Having given his word to the gods, Agni, the fire deity, approached the divine river Ganga and addressed her: “O goddess, bear this embryo; it is dear to the gods.” Hearing these words, Ganga assumed a celestial form of great majesty. So immense was her presence that the energy of Agni, entrusted to her, spread outward in all directions. Then, O descendant of Raghu, Fire himself anointed the goddess on every side, and all the streams and channels of Ganga overflowed, filled with this sacred energy. Overwhelmed, Ganga turned to the assembled gods and pleaded, “O gods, I cannot bear the blazing energy that has arisen from you.” Tormented by the searing heat, her mind greatly troubled, she was addressed by Agni, the receiver of all divine offerings. Agni said, “Let this embryo be placed here, on the slopes of the Himalayas.” Obeying his words, Ganga released the exceedingly radiant embryo from her waters. O sinless one, as the mighty and brilliant embryo was discharged, it shone with the brilliance of molten gold. Gold, radiant as the sun, descended to the earth, followed by silver of incomparable luster, copper, and black iron—all emerging from the sharpness of that energy. From the residue of this process, her impurity became tin and lead, and as these metals reached the earth, the abundance of various metals increased. When the embryo, infused with radiance, was deposited, the entire forest encircled by mountains was transformed—everything became golden. From that time, O Raghava, the place has been known as “jātarūpa”—gold—equal in brilliance to fire, and all the grass, trees, creepers, and shrubs there took on a golden hue. Then, the gods, together with Indra and the hosts of wind deities, entrusted the Krittikas, the star-nymphs, to nourish the newborn boy. United in purpose, the Krittikas agreed to give him their milk, declaring firmly, “He is the son of all of us.” All the gods proclaimed, “He shall be called Kartikeya. He will become renowned throughout the three worlds as our son—there is no doubt.” Hearing these words, the gods bathed the radiant one, who had emerged from the flow of the embryo, adorning him with supreme splendor, as if he were blazing fire. Because he had flowed forth from the embryo, the gods named him Skanda; O descendant of Kakutstha, Kartikeya—mighty-armed and shining like fire. At that moment, the excellent milk of the Krittikas appeared, and with six faces, Kartikeya took milk from the breasts of the six mothers. In a single day, though his body was tender, the mighty one, by his own strength, conquered the armies of demons. All the immortals, led by Agni, then anointed this splendid one as the commander of the divine armies. O Rama, thus I have recounted to you the full story of Ganga and the auspicious, blessed birth of the boy. O Kakutstha, any man on earth who is devoted to Kartikeya, 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 begins the thirty-eighth sarga. Having narrated that sweetly-worded story to Rama, the sage Vishvamitra continued, speaking further to Kakutstha. “O hero, there was once a king of Ayodhya, a righteous ruler named Sagara, who longed for offspring but was childless. His elder queen was Keśinī, daughter of the king of Vidarbha, virtuous and truthful. The second wife was Sumati, sister of Suparṇa and daughter of Ariṣṭanemi. Together with his two wives, the great king Sagara performed severe austerities, journeying to Mount Himavat and reaching the peak called Bhṛguprasravaṇa. After a hundred years had passed, the sage Bhṛgu, foremost among the truthful, was pleased by their penances and granted Sagara a boon: ‘O sinless one, you will obtain great offspring and incomparable fame in the world, O best of men. One of your wives will bear a single son to continue your line; the other will bear sixty thousand sons.’ Delighted, the two queens, with hands joined in reverence, addressed the sage: ‘O Brāhmaṇa, which of us will have the single son, and which will bear the many? We wish to hear this; may your words come true.’ The supremely righteous Bhṛgu replied, ‘Let it be as each of you desires. Let one have a single son to continue the line, or let there be many mighty, renowned, and energetic sons—let each choose her own boon.’ Hearing these words, O descendant of Raghu, Keśinī chose, in the presence of the king, to have a single son to continue the line. Sumati, sister of Suparṇa, chose to have sixty thousand sons, all energetic and renowned. Having circumambulated the sage and bowed to him with their heads, the king and his wives returned to their city. In due time, Keśinī gave birth to Sagara’s firstborn son, who was named Asamañja. But Sumati, O tiger among men, gave birth to a gourd-like womb, from which, when it was split open, sixty thousand sons emerged.