Muruga Jayanti
(The appearance day Lord Muruga)
Vaikasi Visakam
Prem Namaste, Vanakum, Hare Krsna, Jai Shree Krsna, Jai Shree Raam
All glories to our eternal Parents Shree Shree Radha
Krsna.
All glories to the most merciful Shree Shree Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva.
All glories to Lord Muruga and his consorts Devayanai and Valli.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, and the other wonderful and inspiring gurus.
All glories to the wonderful servants of the Supreme Lord.
The hallowed full moon day in the Tamil month of Vaikasi, under the Visakam (one of the 27 Nakshatras) star is Vaikasi Purnima (Full Moon). The divine creation of Lord Muruga A.K.A. Lord Subramanya, Lord Skanda (Sanskrit), Lord Kanda (Tamil), and Lord Kartikeya to alleviate the sufferings of the Devas occurred on Vaikasi Visakam. Every year, Vaikasi Visakam is observed as the birthday of Lord Subramanya, during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (Mid May - mid June). This year Visakam is celebrated on the 19th May. In Lord Muruga’s temples all over Tamil Nadu, especially Palani and the world, it is an important occasion and is celebrated with religious fervour.
Vaikasi Visakam is important to the Saivites, Vaishnavites and Buddhists. To the Saivites, it is the day of the descent of Lord Muruga; to the Vaishnavites it is Periyalvar's Jayanti (One of the alvars (saint), he was born in Srivilliputhur, near Madurai in the 6th to 9th century CE) and to Buddhists it is the day of the great miracles of nativity, enlightenment and maha samadhi of the Supreme Lord Buddha.
Mother Sati, the consort of Lord Shiva immolated herself at her father’s Yagna, which was later destroyed by Lord Shiva. (That’s why a lady when her husband dies joins him on the fire pyre…hence she commited Sati). Thank goodness it’s forbidden in Kali Yuga. Aslo we often say SATI-MA. This we Hindus say when we want a perosn to really believe what we saying is true and we are not lying. Mother Sati was reborn as Mother Uma, or Mother Parvati the daughter of the mountain king Himavaan (the Himalayas). Lord Shiva withdrew himself from the universe and engaged himself in yogic meditation in the Himalayas.
In the meanwhile, the demon Soorapadman ravaged the earth and tormented its beings. It was realized by the devas that only the son born of Lord Shiva could lead the devas to victory over Tarakasuran, Soorapadman, Singamuhan and their demon companions. These brothers had obtained great powers through intense penance and were harassing the devas. Unable to bear their cruelty anymore, the devas requested Lord Parameswara (Lord Vishnu) to save them from the brothers. The devas plotted with Kamadev, to shoot a flower arrow at Lord Shiva, as he sat in meditation, so as to make him fall in love with Mother Parvati. When Kamadev aimed his arrow, Lord Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kamadev to ashes instantly. When Lord Shiva opened his Third Eye, he also emitted six sparks, which enveloped the three worlds with lustre. These sparks were carried by Agni-dev, Vayu-dev and the Devas to Mother Ganga and Mother Ganga in turn carried them to Lake Saravana Poigai, where the fire sparks took the shape of six male babies, cradled by lotus flowers and reeds that floated in the lake. Philosophically the lotus represents the pure heart and the reeds represent the network of nerves in man's physical body. Symbolically, the Divine Effulgence in the lake with its lotuses and reeds, are within each one.
In the Lake the sparks became six divine children and were nursed by six Karttika maidens who saw the babies floating in the lake, took them and reared them till Mother Parvati a.k.a. (Mother Durga/Sati/Kali) came there and fondly hugged the six babies to her bosom. The six babies coalesced to form into a single child with six faces and twelve hands. And that is how Lord Shanmukha (meaning ‘six faces’) was born to save the Devas. He is the incarnation of pure consciousness and divine knowledge.
Lord Muruga became the supreme general of the devas and their armies. When the appropriate time came, Lord Skanda got himself ready to fight Soorapadman and his clan, finely equipped with arms. Above all, Mother Parvati gave her son the Shakti Vel with which Lord Subramanya fought the Demons (Asuras). At last, when Soorapadman’s wife requested the Lord to spare her husband, Lord Skanda honoured her request by leaving him to remain as His flag (seval kodi - the flag with a cock emblem) and His vehicle - peacock (Mayilvahanam). As a mark of gratitude, Devendra married his daughter Deivanai to Lord Skanda. The six sites at which Lord Karthikeya sojourned while leading his armies against Surapadman are Tiruttanikai, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudirsolai, Tirupparamkunram and Tiruchendur.
