Lord Subramanya – Hindu Gods and Deities

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Lord Subramanya - Hindu Gods and DeitiesLord Subramanya is the son of divine couple Shiva and Parvati, to destroy the demon Tarakasura. Before conceiving him, even these Parents of the World had to perform severe Tapas or austerities! This teaches the world, of the great need for Tapas on the part of the parents desirous of excellence of offspring. He is stated to have been born in a forest of arrow-like grass and reared by the six divine mothers of the constellation Krttika (Pleiades), hence the name ‘Karthikeya’.

Karthikeya has six heads and is an embodiment of perfection. It seems he assumed six faces to suckle the milk of the six mothers. He was appointed the commander-in-chief of the gods and thus became ‘Deva-senapati’. With his matchless weapon, the Shakti or lance, shining brilliantly like fire, he easily destroyed Tarakasura, thus becoming’ Shaktidhara’ and ‘Tarakari’. Being very young and virile he is ‘Kumara’ or ‘Sanatkumara.’ A forceful attacker in war, he is known as ‘Skanda’. ‘Skanda’ also means one who has accumulated the power of chastity.

He is a war god and brave leader of God’s forces, created to destroy the demons which represent the negative tendencies in all of us. Karthikeya tends to the spiritual growth of aspirants, having the fire and energy to lead the army towards moksha. He represents transmutation of sexual energy and utilizing such energy for spiritual evolution. He takes care of health, family life, healthy children, and assets such as land, etc. Fire and Mars relate to Karthikeya.

Those who are suffering with Rahu, Ketu, Kala Sarpa Dosha (In the Vedic chart, people whose planets sit between Rahu and Ketu.), and those having sarpa shap (curse of the snake) should worship Karthikeya.

If Ganesh is universally revered by almost all the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and has even succeeded in going abroad to many countries of South East Asia, China, Japan and Afghanistan, Subrahmaryya his brother, has somehow remained confined to South India.

 

FAMILY

Karthikeya is the second son of the divine couple, Shiva and Parvathi, and the younger brother of Ganesha. He has two consorts: Valli (Sundaravalli) and Devasena (Amruthavalli). The former is the daughter of a humble chieftain of a race given to agriculture and woodcraft. The latter is the daughter of Indra, the king of gods. This is just to show that God does not make any distinction between the humble folk and the elite. He loves both equally. Alternatively, this can also mean that the true leader of a society will espouse agriculture and industry on the one hand, and the armed forces on the other, in order to develop the society as also to protect it.

 

OTHER NAMES

Karthikeya is known by many names Subramaniam, Sanmukha (because he has six faces)., Shadanana, Svami-natha (the preceptor of his own father), Skanda, Gangeya (son of Ganga) and Guha (the secret one). In the southern states of India, Kartikeya is a popular deity and is better known as Murugan.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Lord Subramanya - Hindu Gods and Deities

In icons, he is shown as a boy either with one head and two arms or with six heads and twelve arms. His lance and his peacock are also prominently displayed. A fowl adorns his banner.

His six heads represent the five sense organs and the mind, which co-ordinates their activities. When these are controlled, refined and sublimated, man becomes a superman. This is the implication of the symbology.

The lance of dazzling brightness is the weapon with which this Devasenapati vanquished many an enemy. It actually stands for knowledge and wisdom with which all the ugly demons of ignorance can be destroyed.

The peacock is his mount, a pious bird that grips with its feet a serpent, which symbolizes the ego and desires of people. The peacock represents the destroyer of harmful habits and the conqueror of sensual desires.

Kartikeya carries on one hand a spear and his other hand is always blessing devotees. The symbolism of Kartikeya thus points to the ways and means of reaching perfection in life.

 

MANTRA

Moola Mantra : Om Sharavana-bhavaya Namaha

 

SUBRAMANYA TEMPLES

The Six Abodes of Murugan are six temples situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. The god is known by different names such as Karthikeya, Skanda, Vadivela and Muruga at various temples. The six most sacred abodes of Murugan was mentioned in Tamil sangam literature, “Thirumurugatrupadai”, written by Nakkeerar and in “Thirupugal”, written by Arunagirinathar. The six abodes are Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparankunram and Thiruchendur.

Six Abodes (Arupadaiveedu):

  • Thiruthani Murugan Temple, Thiruvallur district

Located near Chennai, Murugan reclaimed his inner peace after waging a war with Asuras and married Valli here.

  • Swamimalai Murugan Temple, Thanjavur district

Located at 5 km from Kumbakonam, the temple is built on an artificial hill. The temple commemorates the incident where Muruga explained the essence of the pranava mantra “Om” to his father Shiva.

  • Palani Murugan Temple, Pazhani, Dindigul district

Located in Dindigul District, the temple is build is on the top of Palani hills where ‘Dhandayuthapani’ is the main deity, in a meditating state, carrying a staff (‘danda’) as weapon (‘ayutha’) in his hands (‘pani’). This is the place where Murugan resided after his feud with his family over a divine fruit. Here, the main deity is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals popularly called Navabashanam and was established by Saint Bhogar.

There is also a Murugan temple on the Palani hill bottom called ‘Thiruaavinankudi’, where the deity is known as ‘Kuzhanthai Velayuthaswami’ and was worshipped by Goddess Lakshmi (‘Thiru’ in Tamil), the sacred cow Kamadhenu (‘Aa’ in Tamil), the sun god Surya (‘Inan’ in both Tamil & Sanskrit), the earth goddess (‘ku’ in Tamil), and the fire god Agni (‘Di’ in Tamil), and has idols of all of them.

  • Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple, Madurai district

Located on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillock with a holy stream nearby called “Nupura Gangai”. Murugan is seen with both his consorts Deivanai and Valli.

  • Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple, Madurai district

Located on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillock where Kartikeyan married Indra’s daughter Deivanai. Nakkeerar worshipped Murugan in this shrine and is said to have worshiped Lord Shiva here as Parangirinathar.

  • Thiruchendur Murugan Temple, Toothukudi district

Located on the sea-shore near Tuticorin amongst the remains of Gandhamadana Parvatam or Santhanamalai (Sandal Mountain). The temple commemorates the place where Murugan worshiped Shiva and won a decisive victory over demon Soorapadman.