Muruga

As the late Tamil devotional work - the Tiru-pukazh would have it,

"Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress".

Muruga (also Murugan) (Tamil: முருகன்) is perhaps the most popular Hindu deity amongst Tamils of Tamil Nadu state in India, Sri Lanka and in the Tamil diaspora. He was once popular throughout India. He is known by a number of other names, including Kartikeyan, Kumaran, Shanmukha, Skanda and Subramanian. He is the God of war and the patron deity of the Tamil land. As the late Tamil devotional work - the Tiru-pukazh would have it, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress".
Ratna Navaratnam in her Karttikeya, the divine child:the Hindu testament of wisdom published in 1973 by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan explores the antecedents of the concept of Murugan. The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as Agnibhuh or son of Agni - the fire god. The Satapatha Brahmana depicts him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. The Taittiriya Aranyaka includes the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharma Sutra mentions Skanda as Mahasena and Subrahmanya. The Aranya Parva of the Mahabharata alludes to Kartikeya Skanda where the legend is retold in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.
The references to Murugan in Sanskrit literature could therefore be traced back to the first millenium BCE and the thereafter. Ratna Navaratnam alludes to the reference to Subrahmanya in Kautilya's Arthashastra, the works of Patanjali and to Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumara Sambhava. The Kushanas who governed from what is today Peshawar had struck coins that featured Skanda or Mahasena. The Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, issued coins with the Skanda image as well. The Iskhvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas did venerate the deity.

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam in his Studies and Translations:

Philosophic and Religious published in Colombo in 1937 translates from the old Tamil poem the Tiru-murukaarupadai:
"In the face of fear His face of comfort shows. In the fierce battle field, with 'Fear not' His lance shows. Think of Him once, twice He shows to those who chant Muruga"
"Far shining dazzling Light, as of the many praised Sun in the sea beheld, who riseth for the world's joy and goeth circling;might feet crushing folly, upholding them that cling to Him; strong arms that like thunder-bolt wipe out foes; hath He the Spouse of the bright-browed Lady of perfect love".

The Legend

Legend
Sati, the consort of Shiva immolated herself at the Daksha Yagna, which was later destroyed by Shiva. Shakti was reborn as Uma, or Parvati the daughter of the mountain king Himavaan (the Himalayas). Shiva withdrew himself from the universe and engaged himself in yogic meditation in the Himalayas.
In the meanwhile, the demon Surapadman ravaged the earth and tormented its beings. It was realized by the gods that only the son born of Shiva could lead the gods to victory over Tarakasuran, Surapadman and their demon companions. They plotted with Kaama, the Indic cupid, to shoot a flower arrow at Shiva, as he sat in meditation, so as to make him fall in love with Parvati. When Kaama aimed his arrow at Shiva, he opened his third eye and burned him to ashes instantly.
The sparks of the fiery seed of Shiva were unbearable; even the fire God Agni could not bear them; this fire was then transported by the river Ganga into the Sara Vana forest, where Sara Vana Bhava was born. He was raised by the six Kartika damsels - the stars that made up the Pleiades. Parvati combined these six babies into one with six faces, ie. Shanmukha. Shanmukha, or Kartikeya the supreme general of the devas, led the army of the devas to victory against the demons. The six sites at which Kartikeya sojourned while leading his armies against Surapadman are Tiruttanikai, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudirsolai, Tirupparamkunram and Tiruchendur. All these sites have ancient temples glorified by the Tamil poems of Tirumurugaatruppadai of the Sangam period (circa the 3rd century CE)

Purana

In the Hindu epics

The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and his wife after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the 'Seven Sages'.The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.(In latter mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga. Indra attacks Kartikeya as he see the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'.It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army(sena) of Devas.
The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.

In the Puranas

Though slightly varying versions occur in the Puranas, they broadly follow the same pattern. (By this period, the identification of Shiva/Rudra with Agni, that can be traced back to the Vedas and Brahmanas, had clearly made Kartikeya the son of Shiva.)
The Skanda Purana narrates that Shiva, was married earlier to Dakshayani( also known as Sati), the granddaughter of Brahma, and the daughter of Daksha. Daksha never liked Shiva (Shiva begs for food, lives in a graveyard covered with ashes being the Destructor, and has no possessions, not even good clothes for himself - symbolising detachment but disliked by Daksha) and insults Shiva in front of Dakshayini in a Yagna. Dakshayani self-immolates herself, unable to bear the humiliation. Having thus incurred Shiva's wrath, the Yagna is destroyed even though it was protected by all the other Gods & Rishis. Taraka believed that, since Shiva was an ascetic and his earlier marriage was itself conducted with great difficulty, his remarriage was out of the question, hence his boon of being killed by Shiva's son alone would give him invincibility.
The Devas manage to get Shiva married to Parvati (who was Dakshayani, reborn) by having Manmatha (also known as Kama), the god of love awaken him from his penance, incurring his wrath by opening his third eye of destruction, and being destroyed & resurrected. Shiva hands over his effulgence of the third eye used to destroy Manmatha to Agni, as he alone is capable of handling it till it becomes the desired offspring. But even Agni, tortured by its heat, hands it over to Ganga who in turn deposits it in a lake in a forest of reeds(Shara). The child is finally born in this forest(vana) with six faces-eesanam, sathpurusham, vamadevam, agoram, sathyojatham and adhomugam. He is first spotted and cared for by six women reprsenting the Pleiades - Kritika in Sanskrit. He thus gets named Kartikeya. As a young lad, he destroys Taraka. As this youthful saviour he is called Kumara(the Sanskrit word for youth).

