Svaha- Hindu GodDeity"Goddess of Oblations"
Also known as: Swaha, स्वाहा, and Svāhā
Titles & Epithets
Domains
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Description
Without her name, no offering reaches the gods. Svaha is the word spoken when oblations enter the fire, and also the goddess who, disguised as six sages' wives, carried Shiva's unbearable seed to the reeds by the Ganga where the war god Skanda was born.
Mythology & Lore
The Word
When a priest pours ghee or grain into the sacrificial fire, the word "svaha" must be spoken or the offering does not reach the gods. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that Agni will not consume an oblation unless Svaha accompanies it. She is his wife, daughter of Daksha, and no fire sacrifice works without her.
Skanda's Birth
When Shiva's fiery seed was released, Agni was tasked with carrying it, but the heat was unbearable even for the fire god. Svaha took the forms of six of the seven wives of the Saptarishis and approached Agni on six separate occasions, receiving the seed from him each time. She carried it to the Sara reeds by the Ganga and deposited it there. From those reeds the six-headed Kartikeya was born. The Mahabharata's Vana Parva names Svaha as the one who carried and placed the seed, making her a mother-figure alongside the Krittikas who nursed the child.
Relationships
- Family