Lord Murugan also known as “Thamizh Kadavul” is the youngest son of God Shiva and Goddess Parvati and he is famous for appearing in 6 faces with a peacock as his “Vahanam”. Lord Murugan is also called by different names such as Skanda, Shanmuga, Kathirvela, Arumugam, Velmurugan, Mayil Vahanam, etc.
Lord Murugan is worshipped for gaining more confidence, courage, skills, and intelligence. In this blog, you will get to know 5 interesting facts and things you need to know about worshipping Lord Muruga.
Have a great journey of spiritual enlightenment “Om Saravanabhava”.
Birth Story and Origin of Lord Murugan:
In one of the incarnations of Parvati, she was born in the family of Himaavan the king of the mountains, and performed a severe penance to once again reach the adobe of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was very much pleased by her and married her, then he took her to a place called Gandamadhana parvat to live their life.
When Lord Shiva was engaged in deep meditation while Parvati was serving him with all devotion and deity, An asura called Surapadma captured all the gods and imprisoned them so that heaven could remain empty and the demons rule the three worlds.
The gods in captivity were tortured by the demons. The reason for this horror is due to the curse that fell upon the deities during their participation in the sacrifice led by Daksha, father of Goddess Parvati in her incarnation as Sati. It is also said that Lord Shiva was not invited to this sacrifice, since Daksha was a reverent acolyte of Lord Vishnu and hated Lord Vishnu.
The imprisoned gods finally got exhausted and prayed to Lord Brahma and Vishnu to do something to stop the imprisonment. They both stated that the boon the demons got could not be killed by powers other than lord shiva. So Shiva and Parvathi needed to give birth to a child.
So Shiva needs to attract Parvathi to give birth to a child since Shiva was engaged in deep meditation something has to be done to get him attracted to Parvathi. They landed on a strange idea by approaching Manmata to distract Shiva by releasing an arrow of love from Manmatas blow towards Lord Shiva.
This instance caused disturbance to Lord Shiva, Angered Lord Shiva opened his third eye and made Manmata into ashes by the fire that came forth from the eye.
All the gods prayed to Lord Shiva as they planned to request Manmata to distract him. By understanding the truth Lord Shiva gave back life to Manmata with a curse that he shall remain invisible.
The six flames that burnt down Manmata are now carried by Agni to Saravana Lake and formed as six charming children that are taken care of by six Karthika sisters. Once Shiva and Parvathi visited the lake, Mother Parvathi embraced all six children together and they became one child with six faces namely Eesanam, Tathpurusham, Vamadevam, Agoram, Sathyojatham, and Adhomugam.
The child is called as Shanmuga, Muruga, Subramanya, Kanda, Karthikeya, and many more. Mother Parvathi gifted the boy Muruga with a spear and the boy went to fight with the demon surapadma and cut the demon into two pieces. After the defeat, the demon prayed that he wanted to be accommodated with Muruga, So Muruga made the two pieces of the body into a peacock and a cock.
The cock found a place on the flag and the peacock became his vehicle. Thus Lord Muruga was born and got immortal fame and numerous temples were built for him.
Physical Appearance:
Lord Muruga also known as Skanda is one of the most beautiful and handsome gods. He rides a peacock called Paravani and his preferred weapon is a vel or spear hence popularly known as velayudham. He is called Yudharanga and the wisdom of war where he is represented with six heads and twelve hands. Lord Muruga is extremely knowledgeable, and brave and can test the knowledge of Lord Bhrama.
About Lord Murugan’s Marriage:
Lord Muruga has two consorts’ namely Valli and Devasena. Valli is a tribal girl and Devasena is the daughter of Indra, the king of Devas. Amirtavalli and Sundaravalli were the two daughters of Vishnu and they developed an undying love for Skanda and they performed severe austerities to obtain him as husband.
At Skanda’s instruction, Amirtavalli incarnated as Devasena and Sundaravalli as Valli. After the war with Surapadma was over the devas were overjoyed and Skanda acceded to Indra’s prayer to accept Devasena as his consort.
The divine wedding was celebrated with great enthusiasm in the presence of Shiva and Parvathi. Devas regained their positions and Skanda took his home in Skandagiri and proceeded to Tiruttani near Chennai where Valli was looking after the barely fields. After a series of love pranks, he then married her.
Festivals and Celebrations:
Celebration of Kavadi Attam is performed during Thai Pusam the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the god of war. This is symbolic of the devotees carrying a physical burden, manifesting the Lord to release them from Material bondage.
The instrument that devotees carry as a burden is called Kavadi. People celebrate Kumara Purnima on the full moon day after Vijayadasami, this is one of the common festivals dedicated to Lord Kartikeya in Odisha. It is believed that unmarried girls worship Kartikeya on this day to get a groom as handsome as Kartikeya.
Temples and Pilgrimage Sites:
Lord Muruga has temples all over the world, among them, the famous is located in Tamil Nadu, here is the list of famous temples of Lord Kartikeya:
Sikkal Singaravelan Temple – Sikkal,
The Swaminatha Swami Temple – Swamimalai,
The Kumaran Kundran Temple – Karamadai City,
The Ratnagiri Arulmigu Murugan Temple – Vellore,
The Thirumalai Kumara Swami Temple – Panpoli,
The Arulmigu Subramanya Swamy Temple – Thruparankundram.
These famous and most powerful temples have a rich history and are highly celebrated by devotees.
Conclusion:
Lord Murugan also known as Kartikeya or Skanda, holds a significant place in Hindu Mythology that is worshipped by millions around the world. From his birth to his divine attributes, Murugan’s story is one of Courage, Wisdom, and Devotion.
Whether worshipped for protection, wisdom, or victory, Lord Murugan continues to captivate hearts and minds embodying timeless virtues that resonate across generations. Bring home the six-faced skanda, by purchasing Lord Murugan Tanjore paintings.
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