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Lord Murugan – “The Hindu God of War”
The Hindu God Murugan, Murugan, Hindu God of War, Skanda, About Hindu
Gods
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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. |
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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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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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