Devotion to Murukan

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Devotion to Murukan

 

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 Shaiva 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 Shaivism in South India the school of

Shaiva Siddhanta emerged and this philosophy has been summarized in the

fourteen Siddhanta Sastras in Tamil. Of these the Sivanana 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 Shaiva Siddhanta and the 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 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 Shaiva 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 Brahma 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 Shiva-Shakti, 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). Headquarters/ Main

Centre Palani temple, Tamil Nadu.

 

return to: http://www.murugan.org/other_links.htm

 

http://www.Murugan.org/

(Skanda-Kumara website)

'Murugan, the ever-youthful champion-deity of South

Asian song, legend and literature... Whatever your background may be, if

you call on Murugan Bhakti even occasionally, sooner or later you are

likely to feel attached to Skanda-Murugan and the rainbow of spiritual

paths that converge upon Him.'

-- from 'Introducing Murugan Bhakti' located at the above website.

 

http://www.kataragama.org/

Kataragama.org The Kataragama-Skanda website

'For the serene joy and emotion of the pious.' -- Mahavamsa