SKANDA SHASHTI
Skanda sashti is a festival celebrated in Tamilnadu and the adjoining areas as a six day festival culminating in soora samharam on the Shashti day. The six days beginning with the day after deepavali in the month of Tulam – Vrischigam (Aippasi – Karthigai) are considered very sacred for the worship of Lord Skanda. There are people who fast for all the six days and take a sip of water only after soora samharam. As seen earlier, Tarakasura and Soora padman depict the obstacles that deter our progress in the evolutionary process and we require the aid of Subrahmanya to dispel the darkness and annihilate the innate evil in us so that we can become beings of light (devas).
Everything about Lord Murugan revolves around the number six. To start with, the Lord has six faces and came from the six faces of Lord Shiva. He was nurtured by the six Karthigai devis and grew up to be a boy of six years in just six days. His bija mantra is six lettered and He represents the six good qualities that are required to demolish the six evil ones within us. His trusted lieutenants starting from Veerabhahu are also six in number and He is the lord of the sixth chakra Agjnya in our subtle body. He is worshipped in six places called the six padai veedu in Tamilnadu.
Arunagirinathar, the famous Tamil poet blessed by the darshan of Lord Muruga has described the six faces of the Lord. An attempt is made here to visit all the six shrines of the Lord and understand the intrinsic meaning behind His manifestations.
Thiru Avinan kudi or Pazhani: Eru Mayil Eri Vilayadum mugam ondre
Salutations to the face of the Lord who sports with a peacock.
At the foot hills of the southern tip of the western ghats called the Pazhani range, is situated the holy town of Pazhani. The Lord has taken abode on top of a hillock which stands alone in the centre of the town. The Lord’s form is that of a bala holding a danda (stick) and is known as Bala Dandayuthapani. He wears only a loin cloth and is clean shaven with the only ornaments being rudraksha beads hung around his neck, head and arms signifying renunciation. The idol is believed to have been fashioned out of nine ingredients by the great siddha Bhogar who was a disciple of sage Agasthyar. The nine ingredients called Nava Pashanam possess immense medicinal properties and the deity is used to be anointed with Panchamrutham (five nectars), a mixture of bananas, jiggery, honey, ghee and sugar crystals. The sandal paste applied on the deity after the final puja in the night is found to have turned dark in the morning when the shrine is opened for the first puja.
There is another shrine for the Lord in the plains below the hill which is called Thiru Avinan kudi meaning the abode of shepherds (Avinan). The Lord here is again a Bala rupi but fully decked with ornaments and is seen mounted on a beautiful peacock. It is a wonderful sight to watch the deity as a playful boy about to take off on his peacock, just as He did to earn the coveted mango fruit from his parents.
Once in the court of Lord Shiva Deva rishi Naradha brought a mango fruit and offered the same to the Lord. Shiva wanted to give the same to his sons, but decided that he should give it to as a whole fruit to one who could accomplish the feat of going around the world three times first. Karthikeya swiftly mounted his peacock and was gone within a wink of the eye. His elder brother Ganesha made no efforts even to get up from His seat prompting the onlooking devas to think that Karthikeya will surely win the prize. When Karthikeya passed over Mount Kailash on his second round, Ganapathi slowly got up and went around His parents three times and prostrating before them claimed the prize. The astounded devas sought an explanation and Vinayaka sweetly told them that one’s parents were one’s world and hence he had completed the task. Lord Shiva agreed with His elder son’s explanation and gave the coveted mango to Him. As the prize was being distributed, Murugan entered the court having completed the third round and was disappointed that He was outwitted by His brother. He flew into a rage and casting away His ornaments, dresses and hair, he took a staff on his hand like a wandering brahmachari mendicant and took His abode in the Pazhani hill. Parvathi devi had to use all Her charm and persuasion on Her second son to calm Him. Lord Muruga was called Pazham Nee in Tamil, meaning You yourself are the fruit so why crave for another, by His mother and the name stuck.
The mango fruit is the karma phala (fruition of our action) and Lord Shiva-Shakti is the karma phala data, that is God is the giver of the fruit of action. The culmination of all our actions in so many births come back to us as punya and papa and is experienced by us either in the same birth or subsequent births. God is neutral in our enjoyment of our karma like the two upanishadic birds where one bird eats the fruit and the other is merely an onlooker. When the bird had finished eaten all the fruits of its action, it moves up and finds that there was actually only one bird and not two. We always make the mistake of blaming God for not answering our prayers or wish list, but God is very considerate in giving us the fruit of our own action at the appropriate time, that is if we pray to Him and seek His help.