Skandan in The Gita

Skandan in The Gita and a theological perspective

Muruga is also mentioned in the Gita. In chapter 10 (stanza 24), Krishna says of generals he is sKandan. This description very well fits into the core concepts of Hinduism - " Brahman" and its panentheistic theology.
As per strict definition of Hinduism, there is only one god - identified as the Brahman (not to be confused with Brahmin or Brahma). As per Gita, Brahman is the infinite or absolute perfection in every sense. Brahman is the Absolute reality. Brahman does not exist; it is existence itself. It is not all-knowing; it is knowledge itself. In some places it is said Brahman is any thing and every thing that will exist at any time. Brahman is where every thing originated from and every thing will end up. It is said in Gita that only a very few will be able to attach (or devote) themselves to this "formless" or "unlimited purity form" of Brahman. The mortals are encouraged to devote (or attach) themselves to Brahman through a form that is appropriate for them (For example, during the discourse of the Gita to Arjuna, Krishna shows up in his full form. Arjuna is afraid and can not relate that form. Krishna then appears as just another human being, that is more appropriate for Arjuna). These multiple human forms of god are considered to be "less abstract" or "personal forms" that human being can use to visualize "Brahman". Skanda or Murugan represents one such less abstract or personal form of "Brahman". The devotees see Skanda as the absolute Brahman itself.

Murugan and the Tamil liturgy

Murugan is venerated through out the Tamil year. There is a six day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Karthikai known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thai Poosam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the demons. Vaikasi Visakam or the full moon of the Tamil month of Vaikasi is signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mars, the planet of war. This reveals the link between Skanda and Kujan or Mars.
The Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, was written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar(1350-1420 CE.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. He was a scholar in Tamil & Sanskrit literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.
According to legend, Kachiappa Sivacharyar would leave each day's compositions in the sanctum sanctorum or mūlasthānam of the Murugan shrine at Kumarakkottam, to find it returned in the morning with corrections, presumed to be made by the deity himself. Hence, the Kanda Purānam is widely considered to be an authoritative account of Murugan.

The adoration of Kartikeya

Historically, Kartikeya enjoyed immense popularity in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), in the middle of the battlefied "Kurukshetra", Krishna explaining his omnipresence and revealing the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each category, says - "Of generals I am Skanda, the lord of war."
His presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in the Sanskrit works like the Katha-Saritsagara. Kalidasa chose his birth as the subject of one of his epics.
In ancient India, he was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as can be seen in famed Sanskrit play of Shudraka - Mrichchakatikam (the little clay cart) and the medieval collection of tales,Vetala-panchvimshati. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill the demon Taraka and his brothers. (In Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house)
However, his popularity in north India saw a great erosion from the Middle Ages. He slowly vanished from the scene and is today virtually unknown in these areas except in scholarly circles.The last vestiges can be seen in Bengal where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja along with Durga or at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab.
This surprising change may perhaps be attributed to the fact that he was strongly associated with the ruling classes and from the Middle Ages most of the ruling houses were Muslims.

Popularity in the Tamil Nadu

In North India, the popularity of Skanda receded. In South India, Muruga continued to enjoy a popularity with all classes of society right from the Sangam age. This lead to the more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language.
He married two deities, Valli and Devayani. The latter is identical to Devasena and the former is a daughter of a tribal chief. However, other Hindu legends state he is unmarried, and call him Kumaraswami, Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God.
Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. The flag of his army depicts a rooster. In the war, Shoorapadman was split into two, and was granted a boon by Murugan, to become the peacock, and the rooster.
As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in south India, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil the "Red" or formidable one; Arumuga the six-faceted one; Muruga; Guha; Maal-Marugan nephew of Vishnu and many others.
The Lord Subramanya is worshipped wih utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in state of Karnataka.There are many rituals like nagaradhane which are unique practised in these districts of India.

Differences in Northern and Southern traditions

There seem to be some intriguing differences in the traditions associated with Kartikeya in the North and South of India.

Elder Brother

The Sanskrit epics and Puranas seem to indicate that he was the eldest son of Shiva, as the tale of Shiva's marriage to Parvati indicates. In the Shiva Purana, he is seen helping Shiva fight the newly born Ganesha, Shiva's other son, when Ganesha stopped Shiva from entering his home in Kailasa.

Younger Brother

The south has all along maintained that he was the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine mango of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the mango, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the mango. After winning it, he offers to give the mango to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom.

Married

The southern tradition has him married to two wives.

Major Temples

Major Temples Of Lord Muruga

The main temples of Murugan are located in Southern Tamilnadu. They include the Aru Padaiveedu - Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani, Thiruthani and other important shrines like Sikkal, Marudamalai, Vayalur, Kukke Subramanya. The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples in his honor in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu caves near Kuala Lumpur.