him. Agni then
puts it in the River Ganges, and after
10,000 years the river deposits a shining
child in the reeds by its bank. The child
is discovered by the Krittikas (the
Pleiades personified), each of whom
want to nurse him. To oblige them
Skanda grows five extra heads. As a
mark of the Krittikas’ care, one of his
epithets is Kartikkeya. Skanda grows
rapidly, assumes command of Shiva’s
heavenly host (gana), and kills the
troublesome Taraka. His persona
remains that of a warrior prince, unlike
that of his brother Ganesh, who is a
scholar and sage.SkandaSkanda, the god Shiva’s son. Skanda is a warrior
prince, born to defeat the demon Taraka.