kinnara nāga sid'dha gandharbā. badhunha samēta calē sura sarbā. 1.
biṣnu biran̄ci mahēsu bihā'ī. calē sakala sura jāna banā'ī. 2.
The Kinnars (celestial dancers), the Naagas^1 (subterranean serpents), the Siddhas
(mystics), the Gandharvas (celestial musicians and singers), and all the rest of the
gods^2 , accompanied by their respective consorts, proceeded to attend the fire sacrifice
of Daksha. (1)
All the gods and their consorts—except the three chief gods of the Trinity, viz.
Brahma the creator, Vishnu the sustainer, and Shiva the concluder^3 —boarded their
decorated aerial chariots and headed to the fire sacrifice of Daksha. (2)
[Note—^1 The “Naagas”—Though the word ‘Naag’, simply put, means a sepent or
snake, from mythological point of view they are semi-gods. the brief story of their
origin is as follows—Sage Kashyap and his wife Kadru had 1000 sons who had 1000
hoods each. They were called the ‘Naagas’, and they ruled over the subterranean
world. Out of them, there were 26 main Naagas such as Anant, Vaasuki, Shesh,
Karkootak, Shankha, Kambal, Mahaaneel, Takshak, Padma, Mahaapadma,
Mahaashankha, etc. The story is narrated in Padma Puran, Sristi Khanda, and Vishnu
Puran, Section 1, Canto 21, verse no. 1-3.
(^2) The Gods and their sub-classes—The creator Brahma created ten levels in
creation. Out of them, the ‘gods’ constitute one level. According to Bhagwat Maha
Puran, 3/10/27-28, the ‘gods’ themselves are classified into eight sub-classes or
sections—viz. (i) Devta (the higher immortal gods), (ii) Pittar (spirit of dead
ancestors), (iii) Asur (non-gods, but not mortal creatures), (iv) Gandharva and Apsara
(celestial singers and musicians and their women), (v) Yaksha and Raksha (lower
forms of Asurs and demoted spirits; demons in spirit form), (vi) Siddha (mystics),
Chaaran (bards) and Vidyaadhar (lower spirits who possessed special skills and were
learned but not qualified to become full gods), (vii) Bhut-Pret-Pishach (ghosts,
phantoms, evil spirits), and (viii) Kinnars (celestial dancers). Refer also to:
Amarkosh, Swarga Varga 1, verse no. 11.
The Gandharvas have a yellow complexion. They are said to be the sons of
Kashyap Prajaapati and his wife Arishtaa. The Apsaraas are said to be their wives.
They are regarded as the custodians of ‘Soma’ (the elixir of the gods that is stored in
the Moon), medicine men of gods (because they give the Soma as a miracle potion
for all ailments), propagators of heavenly knowledge, the controllers of the
Nakshatras (zodiac signs and stars), etc. The patron god of the Gandharvas is
‘Varun’, the Water-God, and their chief or leader is Chitra-rath. The main
Gandharvas are eleven in number as follows—Haha, Huhu, Chitrasen/Chitra-rath,
Vidhyaadhar, Hansa, Vishwaa-vasu, Paraa-vasu, Gomaau, Tumburu, Viraadha and
Nandi.
According to Taittiriiya Aaranyaka, (i, 9, 3), there are eleven sub-classes of
Gandharvas. But according to Agni Puran, the Gandharvas have twelve sub-classes,
and they are Abhrajya, Andhaari, Rambhaari, Suryavarchaa, Kridhu, Hasta, Suhasta,
Hans/Swan, Murdahwaan, Mahaamanaa, Vishwaa-vasu, and Krishaanu.
(^3) Daksha had become so arrogant that he did not even invite his mentor, the
creator Brahma. Daksha kept ill-will with Shiva, and since all the gods of the Trinity
were deemed to be the same Brahm, the Supreme Being, in three different forms to
carry out three different functions of creation, viz. to create (Brahma), to sustain
(Vishnu) and to conclude (Shiva), Daksha decided to neglect all of them. But the
other gods should have paid attention to the fact that these three gods of the Trinity
were the senior most amongst them, and to by-pass them just to get their own share of
the sacrificial offerings by someone (Daksha) who has insulted the Trinity Gods by
not inviting them, and to whom all the gods paid their obeisance and bowed before,
was an unacceptable thing by any criterion. The gods had to pay a heavy price for this
deemed insult to the Trinity Gods—because we shall read a little later how Lord