Lord Subrahmanya

Lord Subrahmanya is known as ‘Murugan’ in Tamil. The term ‘Murugu’ is said to connote the six
qualities: Beauty, Freshness, Fragrance, Sweetness, Divinity and Joy. He is meditated upon by the sixlettered mantra, ‘Sa-ra-va-Na-bha-va’. The six syllables manifest Him as a personification of
Auspiciousness, Light, Splendour, Bounty, Purity and Infinite Prowess. Saravana-bhava therefore means the One who is a combination of all these.

Birth of Lord Subrahmanya:

Once the horrible demons Tarakasura and his brother Surapadman gained control over the whole
Universe by performing severe penance to Lord Shiva. The asura brothers devastated the Earth and
tortured the devas as well. The devas knew that a heroic son born out of Shiva alone can destroy the
asuras. So they approached Lord Shiva to help them. Lord Shiva opened His Third Eye which gave out six fiery sparks. The sparks were carried by Vayu Deva to Ganga river and there onwards to Saravana Lake. The six sparks became six beautiful babies on six red lotus flowers. The babies were brought up by the local Kartika maidens. So Lord Subrahmanya is also known as Karthikeya. When Goddess Parvathi hugged the babies together, they joined to become one form with six faces and twelve hands. So He also gets the name ‘Shanmuga’.

Thiruparankundram:

This is the first of the Padai Veedu and the hill temple located 5 miles southwest of Madurai in Tamil
Nadu. Long ago, the two daughters of Maha Vishnu, Amritha Valli and Sundara Valli went to Saravana Poigai and did austere penance to marry Murugan. Pleased with their devotion, Lord Muruga appeared before them and told Amritha Valli, “You will be brought up by Indra and I shall marry you in due course.” Sundara Valli was born to sage Sivamuni and was brought up by the chief of a hunter clan, Nambi. Later, she also became Lord Muruga’s consort as Valli.

Lord Muruga vanquished the asura, Surapadman and released the devas from captivity. Indra who was the lord of the devas was very pleased with this and as a mark of his gratitude gave his daughter
Devayanai (Amritha Valli) in marriage to Lord Muruga and the marriage was performed at the
Thiruparankundram Temple. All the devas, Shiva and Parvathi attended the wedding. Muruga thus
became the son-in-law of Maha Vishnu and is also known as “Thirumal Marugan.”

 Thiruchendur:

Thiruchendur is the only temple of the Arupadai Veedugal that is located on the seashore. A fierce battle took place between the devas and the army of the asuras for six days at Thiruchendur. Lord Muruga was the Commander-In-Chief (Senapathi) of the deva army. Goddess Parvathi gave him the ‘Vel’ (Holy Spear) to fight the asuras. On the sixth day, He destroyed the three asuras, Soorapadman, Singamugan and Tharakasuran and freed the devas. This day is celebrated as Skanda Sashti. During the war, Lord Murugan transformed Singamugasuran as vahana for Goddess Sakthi. Soorapadman after fighting, tried to escape by hiding himself as a mango tree in the sea bed. Lord Muruga split the mango tree into two with his Vel. One half became His Peacock Vahana and the other half became his ‘Ceval’ (Rooster) banner. After the war Lord Muruga performed puja to Lord Shiva. The destruction of the three asuras symbolizes the destruction of of ‘anavam’ (ego), ‘kanmam’ and ‘maya’ (illusion). Lord Murugan is the very embodiment of Divine Grace. He even gave ‘Peru Vazhvu’ (Great Blessing) to His enemies; one can imagine how much Grace He will shower on His devotees! Sri Adi Shankaracharya composed ‘Sri Subrahmanya Bhujangam’ on Lord Muruga at Thiruchendur. When he meditated upon Lord Subrahmanya, he became aware of a self- luminous light shining in his heart and words came out of his mouth in extempore in ‘Bhujanga’ metre.

Naazhi Kinaru:

One great wonder of Thiruchendur is ‘Naazhi Kinaru’, the miraculous well. It is very close to the sea.
After the intense war with the asuras, Lord Muruga’s warriors were thirsty. To quench their thirst, Lord Muruga thrust His Vel into the ground, bringing out water and forming a well called Naazhi Kinaru. The water in this well is crystal clear and sweet tasting. It is Divine Miracle to find this well at such close proximity to the sea.