Another version of Lord Muruga’s birth is from the Mahabharata. In a rather complicated pastime, Lord Muruga was born from Agni-dev and Svaha-devi, after Svaha-devi impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Lord Karthikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Mahishasura. (Mahishasura later became the adversary of Mother Durga.) Lord Indra attacked Lord Karthikeya as he saw Lord Muruga as a threat, until Lord Shiva intervened and made Lord Karthikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. Now why you may ask are there two pastimes. Well we must understand that in every cylce of a Mahayuga there’s always a different pastime on how Lord Muruga appeared. You see Hinduism is not boring and thus pastimes are always enacted differently in every Yuga. And there has been so many yugas already.
In our traditional homes, Vaikasi Visakam is celebrated with a special puja (with Sahasranama Archanai-1008 names) to Lord Muruga and Sarkarai Pongal is offered as Naivedyam (food offering). Kanda Sashti Kavacham, Subrahmanya Bhujangam and Shanmukha Kavacham are some of the religious verses that are read with all devotion in some homes. These Kavachams are armour’s to protect us from the evil spirits and evildoers. For many of these devotional MP3”s you can go onto http://www.prapatti.com to download them for free.
Generally Lord Muruga is spoken of as Ceyon one who is ruddy in colour. However, the Sri Tattvanidhi describes Lord Muruga as dark blue in colour holding the Vel; sometimes he is depicted with the two consorts, Devayanai and Valli. Besides him stands the peacock gripping a snake with its claws. This entire picture is in itself a narrative description in which every aspect symbolises a deeper meaning. The blue indicates infinity. To the human perception all infinite expanses for example the sky or ocean, appear blue. Lord Muruga is the Infinite Reality existing in the cavern of the heart - the Guhan. This reality expresses itself through the mind and together with the five sense organs, forms His six faces - Shan (six)-mukham.
The peacock is symbolic of vanity and pride. The serpent represents ego, the carnal personality of man, which keep wanting the mundane pleasures. The ego is created by ignorance and this must be kept in check and channeled to discover the Truth. The peacock holding the serpent within its claws conveys this Truth. And finally the Vel is symbolic of the removal of the negative and evil tendencies, which veil the true Divine Self. The Vel represents wisdom, Jnana Shakti; his Consort Valli is the power of Will and is the personification of Divine Love, and Devayanai is the power of action and is the personification of deathlessness.
He is the Hindu god of war. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 24), Lord Krishna, while explaining His omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, Lord Krishna says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war." So Lord Muruga is the commander-in-chief in the devas army and thus Lord Vishnu’s Army… now these days leaders when ever there is a war are very carefully guarded in their well protected houses but Lord Muruga awaits the enemies (the asuras/demons) right in the front of the enemy lines. There is a famous wrestling entertainer that most are familiar with and his words are”you want some come get some”. So in the same way Lord Muruga says to the enemies to get to my army you have to pass thro me first… this is how glorious and strong Lord Muruga is.
According to the great Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Lord Muruga never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress".
The Atharva Veda describes Lord Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' or son of Agni, the fire god. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Lord Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda-dev as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda-dev as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the pastimes of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana a.k.a Kartika Purana and Kandha Puranam (Tamil) which is the most voluminous of all the Puranas is devoted to the narrative of Lord Kartikeya. It is the largest of all the Puranas. The Skanda Purana contains eighty-one thousand one hundred Shlokas (stanzas) - Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12, Ch. 13, Texts 4-9. It has seven parts- Maheshwar, Vaishnava, Brahma, Kashi, Avanti, Nagar and Prabhasa. Many Hindus perform the Satya Narayana Katha when they are performing their Jhunda (flag hoisting) puja. Now this same Satyanarayan katha (Pastimes of Lord Satya Narayana) comes from the Skanda purana of the Reva kaanda. You can download the Skanda Purana by clicking on the link provided herewith http://www.astrojyoti.com/skandapurana.htm
Lord Muruga is venerated through out the Tamil year (This year the Tamil new year was on the 13th April). There is a six day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. Skanda Shasti falls in November. It is the day on which Lord Subramanya defeated the demon Taraka. He is worshipped at Thaipusam (This year it was on the 22nd January), celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel (spear) by his mother in order to vanquish the demons. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Lord Muruga. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangal-dev, the god of planet Mars and war. This reveals the link between Skanda-dev and Kuja-dev (Mangal-dev).
