Sushruta Samhita Uttaratantra Chapter 37 Grahotpatti Adhyaya (Genesis of Grahas)

AIAPGET Points

– Number of Grahas according to Aharya Sushruta – 9. Some are male and some are female Grahas.

– Graha Rogas – The diseases occurring in children when they get seized by Grahas are called Graha Rogas.

– Form of Grahas – magnificent, have divine yet inhuman forms or non-human forms.

– Who created Grahas? – Kritika, Uma, Agni and Suli (Lord Shiva)

– Purpose with which Grahas were created – to protect Guha (Subramanya) though Guha was protected by his own radiance.

– Features of Female Grahas – have different forms, are forms of Ganga, Uma and Krtika, predominant in Rajo Guna or Tamo Guna in nature

– Features of Naigamesa Graha – has goat face, created by Parvati, holds Kumara (Lord Kartikeya) and is a good friend of Lord Guha (who is like himself)

– Features of Skanda Graha (synonyms – Sikanda Sakha, Visakha, Kumara Graha) – was created by Lord Tripurari (Lord Shiva), created by Agni and hence has fire-like radiance.

– SKANDA – was appointed as the commander of the army of GODS.

– Three kinds of living beings according to Lord Shiva (as said to Grahas) – Tiryak Yoni (animals), Manusa Yoni (human beings) and Deva Yoni (divine species).

– Whom do the Grahas seize? – Children of those families who do not worship or respect Gods, their forefathers, Brahmanas, Ascetics, Preceptors and Guests. Those who have abandoned all righteous behaviours and rules of cleanliness. Those who subsist and depend on foods prepared for others and those who do not offer oblations to Gods and alms to the needy. Those who eat food in broken vessels.

– When seized by Skanda Graha – BODY DISTORTION or DEATH of the child is almost sure.

– SKANDA GRAHA is said to be the most terrific and troublesome amongst all Grahas. It is impossible to cure the child seized by SKANDA GRAHA.

The 37th chapter of Uttaratantra of Sushruta Samhita is named as Grahotpatti Adhyaya. This chapter deals with the Genesis of Grahas.

That is Chapter on the Origin of the Planets Let us explain ||१||
Just enough God Dhanvantari ||२||

We will now expound Grahotpatti Adhyaya – chapter on genesis of graha (evil spirits); as revealed by the venerable Dhanvantari.

Origin of Grahas

New Skanda and others Prokta Children's this Ime The planets |
Mr. and Mrs divine man Conflicts between men and women ||३||
These Guhasya For the sake of protection with the spears of the fire of Krittika |
created of the Sharavanastha by the self-glory of the protected ||४||

There are in total nine Grahas by names Skanda Graha etc. All these Grahas would seize the children and cause many diseases. They are called Graha Rogas. Among these Grahas, some are male and some are female. They are magnificent and have divine yet inhuman forms or non-human forms. These Grahas were created by Kritika, Uma, Agni and Suli (Lord Shiva) with the purpose of protecting Guha (Subramanya) in spite of him being protected by the radiance of his own.

Features of Grahas

Strivigraha The planet These You variety of forms Mayeritah |
of the Gangoma figures That ran Rajas and Tamas ||५||
Naigameshastu Parvatya creations Meshanno The planets |
Kumardhari of the god equal to the self of the cave friend ||६||
Skanda is known as forgetfulness who He is as bright as fire by fire |
S f Skandasakha Name Vishakh so far It is said ||७||
Skanda: creations The Lord Deven tripurarina |
distortion four-legged The noun Kumar so far S The planet ||८||

The female Grahas have the below mentioned features –

– They have different forms

– They are forms or parts of Ganga, Uma and Krttika (creted by Uma etc)

– They are predominantly Rajasa (rich in Rajo guna) or Tamasa (rich in Tamo guna) in nature

Naigamesa –

– has the face of a goat

– is created by Parvati,

– holds kumara (divine protector of Lord Kartikeya who is also known as Kumara), and

– is a good friend of Lord Guha (who is like himself)

in scanda –

– is also called by other names i.e. Skanda Sakha which means friend of Skanda and also bys name – Visakha and Kumara Graha

– was created by Lord Tripurari i.e. Lord Siva

– created by Agni (fire)

– and hence has radiance like that of fire

Balliladharo Which is this god Rudragnisambhavah |
in false practices God Self Naish proceed ||९||
The young man Skandasamanyadtra Some are scholars |
Little knowledge that it takes speaks Body thinkers ||१०||

These grahas mentioned above, created by Lord Rudra and Lord Agni are childish in nature and do childlike activities. They would seize only those children who are indulged in unrighteous activities. The Gods Rudra and Agni would never seize children all by themselves and it is only the grahas which would seize the children.

