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DISCLAIMER: The words and emoticons used in this post were generated with the use of computer software.
Er, sorry, wrong disclaimer! 😕 What I meant to say was: This VERY long post is tongue-in-cheek. Please take it in the spirit of good humour. I know most of these are revered Gods and Goddesses/beings in addition to being TV show characters, so I sincerely apologise if I have inadvertently caused any offence. 😊 Now that we have that out of the way, I hope you enjoy reading it!
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Usually stories about Kartikeya and his two wives say that Devsena was the daughter of Devraj Indra and Devi Sachi, given to Kartikeya in an arranged marriage by Indra as a token of gratitude some time after Tarkasur's death, and Valli was a South Indian princess who was in love with/devoted to Kartikeya. Some stories say that both ladies were mind-born daughters of Vishnu (manas-putris) named Amritavalli (Devsena) and Sundaravalli (Valli) in their previous births, who did tapasya because they desired to marry Kartikeya and were then able to do so in their next births as Devsena and Valli.
While Valli has not come into the picture yet, DKDM decided to introduce Devsena initially as an apsara who was sent by a jealous Indra to distract Kartikeya from his duties, rather than as Indra's daughter. Now she has been revealed to be a daughter of Brahmadev! I have never heard of this before, so I am assuming that this is an invention of DKDM.
Right, so I guess they couldn't turn around and make Devsena Indra's daughter now after having her as an apsara sent by him - fair enough. I don't know why they didn't do it in the first place. Perhaps when they eventually show Nahush (husband of Ashoksundari, and thus brother-in-law/jeeja of Kartikeya and Ganesh) lusting after Devi Sachi, they wanted to make sure that they didn't have Nahush lusting after Kartikeya's mother-in-law/saas! [Shruti (-ShrNi-) wrote something like this in another thread, so I'd like to acknowledge her post.] That could have been awkward (even though that may be exactly what actually happened)! 😆
I suppose they could have revealed Devsena to be Vishnudev's daughter to highlight her divine background (they could have said that she was his daughter Amritavalli but was living a cursed life as an apsara) but decided against that for some reason. Maybe they just didn't want to have Kartikeya marrying his mama's daughter (i.e. his cousin), even though I believe marrying your mama's kid (or even your mama if you are a girl) is allowed in some cultures now and certainly was back in the day. (A famous married cousins example from the Mahabharat is Arjun and Subhadra - Subhadra's father was Arjun's mama.)
Maybe in DKDM they wanted to have all the Tridevs and Tridevis related by close familial ties. Vishnudev and Devi Parvati are siblings already, making Mahadev-Parvati and Vishnu-Lakshmi brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. While Brahmadev-Saraswati are Mahadev's grandparents-in-law because of his marriage to Sati, perhaps they wanted to have Brahmadev-Saraswati come in even closer in DKDM, so made then Devsena's parents, and thus soon to be samdhi-samdhin of Mahadev-Parvati and parents-in-law of Kartikeya.
Whatever the reason, Devsena is Brahmadev and Devi Saraswati's daughter in DKDM.
I bet the writers didn't realise what a can of worms they opened up in terms of the family tree of Kartikeya and Devsena by doing that! 😆 [At this point I would like to acknowledge Vrish and Varaali for writing a little bit about this twisted family tree in the WU thread for the episode of 2 July 2013. I had a similar idea to them and am now writing more about it here, expanding upon some things they mentioned.]
Ok, so here it goes:
Kartikeya and Devsena's twisted family tree, according to DKDM!
[NOTE: The family tree(s) of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and associated beings are already very large and complex, based on the ancient literature and mythology. I am going to try and focus more on characters and relationships that have been shown in DKDM, just to keep things from getting too out of hand!
I'm using a colour code for relationships: purple for those that are accepted ones according to Hindu literature/mythology, blue for those that are fictional/inventions of DKDM, based on Devsena being Brahmadev's daughter.]
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1) In DKDM Devsena is the manas-putri (mind-born daughter) of Brahmadev and is thus considered the daughter of Devi Saraswati as well. Some of the mind-born sons of Brahmadev are Daksh Prajapati, the Sankadik Kumars (the 4 child rishis), Devrishi Narad, Rishi Mareechi, and Rishi Pulatsya.
This means that in DKDM Devsena is the sister of Daksh, the Sankadik Kumars, Narad, Mareechi, Pulatsya etc. (Brahmadev has several other children but I am only mentioning people who we have either seen in DKDM mentioned as his sons, or who I will be mentioning later in this post.)
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2) Devi Sati is Daksh's daughter, Brahmadev's and Devi Saraswati's grand-daughter, and Mahadev's first wife. (Devi Parvati, second wife of Mahadev, is the rebirth of Sati but for the purposes of this family tree, I will take Sati and Parvati as being sister-wives/co-wives.)