Palani:

Palani (Thiru Avinankudi) is the third Padai Veedu. The deity is known as Dhandayudhapani Swami, the Lord having the ‘Staff’ in His hand. The deity is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals known as ‘Navabashana’. Here Lord Muruga wears only a loin cloth. The deity was made by Siddha Bhogar by combining nine poisonous substances. Once, Narada Muni brought a golden mango to the divine court to the divine court of Lord Shiva. Shiva gave it to Parvathi who in turn wanted to give it to Her children. As there was only one fruit and it should not be cut, they announced a contest. They said that the winner would be given a fruit: Whoever completes one round of the globe first will be given the fruit. Lord Subrahmanya mounted His Peacock to go around the world. Lord Vinayagar circumabulated around His Parents symbolising the world and got the fruit. This made Lord Muruga angry. He renounced His family and came to this spot to settle forever. Lord Shiva and Parvathi came to pacify Him. They said ‘‘Pazham Nee’’ (“You are the fruit”). Hence this sacred spot got the name Palani. Panchamirtam is the prasadam at Palani Murugan Temple.

Swamimalai:

Swamimalai is situated about 5km west of Kumbakonam. It is the fourth among the Aru Padai Veedu
and is built on an artificial hillock. Once when Brahma went to Kailasa, the ever-youthful child Lord Muruga asked Him for the meaning of the Pranava OM. When Brahma said that He did not know, Muruga imprisoned Him. Lord Shiva asked Muruga if He Himself knew the meaning of the mantra. Lord Muruga said that He knew it and can expound it to Shiva only if He accepted Lord Muruga as His Guru and listen to Him as a devoted disciple. Lord Shiva agreed and heard the exposition of OM as a disciple. So this place came to be known as Swamimalai and the presiding deity as Swaminathan.

Thiruthani:

Thiruthani constitutes the fifth Padai Veedu and is located 84 kms from Chennai. It represents the site
where Subrahmanya stayed after destroying the demon Surapadman. Thiruthani is said to be the place
where Lord Muruga married Valli. Of the six Padai Veedu, Thiruthani ranks very prominent. When we worship Lord Muruga in this holy shrine, he blesses us with mental peace and physical health. Valli implored Muruga to enlighten Her on the importance and greatness of this hill. In reply Lord Muruga said that if one worshipped Him with heart and soul for five consecutive days in this hill temple, that person would be blessed with all that is best in this life and thereafter.

Pazhamuthircholai:

Pazhamuthircholai is considered as the sixth Padai Veedu and is situated 18 kms form Madurai. The great Tamil poet and saint Avvaiyar had been tested by Lord Murugan here. In order to play with
Avvaiyar who was one of the very famous devotees of Lord Muruga, the Lord played a drama. One day Avvaiyar became tired while traveling because of very hot summer and so came under the shadow of a fruit tree. She was very hungry and thirsty. At that time, a small boy who was sitting on the tree asked her whether she wanted fruits from the tree. Avvaiyar told that she wanted fruits. At that time the boy asked Avvaiyar whether she wanted roasted fruits or unroasted fruits. Avvaiyar who was a famous Tamil poet, litterateur and having in-depth knowledge in Tamil thought, "Is there any roasted fruit in the world?" and decided that the small boy didn't have knowledge even about a fruit. But, as she was very tired, she didn't want to argue with the small boy and asked him to pick unroasted fruits for her. The boy shook the tree and so fruits fell under the tree. The mud under the tree had stuck on the fruit. Avvaiyar took the fruits and blew on the fruit to remove the mud. The boy interpreted it in the way that as the fruits were roasted and had become warm, Avvaiyar had blown the fruits to cool them. The boy asked Avvaiyar whether the fruits were warm?

Avvaiyar was astonished, how a small village cowboy had played such an intelligent drama! She had
thought that the small boy had no knowledge about fruits and how the fruits in the tree may become
roasted fruits. But blowing the air on the fruit to remove the mud is like blowing air to reduce the heat
as the fruit is roasted. What a beautiful comparison. Such a beautiful comparison would not have risen in her mind even though she had gained rich knowledge in Tamil. She asked the small boy, "Who are you actually?" Then small boy disappeared and in his place, Lord Murugan appeared. Avvaiyar realized that it was a play of God and she understood that there were more and more things that she had to learn. She bowed to Lord Murugan and requested him to bestow her with bountiful knowledge.

MAY LORD SUBRAHMANYA SHOWER HIS GRACE ON US ALWAYS 

OM SARAVANABHAVAYA NAMAH