The unwise physicians who do not have much knowledge of Grahas consider Kumara and Skannda Graha as one and the same due to ignorance. This is because of similar names and attributes of both these Grahas.

Then Lord Skanda, the commander of the army of the gods, was worshipped
All the planets approached the cave, which held the glowing power
They said with folded hands, “Make us live
For their sake, Skanda then urged Lord Shiva
Then Lord Bhaganetraharta addressed the planets
The three worlds are animal, human and destiny
It exists and is sustained by mutual benefit
The gods please men with them and so do the animals
with the present cold rain and hot winds at the right time
Ijyanjalinamaskarajapahomavrataadibhih ||15||
Men please the gods of the heavens with their properly used
There is nothing left to share and divide
That will be your good behavior in children
In the families in which the gods and the ancestors are not worshipped
Brahmins, saints, teachers and guests
They have ceased to be morally clean and live on the cooking of others
They were eating broken bronze in the sacrificial alms that were raised
Take the children who are in those houses without hesitation
There you will have abundant income and worship
Thus the planets arise and take children from there
Children affected by the planets are considered to be the most difficult to treat
Disorder and death are certain in the planet Skanda
The planet Skanda is the most fierce of all because it is remembered
Another or all-forming planet is not achievable

In olden days, Skanda was appointed as the commander of the army of Gods. The remaining Grahas reached Guha. They were holding many kinds of weapons. They saluted the lord with folded hands and requested him to allot work for them to do.

On receiving such a request by the Grahas, Lord Skanda went to Lord Siva to seek help in this regard. After hearing from Lord Skanda, Lord Siva who was the same who had destroyed the eyes of sage Bhaga (Bhrugu), spoke to all the Grahas and said – ‘This world consists of three kinds of living beings. The first one is Triyak yoni which comprises animals. The second type of living beings are Manusa Yoni i.e. human beings. And the last type is called Deva Yoni i.e. divine species. These three species of living help one another and thus support and maintain the dynamics of this world / creation.

Gods provide cold, rain, heat and breeze at appropriate times and seasons and hence satisfy the needs of humans and animals.

Similarly, the human beings offer sacrifices, obeisances with folded hands as a mark of respect and devotion and bow at the feet of Gods as part of their worship. They also perform meditation, fire sacrifices and observe many kinds of vows etc. They offer oblations to the Gods in such a way that nothing remains for you all.

Your best inclination and focus should be with children only because you are all created to protect the child.

The best thing you all can do is to seize the children of those families who have declined worshiping and respecting Gods and their forefathers and also Brahmanas, ascetics, preceptors and guests. Similarly, you can seize those who have abandoned all righteous behavior and rules of cleanliness and those people who subsist and depend only on the foods which are prepared for others and those who do not offer oblations to Gods and alms to the needy people. You can also seize those people who eat food using broken vessels. By doing so, you will not have any complaints. You will all have enough work and also worship from others that you are seeking for.”

Thus, ordered by Lord Shiva, all the grahas started seizing the children from then onwards. It is said that when a child is seized by a graha and develops related diseases, it becomes very difficult to cure them. Distortion of the body of the child or death is almost certain when the child is seized by Skandagraha. Among all other grahas, Skanda Graha is said to be the most terrific and troublesome. Therefore, it becomes impossible to cure the child seized by Skanda Graha. Similarly, even the seizure of the other Grahas also become difficult to cure when they manifest with full blown symptoms.

This is the thirty-seventh chapter of the Prahotpattya-adhyayana (Chapter Eleven, from the beginning) in the Kumara-tantra, within the Uttara-tantra, in the Śrī Sushruta-saṁhitā.

Thus ends the thirty-seventh chapter by name Grahotpatti in Uttarasthana of Suśruta Samhita.