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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.
Click
here to to view all available 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. |
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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.
Click
here to view all our Murugan statues
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adapted from
http://murugan.org/research/rohitpillai.htm |
