Hari Om
Lord Muruga, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, is extensively worshiped by many from all around the world. The brother of Lord Ganesha also goes by the name of Lord Subrahmanya and as Lord Karthikeya or Karthik in the Northern parts of India. His weapon is the Vel (Spear) which is also knows as Shakti, the weapon that possesses all the power transferred from his mom, Parvati. The lord is always seen with a peacock to symbolise piousness and to defeat all sexual desires and bad habits.
Karthikeya represents strength, courage and valour and one who worships Him can get rid of all his woes and emerge with strength. Having destroyed Taraksur on the seventh day of his birth, he is often recollected as the most masculine and courageous among all the Hindu Gods. (cover image courtesy: Pinterest.com)
He is often depicted in his images with six faces and twelve hands. His Svarupa is Jyotirmaya. (Form of light). It is believed that on earth, every human being’s physicality is a combination of the five elements. When Lord Muruga took the human form, it resulted in his form being created in the same manner. The spirit, signified by the sparks from Siva, created the appearance of a human personality, the body comprising of the five elements. In order to distinguish him from other mortal human beings, he is portrayed with six faces and twelve hands to establish his divine nature. He is also known as Arumuga (Six faces) for this reason.
These six faces represent the following:
(i) Five, one element each: Ether, air, fire, water and earth. The sixth face characterises the spirit that confers life to all beings created by the five elements.
(ii) The Sanskrit term Bhagavan means one who is possessed of the six godly attributes. “One who is full in six opulences, who has full strength, full fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation, is Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead”
And each face of Lord Skanda personifies one of such functions or attributes of the Almighty.
(iii) In the Tamil scriptures, a detailed description of all of the faces is given.
One face is shining to remove ignorance and bestow Knowledge; another fulfils the desires of devotees and attends to their needs; a third face bestows strength and inspiration for the performance of rituals and sacrifices; a fourth brings out the inner secrets and helps the seekers of knowledge by revealing those secrets to them; a fifth face has the purpose of protecting the virtuous and punishing the wicked; and the sixth face stands for that function of the Lord that ignites Love and bestows happiness amongst the Jivas.
Significance of Lord Murugan’s two wives:
The consorts of Lord Shanmukha are Valli and Deivayanai. Valli stands for the Iccha Sakti—the Power of Will. And the other, Deivayanai, stands for Kriya Sakti—the Power of Action.
Thus should a Jiva aspiring to Godliness, having brought the will-power under control, strive ceaselessly till it reaches the goal.
Hence the three Saktis, in the form of Vel—Jnana Sakti (knowledge), Valli—Iccha Sakti, and Deivayanai—Kriya Sakti, form part and parcel of Lord Shanmukha, who is also named as Saktidhara.
Glory to the Lord of the Saktis! Glory to the Lord who dispels ignorance amongst the devotees by His Velayudha.( the spear)
The meaning of Valli’s Wedding
The true import of this wedding seems to be this. Valli represents the Jiva that has been separated from its original abode, eternal bliss, Paramatman, who is Lord Subrahmanya. The separated Jiva roams in the wilderness of the forest of this world, due to the force of Avidya (ignorance). To rescue this ignorant Jiva wandering in the wilderness, the Guru appears in the form of Rishi Narada by whose help the wedding takes place between Valli and Lord Karttik, i.e., the holy communion of the Jiva with the Supreme Brahman.
As the Jiva possessed unflinching and unswerving faith in the Lord, Valli was determined to marry only Lord Shanmukha and was able to realise her ambition in spite of the many obstructions. Hence, having the two horns of Vairagya and Viveka, the Jiva, Valli, got herself finally rescued from the clutches of Maya—represented by her parents and other obstacles—and finally established herself in union with Lord Subrahmanya, the Supreme Abode of Bliss.
The two wives, Deivayanai and Valli, also symbolise the two types of devotees among those who strive for Moksha or Liberation through union or oneness with the Supreme. One type consists of those who rigidly and sincerely observe the injunctions and follow the teachings of the Vedic scriptures and are thus the followers of Vaidika Karmas. That type is represented by Deivayanai, whom Subrahmanya married in the regular orthodox way. The other type consists of the ardent Bhaktas who attach more importance to right mental feeling and emotion than to rules and regulations. This type is symbolised by Valli, who grows as the foster-daughter of the hunter king, Nambi. Subrahmanya marries her in the combined Gandharva and Paisacha modes of marriage. He manifests love in wooing her and uses force in fighting against her relations who try to obstruct Him…
On the Vel (Spear)
The Vel is the divine javelin (spear) of Murugan. The spear weapon used by ancient Tamils in warfare is also commonly known by this name.
Goddess Parvati (His mother) presented the Vel to Murugan as an emobodiment of Her shakti or power in order to vanquish the evil asura Soorapadman. According to the Skanda Purana, in the war between Lord Muruga and Soorapadman, Muruga used His Vel to defeat all the evil forces of Soorapadman. When a complete defeat for Soorapadman was imminent, the asura transformed himself in to a huge mango tree to evade detection by Lord Muruga. Muruga, too keen for the deception, hurled his Vel and split the mango tree in to two halves, one becoming a rooster (Cock) and the other a peacock). Murugan, henceforth, had the peacock as His vahanam and the rooster became the emblem on His battle flag. The Vel became the symbol of valour, and of the triumph of good over evil.
The Vel, as a symbol of Murugan’s divinity, is an object of worship many temples of Lord Muruga. The annual Thaipusam festival celebrates the occasion when Murugan received the divine Vel from his mother. During this festival, some of the devotees pierce their skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers while they undertake a procession towards the Murugan temple. Lord Muruga’s Vel can eradicate bad karmas:
By praying to Lord Muruga, one strengthens his Mars (Kuja or Angaraka or Sevvai) in his birth chart and get rid of afflictions and limitations caused by the graha’s weak, inimical or poor placement in the chart.
By praying to Lord Muruga, one strengthens his Mars (Kuja or Angaraka or Sevvai) in his birth chart and get rid of afflictions and limitations caused by the graha’s weak, inimical or poor placement in the chart.
Powerful prayer of Lord Muruga:
“Om Saravana Bhava”
It is considered that one who worships Lord Karthikeya on Tuesday and fasts on that day is granted with all his aspirations and desires. This potent mantra will be even more beneficial if it is also chanted (minimum of 108 times (1 mala) and up to 10 malas) on a Karthigai star and Shasti thithi days apart from Tuesdays.
May we chant Lord Muruga’s names mindfully and receive His fullest blessings for a happy, successful and trouble-free life and living.
GF’ Blessings.
