When Lord Śiva and goddess Umā began to engage in austerities and were averse to generating a son, the demigods informed Lord Brahmā of the same. They prayed to him to make an arrangement to give rise to a commander-in-chief for their army. On the order of Lord Brahmā, the demigods then requested Agni to place the powerful semen of Lord Rudra in Gaṅgā who was unable to bear that. Agni then requested Gaṅgā to place it at the foot of the Himālaya mountains. Thus Skanda was born. After the young Skanda was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the demigods, he was victorious in battle over the army of the daityas.