This means that Narad, Mareechi, Pulatsya, and the Sankadik Kumars are all Sati's uncles (chachas = father's brothers) and thus Mahadev's uncles by marriage (uncles-in-law, chacha-sasurs). In other words, Sati is their niece/bhatiji and Mahadev is their nephew/bhatija by marriage.
Mahadev is also Brahmadev's and Saraswati's grandson-in-law.
In DKDM specifically, Devsena is Sati's aunt (father's sister/bua) and thus Mahadev's aunt by marriage (aunt-in-law/bua-saas). In other words, Sati is the niece/bhatiji of Devsena and Mahadev is her nephew/bhatija by marriage.
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3) Kartikeya, Ganesh and Ashoksundari are the children of Mahadev and Parvati.
Because Devsena is Mahadev's aunt-in-law/bua-saas (like his aunt/bua), this means that Devsena can be considered to be Kartikeya's, Ganesh's and Ashoksundari's paternal great-aunt (sort of like a dadi-bua, on the same generation level as a grandmother/dadi), as well as a great-aunt by marriage to Siddhi, Buddhi, and Nahush. (Or if you actually consider Sati and Parvati to be the same person instead of sister-wives, Devsena could in some way be considered to be Parvati's bua and thus the kids maternal great-aunt/nani-bua, although that is stretching it a bit because Parvati and Daksh aren't actually related according to what is shown in DKDM [although apparently in some stories this is not the case!].)
Whichever way you take it, in DKDM Devsena is like Kartikeya's great-aunt (akin to his grandmother) and Kartikeya is like Devsena's grand-nephew (akin to her grandson).
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So once Kartikeya and Devsena get married, he will not only go from being simply Dev Senapati to also being Devsena Pati, 😆 but will also be able to add several more titles to the list! (As will Devsena, Mahadev, Brahmadev, Saraswati, Narad, and even Indra and Raavan!)
Here goes nothing! (except perhaps what is left of my sanity!) 😕
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Kartikeya and Devsena:
Because his wife Devsena can be considered to be his great-aunt (akin to his grandmother), Kartikeya will become his own great-uncle (akin to his own grandfather)! Kartikeya can also then be considered to be great-uncle to Ganesh and Ashoksundari (and also to Ganesh's wives Siddhi and Buddhi, and to Ashoksundari's husband Nahush)!
From Devsena's point-of-view, she will be marrying her great-nephew (akin to grandson) and will thus become her own great-niece (akin to her own granddaughter)!
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Now lets bring in Mahadev, Parvati, Brahmadev and Saraswati!
Once Devsena and Kartikeya get married in DKDM, Brahmadev and Saraswati will also become Kartikeya's parents-in-law. Thus, Brahmadev-Saraswati and Mahadev-Parvati will be each other's samdhi-samdhin (parents-in-law of each others' children).
(If you remember, shortly after Mahadev and Sati got married, Mahadev had a debate with the Sankadik Kumars [who were shown as adults at that point] because they disapproved of Mahadev's certification of the Atharva Veda as a Veda, and indeed his "qualifications" for certifying anything. Saraswati was the judge for this debate, and after the debate and the acceptance of Mahadev's certification of the Atharva Veda, Saraswati asked for and received a boon from Mahadev. The boon was that when Mahadev and Adishakti's first child was born, she would be the first one to cradle the child in her arms/lap. Mahadev and Adishakti's first child is Kartikeya, and Saraswati DID NOT get to cradle him first after his birth (or indeed at all in the show) - the six Kritikas did this. BUT who would ever have thought that Saraswati's boon would get this special unexpected outcome of her actually becoming his first mother-in-law! ⭐️)
Brahmadev and Saraswati are already Mahadev's grandparents-in-law (like his grandparents) because if his marriage to Sati. Because he is going to become the samdhi of his own grandparents-in-law (i.e. he will be on the same generational level), this means that Mahadev will in effect become like his own grandfather! By extension, his wife Parvati will become like her own grandmother! In the same way, because Brahmadev-Saraswati are becoming samdhi-samdhin of their grandson-in-law, they will in effect become like their own grandchildren!
Also, because Mahadev is their grandson-in-law, Brahmadev-Saraswati are sort of like a great-grandfather and great-grandmother to his children Kartikeya, Ganesh and Ashoksundari (and by extension, their spouses). This means that once they become great-grandson Kartikeya's parents-in-law, Brahmadev and Saraswati will automatically become like their daughter Devsena's great-grandparents, which will make them like their own great-great-grandparents!
And here are my favourites in this tangled web! Because Kartikeya will become the son-in-law of Brahmadev-Saraswati while Mahadev is already their grandson-in-law, Kartikeya will in effect become his own father's uncle! 🤣 (Kartikeya will become Sati's fufa, and thus Mahadev's fufa-sasur.) And I guess that means that he can be considered to be his mother Parvati's uncle by marriage as well!