Finally to end a beautiful pastime of Lord Muruga and the water-god (Varuna-dev): -
Tiruchendur Lord Murugan Temple is on the sea shore - within 100 metres of the waves. The Temple is a cave with the entrance at the sea level and the cave inside is sliding down to the Sanctum Sanctorum of Lord Muruga. When we stand in front of Lord Muruga, the sea water level outside is higher than the visitors’ heads. There is every likely hood that tidal waves and tsunamis can rush in and fill the cave Temple with sea water. In the history of the Temple, it is explained that the Varuna-dev (The Water god/administrator) has promised Lord Muruga that he will not cross the boundary of the Temple.
And Varuna-dev has kept his promise. While the tsunami on 26/12/04 had lashed the eastern coast of India and it had inundated all places near the coast deeply, but the sea water did not enter the Temple. At 10h00 Hours on the fated day (26/12/04), the sea near the temple receded by a Kilometre - people could see there a big crater with rocks visible - gradually the sea came back to its original level. But sea water had entered Jeeva Nager located opposite Tiruchendur Bus stand at 12.30 Hrs. All other coastal areas near Tiruchendur were affected by the lashing of tsunami. The Temple area was unaffected as the sea receded there to keep the promise given. HA-RA-GA-RO-GA-RA
The different names of Lord Muruga: -
Shanmugan: - He descended to destroy adharma.
Kartikeyan: - the Karttika maidens nursed him
Guhan: - He resides in the cavern of one's heart
Saravanabhavan: - He belonged to Lake Saravanai where he was born
Arumugan: - He who has six faces.
Murugan: - The beautiful one
Karttikeya: - meaning 'son of Krittika'
Kumara: - meaning 'child or son'
Skanda: - meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit
Senthil: - the red or formidable one
The six-syllabled mantra chanted for Lord Muruga: -
OM SARA-VANA-BAVA NAMAHA/POTRI(please note in north India namah (I offer my obeisance’s) is used and in South India Potri is used. Both have the same meaning.
WHY WE CHANT SA-RA-VA-NA-BA-VA
SA –CONFERS THE PROSPERITY OF SHAKTI
RA –GIVES THE WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE
VA –BESTOWS HAPPINESS OF ENJOYMENT
NA –PROTECT FROM ALL FORCES OF EVIL
BA –CONFERS MORALITY
VA –CONFERS THE LIFE OF BLESSEDNESS
HA–RA-GA-RO-GA-RA – Hail, Hail, Hail Oh Lord
Please remember that prayers to Lord Muruga are not only for the Tamil-speaking people but also for all Hindu’s. PLEASE let’s not segregate rather congregate. ???
Thank you for taking time to read this article. We are
trying to reach out not only to Hindus but to others of other faiths as well. By
compiling and publishing these articles we hope that others will understand what
a beautiful and diversified way of life Hinduism (Sanathan Dharma) really is.
Please alert your friends and family of this website. You may pass these
articles to friends and family who do not have access to the Internet or even
print them and keep them in a file. These articles are published so that it will
be a reference to you and your family when you need clarification of certain
topics. Jai Shree Muruga.
Compiled (for the upliftment of Sanatan Dharma- the Eternal Religion)
Narottam Das 032 9444 108 or 082 714 1504
E-mail nd@h4all.org
(The appearance day Lord Muruga)
Vaikasi Visakam
Prem Namaste, Vanakum, Hare Krsna, Jai Shree Krsna, Jai Shree Raam
All glories to our eternal Parents Shree Shree Radha
Krsna.
All glories to the most merciful Shree Shree Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva.
All glories to Lord Muruga and his consorts Devayanai and Valli.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, and the other wonderful and inspiring gurus.
All glories to the wonderful servants of the Supreme Lord.
The hallowed full moon day in the Tamil month of Vaikasi, under the Visakam (one of the 27 Nakshatras) star is Vaikasi Purnima (Full Moon). The divine creation of Lord Muruga A.K.A. Lord Subramanya, Lord Skanda (Sanskrit), Lord Kanda (Tamil), and Lord Kartikeya to alleviate the sufferings of the Devas occurred on Vaikasi Visakam. Every year, Vaikasi Visakam is observed as the birthday of Lord Subramanya, during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (Mid May - mid June). This year Visakam is celebrated on the 19th May. In Lord Muruga’s temples all over Tamil Nadu, especially Palani and the world, it is an important occasion and is celebrated with religious fervour.
