of giving thee suck.  Lo, the milk oozes from our breasts!” On hearing these words, the mighty Mahasena became desirous of sucking their breasts and he received them with due respect and acceded to their request.  And that mightiest of mighty creatures then beheld his father Agni come towards him.  And that god, who is the doer of all that is good, was duly honoured by his son, and in company with the Mothers, he stayed there by the side of Mahasena to tend him.  And that lady amongst the Mothers who was born of Anger[34] with a spike in hand kept watch over Skanda even like a mother guarding her own offspring, and that irascible red-coloured daughter of the Sea, who lived herself on blood, hugged Mahasena in her breast and nursed him like a mother.  And Agni transforming himself into a trader with a goat’s mouth and followed by numerous children began to gratify that child of his with toys in that mountain abode of his.’”

    [34] Anger personified is a deity.

SECTION CCXXVI

“Markandeya continued, ’The planets with their satellites, the Rishis and the Mothers, Agni and numerous other blazing courtiers and many other dwellers of heaven of terrible mien, waited on Mahasena along with the Mothers.  And the illustrious sovereign of the gods, desirous of victory but believing success to be doubtful mounted his elephant Airavata and attended by the other gods advanced towards Skanda.  That mighty being followed by all the celestials was armed with his thunderbolt.  And with the object of slaying Mahasena, he marched with terrible celestial army of great splendour, sounding their shrill war-cry and furnished with various sorts of standards, with warriors encased in various armour and armed with numerous bows and riding on various animals.  When Mahasena beheld the gloriously decked Sakra, attired in his best clothes, advancing with the determination of slaying him, he (too on his part) advanced to meet that chief of the celestials.  O Partha, the mighty Vasava, the lord of the celestials, then uttered a loud shout, to encourage his warriors and marching rapidly with the view of killing Agni’s son and praised by Tridasas[35] and great Rishis, he at length reached the abode of Kartikeya.  And then he shouted out with other gods; and Guha too in response to this, uttered a fearful war-cry resembling the roaring of the sea.  On hearing that noise, the celestial army behaved like an agitated sea, and was stunned and fixed to the spot.  And that son of Pavaka (the Fire-god) beholding the gods come near to him with the object of killing him, was filled with wrath, and gave out rising flame of fire from within his mouth.  And these flames destroyed the celestial forces struggling on the ground.  Their heads, their bodies, their arms and riding animals were all burnt in that conflagration and they appeared all on a sudden like stars displaced from their proper