So because he becomes his father's uncle, Kartikeya will in effect become his own great-uncle (like being his own grandfather) as well as the great-uncle of Ganesh, Ashoksundari and their spouses! 😆
From Mahadev's point of view, because he will become his son's nephew, Mahadev will in effect become his own (and Parvati's) great-nephew (like his own grandson)! By extension, Parvati will become like her own son's niece and thus her own and Mahadev's great-niece (like her own granddaughter)! 😆
And I guess because Mahadev and Parvati could be considered to be their own great-nephew and great-niece, their children could then further be considered to be Mahadev-Parvati's great-great-nephews and great-great-niece! (And it continues, but that is seriously stretching it!)
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Now let us consider Narad and his other brothers (the Sankadik Kumars, Pulatsya, Mareechi etc): brothers of Daksh, brothers of Devsena in DKDM, Sati's uncles/chachas and Mahadev's uncles/chacha-sasurs. They can thus be considered to be Kartikeya's great-uncles and Kartikeya their great-nephew.
{How easy it is to forget that Narad is actually Mahadev's uncle! 😆)
But once Kartikeya and Devsena (their sister) are married, Kartikeya will become the brother-in-law/jeeja of these men! Because he is becoming his great-uncles' brother-in-law, this will in some way put Kartikeya on the same level as being his own great-uncle (level of his own grandfather).
From Narad and brothers' point of view, because their sister Devsena is becoming like their great-niece by marriage, this means that they become like their own great-nephews (like being their own grandsons)!
Considering Daksh separately, Kartikeya will become his brother-in-law/jeeja in addition to already being like his grandson (son-in-law's son)!
(Who would EVER have thought that Daksh would end up with Mahadev as his son-in-law AND then Mahadev's SON Kartikeya as his brother-in-law??? 😆)
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As if that wasn't enough, the DKDM writers actually gave Indra a really funny place in this family tree, probably without even realising it! 😆 👏
Indra is one of the sons of Rishi Kashyap and Devi Aditi (although they really did not play this child-parent relationship up in DKDM at all!). Aditi is one of Sati's sisters and Daksh's daughters.Although not mentioned in DKDM at all, Kashyap is the son of Rishi Mareechi, another one of Brahmadev's sons and Daksh's brothers. Thus Aditi and Kashyap are both grandchildren of Brahmadev-Saraswati, which makes Indra Brahmadev-Saraswati's great-grandson from both maternal and paternal sides.
Now, because Indra is Sati's nephew (son of her sister Aditi and her cousin/brother-in-law Kashyap), Mahadev is Indra's uncle by marriage and Indra is Mahadev's nephew. This means that Indra can be considered to be like a cousin of Kartikeya, Ganesh and Ashoksundari, and a brother-in-law to their spouses.
This would mean that Indra could be considered to be Devsena's brother-in-law once she is married to Kartikeya, and Devsena could be considered to be his sister-in-law/bhabhi, regardless of any other relationship he already shares or does not share with her (even if she was shown as Indra's daughter - but then of course father-daughter would be the most direct and overriding relationship and we would ignore this distant jeth-bhabhi relationship).
Now, wait for it... because they have made Devsena Brahmadev's daughter in DKDM (sister of both Daksh and Mareechi), she ends up being Indra's great-aunt (sister of both his grandfathers)! 😆
So, no matter how unintentional it may have been, the DKDM writers have made Devsena Indra's great-aunt instead of simply his daughter! And instead of Indra being Kartikeya's father-in-law/sasur, in DKDM Kartikeya will become Indra's great-uncle (akin to grandfather)! 😆
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While I'm at it, let's toss Raavan into the ring as well!
The father of Raavan, Vibhishan, Kumbhkaran, Surpnakha and Kuber is Rishi Vishrava, who is the son of Brahmadev's son Rishi Pulatsya. Daksh and Pulatsya are brothers, so Sati is Vishrava's cousin and Mahadev is his brother-in-law/jeeja.
This means that Sati and Mahadev are actually aunt/bua and uncle/fufa to Raavan and his siblings.
Thus Kartikeya, Ganesh, and Ashoksundari can be considered to be cousins of Raavan and siblings, and in turn Nahush their brother-in-law/jeeja and Siddhi, Buddhi, and Devsena their sisters-in-law/bhabhis!
