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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

Saint who was singled out for a mission

 

CHENNAI, NOV. 21. Among the 18 Puranas written by Veda Vyasa, the

Skanda Purana deals with the glory and deeds of Lord Subramanya.

Just as in the case of the other Puranas, the objective of this

scriptural text is to reveal the path of righteousness to

mankind, suffering in bondage. The scriptural texts are often

compared to the ocean because of the magnitude of their

teachings. This analogy can be extended to understand their

significance. While the shallow waters of the ocean yield only

fish, it is possible to reap pearls by diving deep into the

ocean. Likewise, the Puranas can be interpreted at different

levels according to the capacity of the person. At the surface

they may appear as legends relating to the manifestations of the

Supreme Being but at a subtler level they expound abstract

philosophical concepts.

 

In his discourse, Sri Sakthi Bharathi said the Skanda Purana of

Veda Vyasa, in Sanskrit, was rendered by Kachiappa Sivachariar

into Tamil in verse form - the Kanda Puranam. The manner in which

he accomplished this mission proves beyond doubt that it was

ordained by God Himself. Kanchipuram has been hailed as one of

the seven important pilgrim centres which is capable of

delivering man from bondage. In this town where temples abound,

is the shrine Kumarakottam, for Muruga.

 

Kachiappa Sivachariar was born to the priest of this shrine, who

was childless for long, due to the grace of the deity here. No

wonder, he was devoted to the duties of temple worship and

assisted his father and in course of time took on the entire

responsibility himself. He had also mastered the scriptures. The

Lord appeared in his dream one day and commanded him to compose

the Skanda Purana in Tamil. When he woke up he was so overwhelmed

by the vision that when the enormity of the task struck him, he

was totally baffled.

 

He prayed to the deity to show him the way and Lord Muruga

Himself composed the opening verse in the form of a prayer to

Thigada Cakra Vinayaka in that town and bade him to write. The

poem literally poured forth at the rate of 100 verses everyday

effortlessly attesting to the fact that he became an instrument

of the Lord. The Kanda Puranam comprises 10345 verses in chaste

poetic Tamil is divided into six cantos. Each canto is further

divided into several sections according to the topics dealt in

them. He has glorified all the six abodes of Muruga which are

traditionally associated with the incidents described in this

Purana.

 

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