Coming back to the story, we have to do karma as we have taken birth only to enjoy or suffer the fruits of our past karma which in turn impels us into further karmic deeds. What left over karma could be there for the God in His form of Vinayaka and Subhramanya? That is why they were asked to perform a karma of going three times around the world to earn the fruit. Subhramanya and Vinayaka shows us the two modes involved in the performance of karma. Lord Karthikeya chose to perform the karma on the gross level by physical exertion while Lord Ganesha did the same using His intellect to reduce the physical exertion, thus combining both the gross and subtle modes and won the prize. The drama of the God was to let us know that we should not blindly do any action as advocated by the Karma Mimamsis, but should combine Gnana and Bakthi with the Karma which alone will help us reach our ultimate goal. Here there was gnana that one’s parents comprise one’s world and going around them was the act of bakthi and Vinayaka earned the pleasure of the father and mother of the universe through this act. It does not in any way belittle the efforts of Skanda as He Himself is total knowledge (Gnana Pazham - immortalized by K.P. Sundarambal through her song), but the entire drama was intended to be a lesson to us.
Pazhani is associated with the base chakra Mooladara whose presiding deity is Lord Vinayaka. Desire and the consequent Anger which arises out of non fulfillment of desire are depicted in the story above. As Lord Krishna says in the Bagavadgita, these two are the obstacles which one faces in his spiritual progress and cause misery to mankind. When we conquer desire, we automatically conquer anger. While Ganapathi is in the Mooladara chakra defining the grossest element earth, Skanda is in the sixth chakra Agjnya which represents the state beyond elements and hence the physical body. It is the centre of command which impels the five elements to act. When we surrender ourselves to Ganapathi in the mooladara chakra we are pulled up by Murugan to the state beyond elements.
We worship Skanda as a playful boy on His peacock mount in Thiru Avinan Kudi first. Here the Lord represents Iccha and Kriya shakti (Desire and Action). We then climb the mountain to have darshan of the Lord as Gnana shakti (pure Knowledge). Thus both our material and spiritual pursuits are rewarded by a visit to Pazhani.
OM TAT SAT
Skanda sashti is a festival celebrated in Tamilnadu and the adjoining areas as a six day festival culminating in soora samharam on the Shashti day. The six days beginning with the day after deepavali in the month of Tulam – Vrischigam (Aippasi – Karthigai) are considered very sacred for the worship of Lord Skanda. There are people who fast for all the six days and take a sip of water only after soora samharam. As seen earlier, Tarakasura and Soora padman depict the obstacles that deter our progress in the evolutionary process and we require the aid of Subrahmanya to dispel the darkness and annihilate the innate evil in us so that we can become beings of light (devas).
Everything about Lord Murugan revolves around the number six. To start with, the Lord has six faces and came from the six faces of Lord Shiva. He was nurtured by the six Karthigai devis and grew up to be a boy of six years in just six days. His bija mantra is six lettered and He represents the six good qualities that are required to demolish the six evil ones within us. His trusted lieutenants starting from Veerabhahu are also six in number and He is the lord of the sixth chakra Agjnya in our subtle body. He is worshipped in six places called the six padai veedu in Tamilnadu.
Arunagirinathar, the famous Tamil poet blessed by the darshan of Lord Muruga has described the six faces of the Lord. An attempt is made here to visit all the six shrines of the Lord and understand the intrinsic meaning behind His manifestations.
Thiru Avinan kudi or Pazhani: Eru Mayil Eri Vilayadum mugam ondre
Salutations to the face of the Lord who sports with a peacock.
At the foot hills of the southern tip of the western ghats called the Pazhani range, is situated the holy town of Pazhani. The Lord has taken abode on top of a hillock which stands alone in the centre of the town. The Lord’s form is that of a bala holding a danda (stick) and is known as Bala Dandayuthapani. He wears only a loin cloth and is clean shaven with the only ornaments being rudraksha beads hung around his neck, head and arms signifying renunciation. The idol is believed to have been fashioned out of nine ingredients by the great siddha Bhogar who was a disciple of sage Agasthyar. The nine ingredients called Nava Pashanam possess immense medicinal properties and the deity is used to be anointed with Panchamrutham (five nectars), a mixture of bananas, jiggery, honey, ghee and sugar crystals. The sandal paste applied on the deity after the final puja in the night is found to have turned dark in the morning when the shrine is opened for the first puja.