(See, Raavan just wants his beloved uncle Mahadev to come and live in Lanka with him and give him some attention! 😃 And how badly did he want to attend cousin Ganesh's wedding, the poor thing! 😔)
But in DKDM, Devsena is Pulatsya's sister and thus Raavan's and siblings great-aunt (grandfather's sister/dadi-bua). This means that Kartikeya will become Pulatsya's brother-in-law/jeeja, and great-uncle/dada-fufa (akin to grandfather) of Raavan and siblings! 😆
Because Pulatsya is Mahadev's uncle, he is like Kartikeya's great-uncle. Now because his great-nephew Kartikeya is becoming his brother-in-law, Pulatsya can be considered to be like his own great-nephew/grandson! This would mean that his grandchildren (Raavan and siblings) become like his great-great-grandchildren, and thus like their own grandchildren! (I know, this last one is definitely stretching it!)
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OMG, that is one tangled web! ⭐️ I thought Jalandhar had a complex family tree but now I see that his one is actually quite simple compared to this one! (Jalandhar's "complex" family tree: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/devon-ke-dev-mahadev/3596258/jalandhars-complex-family-tree, if anyone is interested. Of course, apart from giving him an adopted mum, Matsyakanya, Jalandhar's family tree is one thing that DKDM didn't change!)
For someone like DKDM's Kartikeya who has already led such a complicated life with multiple identity crises, his first marriage is going to end up giving us and his entire family this tangled web. I hope this won't push him over the edge and lead to yet another identity crisis! [JOKE!]
And I shudder to think what additions we will get to this family tree if and when they show Kartikeya's marriage to Valli in DKDM!
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Reactions to this family tree
Just for fun, here is how I imagine some of the DKDM characters could potentially react to this family tree. (I know most of these are revered Gods and Goddesses/beings in addition to being TV show characters, but please don't be offended!)
Kartikeya and Devsena: Would probably smile and blush due to all the attention. 😳 ☺️
The newly-wed Ganesh: He might say "My brother is getting married to just one wife right now and we get this mess? I have two wives and the only thing I get to be in addition to a husband and son-in-law is my own brother-in-law/saarhu!" (Saarhu = wife's sister's husband. Because Ganesh's wives Siddhi and Buddhi are sisters, he becomes his own brother-in-law like this.) 😊
The newly-wedded wives of Ganesh, Siddhi and Buddhi: "Wow, we sure did marry into an interesting family!" 👍🏼
Ashoksundari: She might say "I may not have ended up with any strange relationships because of my marriage, but at least I still had something unique happen, what with my mother using her powers to unnaturally age my husband so that we could get married when we did! And at least that lady that Nahush may or may not have his eye on yet in Swarg isn't going to be my brother's saas, although there is now no chance of brother Kartikeya becoming the Swarg-jamai and coming to live with is!" ⭐️
Brahmadev and Saraswati: Would smile. 😃
Lakshmi, Himavan and Menavati: Would probably have worried looks on their faces. 😲
Parvati's nani: Would freak out and yell "Yeh sarvata anuchit hain!" ("This is highly inappropriate!") 🤣
Nandi and the Gan-Prets: They would probably faint! 😕
Mahadev: Just like they had a Gyaan Sabha session after Ganesh's wedding, they could have one after Kartikeya's wedding as well. The topic for this one could be "Vairagya, Anasakti, and Nashwarta," and they could discuss the importance of not getting lost in the moh-maya of familial relationships, which are only temporary as our immortal souls move through several mortal bodies. I imagine he would then smile mysteriously then go into samadhi, to avoid having to answer anyone's questions. 😉
Parvati: I imagine she might get angry and yell "Vinaaash".but then would calm down and be happy that at least all three of her children will be married, and that there will be more females living at Kailash from now on. 😊
Raavan: Would probably sulk and might say something like "Uncle Mahadev, how come I don't get this interesting a family tree? And why are you ignoring me? I'm your Mahan Bhakt AND your nephew! I already missed cousin Ganesh's wedding. You'd better especially invite me to cousin Kartikeya's wedding otherwise I won't invite to you to mine!" 😭
Narad: "Narayan, Narayan! Main Mahadev ka chacha-sasur to hoon, aur ab unka hi putra mera jeeja banega? Prabhu, yeh kaisi vichitra leela hain?" ("Narayan, Narayan! I am Mahadev's uncle and now his own son Kartikeya will become my brother-in-law? Lord, what kind of strange leela is this?" 😕
Vishnudev: Would smile and reply to Narad by saying "Yeh sab DKDM ki leela hain!" 😃 🤣
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As if the already known family tree(s) of the Gods and Goddesses and associated beings weren't already complicated enough!
Kudos to the DKDM writers for (I assume unknowingly) unleashing the blue parts of this tangled web with ONE single change in relationship: making Devsena the daughter of Brahmadev-Saraswati! You have totally out-done yourselves! (With some of the things they have shown us, who would have thought that was even possible!) 👏 🤣
I think I now understand what Mahadev actually meant when he told Devsena "Nahi, putri, tum matra ek apsara nahi ho." ("No, daughter, you are not just an apsara.") 😕 🤣
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