Lord Murugan – “The Hindu God of War”
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The story of the war god of Hindu
Mythology is fascinating for many reasons. He has many nicknames
but his most common would be
Skanda, although it has been
almost forgotten today after having been in worship for over two
millennia.
Skanda was most popular because
of his absorption into the official pantheon as opposed to his
previous folk status, and the sudden decline in his all-India
popularity to once again being a local area god are all typical
stages of this sheltering process.
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Murugan (Skanda) statues |
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As far as Indian history goes
Skanda began his existence
basically from the beginning. He was a popular war god who lived
on forested hills, was fond of hunting and fighting and with an
appetite for blood sacrifices. He was young, handsome and a
fire-eating, spear-wielding bravo. This basic template went by
many names in different parts of the country. In Maharashtra he
was called Khandoba and in vast areas of the south of India the
god was known as Malai Kilavan, the Lord of the hills in ancient
Tamil. His other name was
Murugan. This is the name that
he is most recognized as today in places of worship. The
Indologist Hardy had a theory that
Murugan worship under different
names was popular in the folk religion of the North of India
too. He was supported in this by Parpola who spent a long time
attempting to decipher the script of the Indus valley. Parpola
came to the conclusion that
Murugan was a deity of the
Indus valley culture and that the very name
Murugan is to be found in the
language. While this is not a popularly accepted view, the
reason it could be put forward is the uncontested antiquity of
Skanda worship. If the Indus
civilization theory proves true then
Skanda
is at least five thousand years old. In Maharashtra the
assimilative forces of High Culture could not force Khandoba out
so easily and he remained an independent god, although he is
recognized as an avatar of
Shiva. |
| It is interesting that
most of the myths of
Skanda deal with the vexed
question of his parentage. No other figure in mythology has so many
claimants for that status. Success indeed has many fathers, and in
Skanda's
case mothers too - eight in the most popular version the origin
story! The many claimants for his parentage indicate his immense
importance for rival sects who needed the hill warrior's popularity
to bolster their numbers. The
Ganapati
worshippers alone took an antagonistic stand when it was their
time to bask in the sun, they never could forgive
Skanda
his head start in popularity. The Jains and Buddhists had no
stories about
Skanda as they did about the
Vedic deities; he was too violent for them. The Mahabharata seems to
have the first version of his origin though the Ramayana has a
little section that covers familiar ground too. |
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With time
Skanda worship began to trial
off and it is only in Tamil Nadu that he has any significant
presence. The most important temple there is on the shores of the
sea and is called Tirucchentur. Other temples lie scattered about
the state too and in the rest of South India. This retreat of
Skanda from the other quarters of
India into the south is documented in the myth that says he was
infuriated with his parents for preferring his younger brother
Ganapati
when it came to who should get married first. A contest designed
to solve this issue came to naught - for
Skanda made the trip round the
universe physically while
Ganapati
merely went round his parents stating that they are the world.
At a metaphysical level he was right but
Skanda went off in a rage that
has still not abated. In many south Indian temples they have an
annual ritual where his Himalayan dwelling parents come to visit
their still sulking son! The myth also accurately potrays an
increasing Indian preference for
Ganapati, something that shows no
sign of receding as yet.
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Skanda rides a peacock called
Paravani. His preferred weapon is the Vel or spear hence
the popular name Velâyudhan
- he whose weapon is a spear. He is called Yuddharanga or
the wisdom of war too. He is represented with six heads and
twelve hands. He is popularly known as Subramaniam too which is
a common South Indian name.
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