Vaikasi Visakam is important to the Saivites, Vaishnavites and Buddhists. To the Saivites, it is the day of the descent of Lord Muruga; to the Vaishnavites it is Periyalvar's Jayanti (One of the alvars (saint), he was born in Srivilliputhur, near Madurai in the 6th to 9th century CE) and to Buddhists it is the day of the great miracles of nativity, enlightenment and maha samadhi of the Supreme Lord Buddha.
Mother Sati, the consort of Lord Shiva immolated herself at her father’s Yagna, which was later destroyed by Lord Shiva. (That’s why a lady when her husband dies joins him on the fire pyre…hence she commited Sati). Thank goodness it’s forbidden in Kali Yuga. Aslo we often say SATI-MA. This we Hindus say when we want a perosn to really believe what we saying is true and we are not lying. Mother Sati was reborn as Mother Uma, or Mother Parvati the daughter of the mountain king Himavaan (the Himalayas). Lord Shiva withdrew himself from the universe and engaged himself in yogic meditation in the Himalayas.
In the meanwhile, the demon Soorapadman ravaged the earth and tormented its beings. It was realized by the devas that only the son born of Lord Shiva could lead the devas to victory over Tarakasuran, Soorapadman, Singamuhan and their demon companions. These brothers had obtained great powers through intense penance and were harassing the devas. Unable to bear their cruelty anymore, the devas requested Lord Parameswara (Lord Vishnu) to save them from the brothers. The devas plotted with Kamadev, to shoot a flower arrow at Lord Shiva, as he sat in meditation, so as to make him fall in love with Mother Parvati. When Kamadev aimed his arrow, Lord Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kamadev to ashes instantly. When Lord Shiva opened his Third Eye, he also emitted six sparks, which enveloped the three worlds with lustre. These sparks were carried by Agni-dev, Vayu-dev and the Devas to Mother Ganga and Mother Ganga in turn carried them to Lake Saravana Poigai, where the fire sparks took the shape of six male babies, cradled by lotus flowers and reeds that floated in the lake. Philosophically the lotus represents the pure heart and the reeds represent the network of nerves in man's physical body. Symbolically, the Divine Effulgence in the lake with its lotuses and reeds, are within each one.
In the Lake the sparks became six divine children and were nursed by six Karttika maidens who saw the babies floating in the lake, took them and reared them till Mother Parvati a.k.a. (Mother Durga/Sati/Kali) came there and fondly hugged the six babies to her bosom. The six babies coalesced to form into a single child with six faces and twelve hands. And that is how Lord Shanmukha (meaning ‘six faces’) was born to save the Devas. He is the incarnation of pure consciousness and divine knowledge.
Lord Muruga became the supreme general of the devas and their armies. When the appropriate time came, Lord Skanda got himself ready to fight Soorapadman and his clan, finely equipped with arms. Above all, Mother Parvati gave her son the Shakti Vel with which Lord Subramanya fought the Demons (Asuras). At last, when Soorapadman’s wife requested the Lord to spare her husband, Lord Skanda honoured her request by leaving him to remain as His flag (seval kodi - the flag with a cock emblem) and His vehicle - peacock (Mayilvahanam). As a mark of gratitude, Devendra married his daughter Deivanai to Lord Skanda. The six sites at which Lord Karthikeya sojourned while leading his armies against Surapadman are Tiruttanikai, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudirsolai, Tirupparamkunram and Tiruchendur.
Another version of Lord Muruga’s birth is from the Mahabharata. In a rather complicated pastime, Lord Muruga was born from Agni-dev and Svaha-devi, after Svaha-devi impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Lord Karthikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Mahishasura. (Mahishasura later became the adversary of Mother Durga.) Lord Indra attacked Lord Karthikeya as he saw Lord Muruga as a threat, until Lord Shiva intervened and made Lord Karthikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. Now why you may ask are there two pastimes. Well we must understand that in every cylce of a Mahayuga there’s always a different pastime on how Lord Muruga appeared. You see Hinduism is not boring and thus pastimes are always enacted differently in every Yuga. And there has been so many yugas already.
