Divine Beings
Swaha
स्वाहा
The Word Said Over Fire
Who was Swaha?
Swaha (स्वाहा): The Word Said Over Fire, one of the divine beings in the Mahabharata. Daksha's daughter, who had loved Agni for years without his noticing and watched a long time for a weakness in him without finding one.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | स्वाहा |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The Word Said Over Fire |
| Faction | Divine Beings |
| Key traits | Patient, Cunning, Devoted, Transformed |
| Notable relationships | Husband: Agni, Father: Daksha, Son: Skanda, The form she could not take: Arundhati |
| Featured in | 5 stories |
About Swaha
Daksha's daughter, who had loved Agni for years without his noticing and watched a long time for a weakness in him without finding one. When he went into the forest to burn himself alive rather than touch the sleeping wives of the seven Rishis, she came to him one after another in six of their shapes, carried the seed away as a bird and threw it six times into a golden lake on the White Mountain, where Skanda took form. She could not counterfeit Arundhati. Her reward was that no offering into fire is made without her name.
In Their Words
Be quick. My sisters-in-law are waiting for me, and I have come a long way to be here.
Swaha
Traits
- Patient
- Cunning
- Devoted
- Transformed
Story Appearances
Stories Featuring Swaha
4 further tales on this site name Swaha, in canonical reading order.
- Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keep
- The Thunderbolt and the Seizers of ChildrenWhat came out of the wound, and the bargain that followed
- The Children of AgniMarkandeya names the whole family of fires, from the daughters of Angiras to the rivers who mothered them
- How the Krittikas Took Abhijit's PlaceA star leaves the sky in envy of her elder sister, and the six Krittikas are raised into the empty station
Character Arc
- The WatchingYears of looking for one unguarded moment in the fire god
- The Six ShapesComes to him as six of the Rishis' wives and fails only at Arundhati
- The BoonSkanda grants that every oblation shall be poured with her name
Key Relationships
Places in Swaha's Story
Drawn from the stories Swaha appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Divine Beings.