There is another shrine for the Lord in the plains below the hill which is called Thiru Avinan kudi meaning the abode of shepherds (Avinan). The Lord here is again a Bala rupi but fully decked with ornaments and is seen mounted on a beautiful peacock. It is a wonderful sight to watch the deity as a playful boy about to take off on his peacock, just as He did to earn the coveted mango fruit from his parents.
Once in the court of Lord Shiva Deva rishi Naradha brought a mango fruit and offered the same to the Lord. Shiva wanted to give the same to his sons, but decided that he should give it to as a whole fruit to one who could accomplish the feat of going around the world three times first. Karthikeya swiftly mounted his peacock and was gone within a wink of the eye. His elder brother Ganesha made no efforts even to get up from His seat prompting the onlooking devas to think that Karthikeya will surely win the prize. When Karthikeya passed over Mount Kailash on his second round, Ganapathi slowly got up and went around His parents three times and prostrating before them claimed the prize. The astounded devas sought an explanation and Vinayaka sweetly told them that one’s parents were one’s world and hence he had completed the task. Lord Shiva agreed with His elder son’s explanation and gave the coveted mango to Him. As the prize was being distributed, Murugan entered the court having completed the third round and was disappointed that He was outwitted by His brother. He flew into a rage and casting away His ornaments, dresses and hair, he took a staff on his hand like a wandering brahmachari mendicant and took His abode in the Pazhani hill. Parvathi devi had to use all Her charm and persuasion on Her second son to calm Him. Lord Muruga was called Pazham Nee in Tamil, meaning You yourself are the fruit so why crave for another, by His mother and the name stuck.
The mango fruit is the karma phala (fruition of our action) and Lord Shiva-Shakti is the karma phala data, that is God is the giver of the fruit of action. The culmination of all our actions in so many births come back to us as punya and papa and is experienced by us either in the same birth or subsequent births. God is neutral in our enjoyment of our karma like the two upanishadic birds where one bird eats the fruit and the other is merely an onlooker. When the bird had finished eaten all the fruits of its action, it moves up and finds that there was actually only one bird and not two. We always make the mistake of blaming God for not answering our prayers or wish list, but God is very considerate in giving us the fruit of our own action at the appropriate time, that is if we pray to Him and seek His help.
Coming back to the story, we have to do karma as we have taken birth only to enjoy or suffer the fruits of our past karma which in turn impels us into further karmic deeds. What left over karma could be there for the God in His form of Vinayaka and Subhramanya? That is why they were asked to perform a karma of going three times around the world to earn the fruit. Subhramanya and Vinayaka shows us the two modes involved in the performance of karma. Lord Karthikeya chose to perform the karma on the gross level by physical exertion while Lord Ganesha did the same using His intellect to reduce the physical exertion, thus combining both the gross and subtle modes and won the prize. The drama of the God was to let us know that we should not blindly do any action as advocated by the Karma Mimamsis, but should combine Gnana and Bakthi with the Karma which alone will help us reach our ultimate goal. Here there was gnana that one’s parents comprise one’s world and going around them was the act of bakthi and Vinayaka earned the pleasure of the father and mother of the universe through this act. It does not in any way belittle the efforts of Skanda as He Himself is total knowledge (Gnana Pazham - immortalized by K.P. Sundarambal through her song), but the entire drama was intended to be a lesson to us.
Pazhani is associated with the base chakra Mooladara whose presiding deity is Lord Vinayaka. Desire and the consequent Anger which arises out of non fulfillment of desire are depicted in the story above. As Lord Krishna says in the Bagavadgita, these two are the obstacles which one faces in his spiritual progress and cause misery to mankind. When we conquer desire, we automatically conquer anger. While Ganapathi is in the Mooladara chakra defining the grossest element earth, Skanda is in the sixth chakra Agjnya which represents the state beyond elements and hence the physical body. It is the centre of command which impels the five elements to act. When we surrender ourselves to Ganapathi in the mooladara chakra we are pulled up by Murugan to the state beyond elements.
We worship Skanda as a playful boy on His peacock mount in Thiru Avinan Kudi first. Here the Lord represents Iccha and Kriya shakti (Desire and Action). We then climb the mountain to have darshan of the Lord as Gnana shakti (pure Knowledge). Thus both our material and spiritual pursuits are rewarded by a visit to Pazhani.
OM TAT SAT
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