In our traditional homes, Vaikasi Visakam is celebrated with a special puja (with Sahasranama Archanai-1008 names) to Lord Muruga and Sarkarai Pongal is offered as Naivedyam (food offering). Kanda Sashti Kavacham, Subrahmanya Bhujangam and Shanmukha Kavacham are some of the religious verses that are read with all devotion in some homes. These Kavachams are armour’s to protect us from the evil spirits and evildoers. For many of these devotional MP3”s you can go onto http://www.prapatti.com to download them for free.
Generally Lord Muruga is spoken of as Ceyon one who is ruddy in colour. However, the Sri Tattvanidhi describes Lord Muruga as dark blue in colour holding the Vel; sometimes he is depicted with the two consorts, Devayanai and Valli. Besides him stands the peacock gripping a snake with its claws. This entire picture is in itself a narrative description in which every aspect symbolises a deeper meaning. The blue indicates infinity. To the human perception all infinite expanses for example the sky or ocean, appear blue. Lord Muruga is the Infinite Reality existing in the cavern of the heart - the Guhan. This reality expresses itself through the mind and together with the five sense organs, forms His six faces - Shan (six)-mukham.
The peacock is symbolic of vanity and pride. The serpent represents ego, the carnal personality of man, which keep wanting the mundane pleasures. The ego is created by ignorance and this must be kept in check and channeled to discover the Truth. The peacock holding the serpent within its claws conveys this Truth. And finally the Vel is symbolic of the removal of the negative and evil tendencies, which veil the true Divine Self. The Vel represents wisdom, Jnana Shakti; his Consort Valli is the power of Will and is the personification of Divine Love, and Devayanai is the power of action and is the personification of deathlessness.
He is the Hindu god of war. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 24), Lord Krishna, while explaining His omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, Lord Krishna says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war." So Lord Muruga is the commander-in-chief in the devas army and thus Lord Vishnu’s Army… now these days leaders when ever there is a war are very carefully guarded in their well protected houses but Lord Muruga awaits the enemies (the asuras/demons) right in the front of the enemy lines. There is a famous wrestling entertainer that most are familiar with and his words are”you want some come get some”. So in the same way Lord Muruga says to the enemies to get to my army you have to pass thro me first… this is how glorious and strong Lord Muruga is.
According to the great Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Lord Muruga never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress".
The Atharva Veda describes Lord Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' or son of Agni, the fire god. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Lord Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda-dev as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda-dev as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the pastimes of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana a.k.a Kartika Purana and Kandha Puranam (Tamil) which is the most voluminous of all the Puranas is devoted to the narrative of Lord Kartikeya. It is the largest of all the Puranas. The Skanda Purana contains eighty-one thousand one hundred Shlokas (stanzas) - Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12, Ch. 13, Texts 4-9. It has seven parts- Maheshwar, Vaishnava, Brahma, Kashi, Avanti, Nagar and Prabhasa. Many Hindus perform the Satya Narayana Katha when they are performing their Jhunda (flag hoisting) puja. Now this same Satyanarayan katha (Pastimes of Lord Satya Narayana) comes from the Skanda purana of the Reva kaanda. You can download the Skanda Purana by clicking on the link provided herewith http://www.astrojyoti.com/skandapurana.htm
Lord Muruga is venerated through out the Tamil year (This year the Tamil new year was on the 13th April). There is a six day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. Skanda Shasti falls in November. It is the day on which Lord Subramanya defeated the demon Taraka. He is worshipped at Thaipusam (This year it was on the 22nd January), celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel (spear) by his mother in order to vanquish the demons. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Lord Muruga. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangal-dev, the god of planet Mars and war. This reveals the link between Skanda-dev and Kuja-dev (Mangal-dev).
Finally to end a beautiful pastime of Lord Muruga and the water-god (Varuna-dev): -
Tiruchendur Lord Murugan Temple is on the sea shore - within 100 metres of the waves. The Temple is a cave with the entrance at the sea level and the cave inside is sliding down to the Sanctum Sanctorum of Lord Muruga. When we stand in front of Lord Muruga, the sea water level outside is higher than the visitors’ heads. There is every likely hood that tidal waves and tsunamis can rush in and fill the cave Temple with sea water. In the history of the Temple, it is explained that the Varuna-dev (The Water god/administrator) has promised Lord Muruga that he will not cross the boundary of the Temple.
