Then, all the gods, led by Indra and Agni, approached the blessed Grandfather Brahmā, bowing before him in reverence. They addressed him with concern, saying, “O Lord, the commander of the divine army whom you once appointed is now absorbed in severe austerities alongside his wife. For the welfare of the worlds, O knower of cosmic order, please arrange what must be done. You are our supreme refuge.” Hearing their words, the Grandfather of all the worlds comforted the immortals with gentle speech and replied, “What the daughter of the mountain, Umā, has spoken is not fitting for those who have their own wives. Her words are pure and true, beyond doubt. But this celestial Gaṅgā, in whom Agni shall beget a son, will bear the commander of the gods’ army, the destroyer of enemies. The eldest daughter of the king of mountains will honor this son, and he will be greatly esteemed by Umā, without question.” Hearing these words, descendant of Raghu, all the gods, their purpose fulfilled, bowed down and worshipped the Grandfather. Then, they departed to the supreme, jewel-adorned Kailāsa, and there, all the gods appointed Agni for the task of obtaining a son. They said, “O god, accomplish this work for the gods: release your energy into Gaṅgā, the daughter of the mountain.” Agni, having promised the gods, approached Gaṅgā and said, “O goddess, bear the embryo; this is dear to the gods.” Hearing these words, Gaṅgā assumed a divine form. Such was her greatness that Agni’s energy dispersed in all directions. Then, O descendant of Raghu, Fire anointed the goddess on all sides, and all the streams of the Gaṅgā became full. Overwhelmed, Gaṅgā spoke to the assembly of gods: “O gods, I am unable to bear the blazing energy that has arisen from you.” Burned by that fire and greatly disturbed in mind, Gaṅgā was then addressed by Agni, the receiver of all offerings: “Let this embryo be placed here, on the slopes of the Himalayas.” Hearing Agni’s words, Gaṅgā released that exceedingly radiant embryo. O sinless one, the mighty and radiant embryo issued forth from her streams, shining with the brilliance of molten gold. Gold, resplendent like the sun, reached the earth, as did radiant silver; copper and black iron also arose from its sharpness. There, her impurity became tin and lead, and as these metals reached the earth, various metals increased. When the embryo, infused with radiance, was deposited, the entire forest encircled by mountains became golden. From that time, O Raghava, it has been known as ‘jātarūpa’—gold, equal in brilliance to fire. All the grass, trees, creepers, and shrubs there became golden. Then the gods, together with Indra and the hosts of wind deities, assigned the Kṛttikās to nourish the boy who had been born. The Kṛttikās, making an excellent agreement to give him milk, declared with firm resolve, “He is the son of all of us.” All the gods proclaimed, “He shall be called Kārttikeya; he will become renowned throughout the three worlds as our son—there is no doubt.” Hearing these words, they bathed the radiant one, who had emerged from the flow of the embryo, with supreme splendor, as if he were blazing fire. The gods called him Skanda, because he had flowed forth from the embryo—O descendant of Kakutstha, this was Kārttikeya, mighty-armed and blazing like fire. Then, the excellent milk of the Kṛttikās appeared, and with his six faces, he took milk from the breasts of the six. Having taken the milk in a single day, though his body was tender, the mighty one conquered the hosts of demon armies by his own strength. All the immortals, led by Agni, then anointed him, the one of great splendor, as the commander of the divine armies. O Rāma, thus I have recounted to you the full story of Gaṅgā and the auspicious, blessed birth of the boy. O Kakutstha, any man on earth who is devoted to Kārttikeya, blessed with sons and grandsons, will attain the world of Skanda. Thus ends the thirty-seventh sarga in the Bālakāṇḍa of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, the first poem. Now, as the thirty-eighth sarga begins, having narrated that sweetly-worded story to Rāma, Viśvāmitra spoke further to Kakutstha. “O hero, there was once a king of Ayodhyā, a righteous ruler named Sagara, who longed for offspring but was childless. O Rāma, the elder queen of Sagara was Keśinī, daughter of the king of Vidarbha, virtuous and truthful. The second wife of Sagara was Sumati, sister of Suparṇa and daughter of Ariṣṭanemi. Together with his two wives, the great king performed austerities, reaching Mount Himavat at the Bhṛguprasravaṇa peak. After a hundred years had passed, the sage Bhṛgu, foremost among the truthful, was pleased by their austerities and granted Sagara a boon: ‘O sinless one, you will obtain great offspring, and you will attain incomparable fame in the world, O best of men.