Skandasana

Skanda God of War

Named after Skanda स्कन्द, the Indian God of War (and Victory of course). Skanda is well known for his incredible strength and can shake mountains and rivers. He is usually represented with a spear or a bow and arrow riding a peacock. The asana itself displays the posture of a fierce fighter (it reminds me of my Kungfu class) with his flamboyant friend by his side.

Skanda is the first son of the God Shiva and the Goddess Parvati. He is Ganesha’s elder brother. The story says that the Gods needed a strong warrior to destroy the demon Taraka. So they sent the Goddess Parvati to seduce Shiva who was in a deep state of meditation to conceive a son. The seed was dropped in the Ganges by Agni the God of Fire and Skanda was born in the river. He was raised by the Krittika sisters, the 6 stars of the Pleiades. He had 6 faces to drink the milk of his six nurses which is why he is also called Karttikeya, the son of the Krittikas and sometimes depicted with six faces.

The Pleiades are a cluster of stars also called the 7 sisters. I observed them several times with my family when I was a kid and you can see the brightest ones with the naked eye during the darkest nights of winter(look for the Taurus constellation). Galileo Galilei was the first one to observe them through a telescope but they were well known already by many civilisations (Celts, Persians, Hindi, Chinese, Australian Aboriginals, Maori, Maya, Sioux and more) as a group of 6, 7 or 9 stars. Looking after Skanda, you can see the 7 sisters and their 2 parents on the illustration above. Their parents are the Titan Atlas who carries the sky and the oceanic nymph Pleione. In Hindu mythology, the 6 Krittika are Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati, Anasūya and Kṣamā and are related to Chandra, the moon. Not surprising to see that Skandasana is part of Chandranamaskar, the Moon salutation.
With such family background and divine support, you have no choice than to be a strong warrior now!