And Varuna-dev has kept his promise. While the tsunami on 26/12/04 had lashed the eastern coast of India and it had inundated all places near the coast deeply, but the sea water did not enter the Temple. At 10h00 Hours on the fated day (26/12/04), the sea near the temple receded by a Kilometre - people could see there a big crater with rocks visible - gradually the sea came back to its original level. But sea water had entered Jeeva Nager located opposite Tiruchendur Bus stand at 12.30 Hrs. All other coastal areas near Tiruchendur were affected by the lashing of tsunami. The Temple area was unaffected as the sea receded there to keep the promise given. HA-RA-GA-RO-GA-RA
The different names of Lord Muruga: -
Shanmugan: - He descended to destroy adharma.
Kartikeyan: - the Karttika maidens nursed him
Guhan: - He resides in the cavern of one's heart
Saravanabhavan: - He belonged to Lake Saravanai where he was born
Arumugan: - He who has six faces.
Murugan: - The beautiful one
Karttikeya: - meaning 'son of Krittika'
Kumara: - meaning 'child or son'
Skanda: - meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit
Senthil: - the red or formidable one
The six-syllabled mantra chanted for Lord Muruga: -
OM SARA-VANA-BAVA NAMAHA/POTRI(please note in north India namah (I offer my obeisance’s) is used and in South India Potri is used. Both have the same meaning.
WHY WE CHANT SA-RA-VA-NA-BA-VA
SA –CONFERS THE PROSPERITY OF SHAKTI
RA –GIVES THE WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE
VA –BESTOWS HAPPINESS OF ENJOYMENT
NA –PROTECT FROM ALL FORCES OF EVIL
BA –CONFERS MORALITY
VA –CONFERS THE LIFE OF BLESSEDNESS
HA–RA-GA-RO-GA-RA – Hail, Hail, Hail Oh Lord
Please remember that prayers to Lord Muruga are not only for the Tamil-speaking people but also for all Hindu’s. PLEASE let’s not segregate rather congregate. ???
Thank you for taking time to read this article. We are
trying to reach out not only to Hindus but to others of other faiths as well. By
compiling and publishing these articles we hope that others will understand what
a beautiful and diversified way of life Hinduism (Sanathan Dharma) really is.
Please alert your friends and family of this website. You may pass these
articles to friends and family who do not have access to the Internet or even
print them and keep them in a file. These articles are published so that it will
be a reference to you and your family when you need clarification of certain
topics. Jai Shree Muruga.
Compiled (for the upliftment of Sanatan Dharma- the Eternal Religion)
Narottam Das 032 9444 108 or 082 714 1504
E-mail nd@h4all.org
Vaikasi Visakam
All glories to the most merciful Shree Shree Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva.
All glories to Lord Muruga and his consorts Devayanai and Valli.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, and the other wonderful and inspiring gurus.
All glories to the wonderful servants of the Supreme Lord.
The hallowed full moon day in the Tamil month of Vaikasi, under the Visakam (one of the 27 Nakshatras) star is Vaikasi Purnima (Full Moon). The divine creation of Lord Muruga A.K.A. Lord Subramanya, Lord Skanda (Sanskrit), Lord Kanda (Tamil), and Lord Kartikeya to alleviate the sufferings of the Devas occurred on Vaikasi Visakam. Every year, Vaikasi Visakam is observed as the birthday of Lord Subramanya, during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (Mid May - mid June). This year Visakam is celebrated on the 19th May. In Lord Muruga’s temples all over Tamil Nadu, especially Palani and the world, it is an important occasion and is celebrated with religious fervour.
Vaikasi Visakam is important to the Saivites, Vaishnavites and Buddhists. To the Saivites, it is the day of the descent of Lord Muruga; to the Vaishnavites it is Periyalvar's Jayanti (One of the alvars (saint), he was born in Srivilliputhur, near Madurai in the 6th to 9th century CE) and to Buddhists it is the day of the great miracles of nativity, enlightenment and maha samadhi of the Supreme Lord Buddha.
Mother Sati, the consort of Lord Shiva immolated herself at her father’s Yagna, which was later destroyed by Lord Shiva. (That’s why a lady when her husband dies joins him on the fire pyre…hence she commited Sati). Thank goodness it’s forbidden in Kali Yuga. Aslo we often say SATI-MA. This we Hindus say when we want a perosn to really believe what we saying is true and we are not lying. Mother Sati was reborn as Mother Uma, or Mother Parvati the daughter of the mountain king Himavaan (the Himalayas). Lord Shiva withdrew himself from the universe and engaged himself in yogic meditation in the Himalayas.
