Devotion to Murukan

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Devotion to Murukan

by J.I. McGrath

 

Doctrines

 

Worship of Murukan is an eclectic cult reflecting centuries of cultural

synthesis. Murukan is not the god of a single culture. On a basis of

Tamil religion he has integrated Saiva and Vaishnava attributes. He is a

Tamil hill god that spread to the coast and the towns and then became

the son of Shiva as Skanda. He is also known by the names of Kumara,

Subramanya, Karttikeya, and Velan. The history of Murukan is the history

of South India. Murukan is a manifestation of teyvam, Tamil for the

Divine, for his devotees. Other Tamil terms to describe him range from

the abstract to his concrete symbols. For some he is a personal being.

There is a face of Murukan for everyone. Indeed, the contemporary

mythology of Murukan caters for all human needs and emotions. With the

development of Saivism in South India the school of Saiva Siddhanta

emerged and this philosophy has been summarized in the fourteen

Siddhanta sastras in Tamil. Of these the Sivanyana Potam by Meykanta

Teva and the Sivanana Siddhiyar of Arulnanti Sivacarya are the clearest

expositions. Such works combined the Sanskrit and Tamil elements. The

religion of Saiva Siddhanta and Tamil bhakti is more to be experienced

than metaphysical, thus affirming the early Tamil religion. The Tamil

renaissance has continued this form of worship. Murukan is called tamizh

kadavul, the "god of Tamil." His mythology is based on Tamil Nadu. He

combines the Sanskrit and Tamil polarities of creation and destruction,

symbolizes eternality, is the Lord of Time, and is closely related to

the moon. The word muruku means honey, beauty, fragrance, divine music,

eternal youth. It has even been suggested there is a link with the

Dionysian cult coming into India with Alexander. Murukan's two consorts,

the heavenly Devasena and the earthly Valli, fuse Saiva and Vaishnava

motifs, and with them on the celestial mountain of Kanta Matanam he

protects the universe. He destroys the asura (demon) Taraka. And he

teaches his father Siva the meaning of the sacred sound OM. Of great

doctrinal importance are the six pilgrimage centres which are

'topocosms' that 'sacralize' Tamil Nadu. These are Palani, Tiruchendur,

Tiruttani, Tirupparankunram, Swamimalai, and the sixth is Kunratal,

'every hill on which the god dances,' that is, every other Murukan

shrine.

 

History

 

Early Tamil religion was celebratory with an aura of sacral immanence,

seeing the sacred in vegetation, fertility, and the colour of the land.

Murukan was a god of the hills and hunting, who fought evil in the

hills, especially the cur who seeks to possess girls. The most important

religious experience was possession by the god in an ecstasy. In the

hills maidens with garlands danced intoxicated with the priests of

Murukan. After three centuries - the fourth to the seventh - of Buddhist

and Jain dominance came Hinduization with the Tamil land - southernmost

India - as the main centre of Hindu civilization. Murukan became

identified with Skanda, son of Shiva. The Tamil bhakti (devotional)

poets from the seventh century reaffirmed early Tamil religion and

Murukan was praised by Arunakirinatha in the fifteenth century and

Kacciyapaciva in the seventeenth. From 1550 to 1750 temples to Murukan

proliferated, especially in the west of the region, and were the

settings for marriages and great festivals such as the Cittarai festival

in Madurai. In the seventeenth century came the Tamil version of the

Skanda Purana with all his Tamil background. From the nineteenth century

there has been a Tamil renaissance prompted by the discovery of Tamil

culture by Western scholars. Clothey describes Tamil religion in the

modern era as 'neo-bhakti' with numbers at festivals and on pilgrimages

increasing dramatically, temples being renovated and welcoming all

strata of society from the 1920's. Murukan has become enormously popular

because he attracts all levels of people and because he represents Tamil

antiquity and identity and unites so much of the symbolism of Tamil

religion (Clothey in Eliade, Vol 14, 260).

 

Symbols

 

Murukan is associated with the number six, having six faces, six

parents, and six pilgrimage centres. Each of the faces symbolizes one of

the six qualities of the god: felicity, fullness, immortal youth,

endless energy, protection from evil, and spiritual splendour. Together

they imply divine totality. The god also harmonises with man who has six

cakras and is a microcosm. The temple too is a microcosm with six

cakras. The six pilgrimage centres represent 'a mandala by which Tamil

Nadu is itself cosmicized and breakthrough from the cosmos to

transcendence is believed possible' (Clothey 1978, 177). Murukan is

commonly shown with a red face, except on stone statues, and is

associated with gold. Red symbolizes the vibrant fertile earth as well

as the anger of Murukan with blood dripping from his lance and the tusks

of fighting elephants with which he is associated. The red cock is an

animal of the god. Red and gold or yellow seem interchangeable. Red and

yellow flowers denote the god and his dress is a mixture of gold and

red. These colours symbolize the sun and the sacrificial fire. He is

sometimes shown as a red lotus, for in some myths he is born of a lotus,

symbolizing his primordial power. The peacock is the most important

animal in Murukan symbolism. The colour and fertility of the bird

equated with the vibrant hills and its beauty was like that of women and

fresh vegetation. The peacock danced in the rain and so brought rain

like Murukan did. Peacock feathers decorated the kuntu, small pillar,

used in worship, and the lance of war and worship. Later the peacock

became the mount of Murukan and flew around the world and to the

heavens. When the peacock holds a serpent in claws or beak, this

symbolizes its control of malevolent cosmic forces. By the medieval

period the peacock is also a symbol of the ocean. As a cosmic symbol the

peacock represents totality as does Murukan. The cock and elephant are

also important animals with Murukan. Of minor importance are the ram,

goat, horse, and serpent. Murukan's weapon is the lance, commonly the

leaf-shaped Tamil Vel, sometimes the Sanskrit Sakti. The priest of

Murukan is the velan, a bearer of the lance. When Murukan holds the

lance as sakti, he and his lance symbolize Siva-Sakti, the cosmic pair,

god and soul, heaven and earth, god and world. The two extremes of the

cosmos, earth symbolized by the peacock and primordial sound symbolized

by the cock, are held together by the lance. Murukan is worshipped with

water, coconut milk, sandal paste, red millet, honey, rice, blood, and

red, yellow, or white flowers. There has been remarkable persistence in

the symbols of Murukan over the centuries.

 

Adherents

 

Millions worship Murukan, especially in Tamil Nadu. More than two

million pilgrims visit Palani temple each year and it is second in

wealth in the South only to Tirupati. More than a million pilgrims come

to Tiruchendur in a year (Clothey 1978, 118,121).

 

Centres

 

Map of ancient centres of worship Aru Padai Veedu | Palani | Tiruchendur

| Tiruttani | Katirkamam

 

Courtesy: J.I. McGrath

See also Schematic diagram of Hindu ritual and ascetic sects (including

Kaumaram) and Schematic diagram of Hindu devotional sects (excluding

Kaumaram)

 

Index of other research articles about Skanda Murukan

 

Murugan.org home page