t being, thou art worthy of the honour; therefore shall we anoint
thee this very day.'

Skanda replied, 'Do thou continue to rule the three worlds with
self-possession, and with thy heart bent on conquest. I shall remain thy
humble servant. I covet not thy sovereignty.'

Sakra replied, 'Thy prowess is unrivalled, O hero, do thou therefore
vanquish the enemies of the gods. People have been struck with wonder at
thy prowess. More specially as I have been bereft of my prowess, and
defeated by thee, now if I were to act as Indra, I should not command the
respect of all creatures, and they would be busy in bringing about
dissensions between us; and then, my lord, they would become the
partisans of one or other of us. And when they formed themselves into two
distinct factions, war as before would be the result of that defection.
And in that war, thou wouldst undoubtedly defeat me without difficulty
and thyself become the lord of all worlds.'

Skanda replied, 'Thou, O Sakra, art my sovereign, as also of the three
worlds; mayst thou be prosperous! Tell me if I can obey any commands of
thine.'

Indra replied, 'At thy bidding, O powerful being, I shall continue to act
as Indra. And if thou hast said this deliberately and in earnest, then
hear me how thou canst gratify thy desire of serving me. Do thou, O
mighty being, take the leadership of the celestial forces accordingly.'

Skanda replied, 'Do thou anoint me as leader, for the destruction of the
Danavas, for the good of the celestials, and for the well-being of cows
and Brahmanas.'

Markandeya continued, "Thus anointed by Indra and all other gods, and
honoured by the Maharshis, he looked grand at the moment. The golden
umbrella[77] held (over his head) looked like a halo of blazing fire.
That famous god, the Conqueror of Tripura, himself fastened the celestial
wreath of gold, of Viswakarma's manufacture, round his neck. And, O great
man and conqueror of thine enemies, that worshipful god with the emblem
of the bull, had gone there previously with Parvati. He honoured him with
a joyous heart. The Fire-god is called Rudra by Brahmanas, and from this
fact Skanda is called the son of Rudra. The White Mountain was formed
from discharges of Rudra's semen virile and the sensual indulgences of
the Fire-god with the Krittikas took place on that same White Mountain.
And as Rudra was seen by all the dwellers of heaven to heap honours on
the excellent Guha (Skanda), he was for that r