"Markandeya continued, 'Then Agni, filled with great joy and delight,
married Swaha in the guise of Siva, and that lady joyfully cohabiting
with him, held the _semen virile_ in her hands. And then she thought
within herself that those who would observe her in that disguise in the
forest, would cast an unmerited slur upon the conduct of those Brahmana
ladies in connection with Agni. Therefore, to prevent this, she should
assume the disguise of a bird, and in that state she should more easily
get out of the forest.'

"Markandeya continued, 'Then assuming the disguise of a winged creature,
she went out of the forest and reached the White Mountain begirt with
clumps of heath and other plants and trees, and guarded by strange
seven-headed serpents with poison in their very looks, and abounding
with _Rakshasas_, male and female _Pisachas_, terrible spirits, and
various kinds of birds and animals. That excellent lady quickly
ascending a peak of those mountains, threw that _semen_ into a golden
lake. And then assuming successively the forms of the wives of the
high-souled seven _Rishis_, she continued to dally with Agni. But on
account of the great ascetic merit of Arundhati and her devotion to her
husband (Vasishtha), she was unable to assume her form. And, O chief of
Kuru's race, the lady Swaha on the first lunar day threw six times into
that lake the _semen_ of Agni. And thrown there, it produced a male
child endowed with great power. And from the fact of its being regarded
by the _Rishis_ as _cast off_, the child born therefrom came to be
called by the name of _Skanda_. And the child had six faces, twelve
ears, as many eyes, hands, and feet, one neck, and one stomach. And it
first assumed a form on the second lunar day, and it grew to the size of
a little child on the third. And the limbs of Guha were developed on the
fourth day. And being surrounded by masses of red clouds flashing forth
lightning, it shone like the Sun rising in the midst of a mass of red
clouds. And seizing the terrific and immense bow which was used by the
destroyer of the _Asura_ Tripura for the destruction of the enemies of
the gods, that mighty being uttered such a terrible roar that the three
worlds with their mobile and immobile divisions became struck with awe.
And hearing that sound which seemed like the rumbling of a mass of big
clouds, the great _Nagas, Chitra_ and _Airavata_, were shaken with fear.
And seeing them unsteady that lad shining w