In the meanwhile, the demon Soorapadman ravaged the earth and tormented its beings. It was realized by the devas that only the son born of Lord Shiva could lead the devas to victory over Tarakasuran, Soorapadman, Singamuhan and their demon companions. These brothers had obtained great powers through intense penance and were harassing the devas. Unable to bear their cruelty anymore, the devas requested Lord Parameswara (Lord Vishnu) to save them from the brothers. The devas plotted with Kamadev, to shoot a flower arrow at Lord Shiva, as he sat in meditation, so as to make him fall in love with Mother Parvati. When Kamadev aimed his arrow, Lord Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kamadev to ashes instantly. When Lord Shiva opened his Third Eye, he also emitted six sparks, which enveloped the three worlds with lustre. These sparks were carried by Agni-dev, Vayu-dev and the Devas to Mother Ganga and Mother Ganga in turn carried them to Lake Saravana Poigai, where the fire sparks took the shape of six male babies, cradled by lotus flowers and reeds that floated in the lake. Philosophically the lotus represents the pure heart and the reeds represent the network of nerves in man's physical body. Symbolically, the Divine Effulgence in the lake with its lotuses and reeds, are within each one.
In the Lake the sparks became six divine children and were nursed by six Karttika maidens who saw the babies floating in the lake, took them and reared them till Mother Parvati a.k.a. (Mother Durga/Sati/Kali) came there and fondly hugged the six babies to her bosom. The six babies coalesced to form into a single child with six faces and twelve hands. And that is how Lord Shanmukha (meaning ‘six faces’) was born to save the Devas. He is the incarnation of pure consciousness and divine knowledge.
Lord Muruga became the supreme general of the devas and their armies. When the appropriate time came, Lord Skanda got himself ready to fight Soorapadman and his clan, finely equipped with arms. Above all, Mother Parvati gave her son the Shakti Vel with which Lord Subramanya fought the Demons (Asuras). At last, when Soorapadman’s wife requested the Lord to spare her husband, Lord Skanda honoured her request by leaving him to remain as His flag (seval kodi - the flag with a cock emblem) and His vehicle - peacock (Mayilvahanam). As a mark of gratitude, Devendra married his daughter Deivanai to Lord Skanda. The six sites at which Lord Karthikeya sojourned while leading his armies against Surapadman are Tiruttanikai, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudirsolai, Tirupparamkunram and Tiruchendur.
Another version of Lord Muruga’s birth is from the Mahabharata. In a rather complicated pastime, Lord Muruga was born from Agni-dev and Svaha-devi, after Svaha-devi impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Lord Karthikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Mahishasura. (Mahishasura later became the adversary of Mother Durga.) Lord Indra attacked Lord Karthikeya as he saw Lord Muruga as a threat, until Lord Shiva intervened and made Lord Karthikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. Now why you may ask are there two pastimes. Well we must understand that in every cylce of a Mahayuga there’s always a different pastime on how Lord Muruga appeared. You see Hinduism is not boring and thus pastimes are always enacted differently in every Yuga. And there has been so many yugas already.
In our traditional homes, Vaikasi Visakam is celebrated with a special puja (with Sahasranama Archanai-1008 names) to Lord Muruga and Sarkarai Pongal is offered as Naivedyam (food offering). Kanda Sashti Kavacham, Subrahmanya Bhujangam and Shanmukha Kavacham are some of the religious verses that are read with all devotion in some homes. These Kavachams are armour’s to protect us from the evil spirits and evildoers. For many of these devotional MP3”s you can go onto http://www.prapatti.com to download them for free.
Generally Lord Muruga is spoken of as Ceyon one who is ruddy in colour. However, the Sri Tattvanidhi describes Lord Muruga as dark blue in colour holding the Vel; sometimes he is depicted with the two consorts, Devayanai and Valli. Besides him stands the peacock gripping a snake with its claws. This entire picture is in itself a narrative description in which every aspect symbolises a deeper meaning. The blue indicates infinity. To the human perception all infinite expanses for example the sky or ocean, appear blue. Lord Muruga is the Infinite Reality existing in the cavern of the heart - the Guhan. This reality expresses itself through the mind and together with the five sense organs, forms His six faces - Shan (six)-mukham.
The peacock is symbolic of vanity and pride. The serpent represents ego, the carnal personality of man, which keep wanting the mundane pleasures. The ego is created by ignorance and this must be kept in check and channeled to discover the Truth. The peacock holding the serpent within its claws conveys this Truth. And finally the Vel is symbolic of the removal of the negative and evil tendencies, which veil the true Divine Self. The Vel represents wisdom, Jnana Shakti; his Consort Valli is the power of Will and is the personification of Divine Love, and Devayanai is the power of action and is the personification of deathlessness.
He is the Hindu god of war. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 24), Lord Krishna, while explaining His omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, Lord Krishna says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war." So Lord Muruga is the commander-in-chief in the devas army and thus Lord Vishnu’s Army… now these days leaders when ever there is a war are very carefully guarded in their well protected houses but Lord Muruga awaits the enemies (the asuras/demons) right in the front of the enemy lines. There is a famous wrestling entertainer that most are familiar with and his words are”you want some come get some”. So in the same way Lord Muruga says to the enemies to get to my army you have to pass thro me first… this is how glorious and strong Lord Muruga is.
According to the great Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Lord Muruga never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress".
The Atharva Veda describes Lord Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' or son of Agni, the fire god. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Lord Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda-dev as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda-dev as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the pastimes of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana a.k.a Kartika Purana and Kandha Puranam (Tamil) which is the most voluminous of all the Puranas is devoted to the narrative of Lord Kartikeya. It is the largest of all the Puranas. The Skanda Purana contains eighty-one thousand one hundred Shlokas (stanzas) - Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12, Ch. 13, Texts 4-9. It has seven parts- Maheshwar, Vaishnava, Brahma, Kashi, Avanti, Nagar and Prabhasa. Many Hindus perform the Satya Narayana Katha when they are performing their Jhunda (flag hoisting) puja. Now this same Satyanarayan katha (Pastimes of Lord Satya Narayana) comes from the Skanda purana of the Reva kaanda. You can download the Skanda Purana by clicking on the link provided herewith http://www.astrojyoti.com/skandapurana.htm
Lord Muruga is venerated through out the Tamil year (This year the Tamil new year was on the 13th April). There is a six day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. Skanda Shasti falls in November. It is the day on which Lord Subramanya defeated the demon Taraka. He is worshipped at Thaipusam (This year it was on the 22nd January), celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel (spear) by his mother in order to vanquish the demons. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Lord Muruga. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangal-dev, the god of planet Mars and war. This reveals the link between Skanda-dev and Kuja-dev (Mangal-dev).
Finally to end a beautiful pastime of Lord Muruga and the water-god (Varuna-dev): -
Tiruchendur Lord Murugan Temple is on the sea shore - within 100 metres of the waves. The Temple is a cave with the entrance at the sea level and the cave inside is sliding down to the Sanctum Sanctorum of Lord Muruga. When we stand in front of Lord Muruga, the sea water level outside is higher than the visitors’ heads. There is every likely hood that tidal waves and tsunamis can rush in and fill the cave Temple with sea water. In the history of the Temple, it is explained that the Varuna-dev (The Water god/administrator) has promised Lord Muruga that he will not cross the boundary of the Temple.
And Varuna-dev has kept his promise. While the tsunami on 26/12/04 had lashed the eastern coast of India and it had inundated all places near the coast deeply, but the sea water did not enter the Temple. At 10h00 Hours on the fated day (26/12/04), the sea near the temple receded by a Kilometre - people could see there a big crater with rocks visible - gradually the sea came back to its original level. But sea water had entered Jeeva Nager located opposite Tiruchendur Bus stand at 12.30 Hrs. All other coastal areas near Tiruchendur were affected by the lashing of tsunami. The Temple area was unaffected as the sea receded there to keep the promise given. HA-RA-GA-RO-GA-RA
The different names of Lord Muruga: -
Shanmugan: - He descended to destroy adharma.
Kartikeyan: - the Karttika maidens nursed him
Guhan: - He resides in the cavern of one's heart
Saravanabhavan: - He belonged to Lake Saravanai where he was born
Arumugan: - He who has six faces.
Murugan: - The beautiful one
Karttikeya: - meaning 'son of Krittika'
Kumara: - meaning 'child or son'
Skanda: - meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit
Senthil: - the red or formidable one
The six-syllabled mantra chanted for Lord Muruga: -
OM SARA-VANA-BAVA NAMAHA/POTRI (please note in north India namah (I offer my obeisance’s) is used and in South India Potri is used. Both have the same meaning. Please remember that prayers to Lord Muruga are not only for the Tamil-speaking people but also for all Hindu’s. PLEASE let’s not segregate rather congregate. ??? Thank you for taking time to read this article. We are
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