29 January 2002, 12:16am IST
MUTHUSAMY VARADARAJAN.
As the sighting of the moon is a must in islam to signal holy occasions, so is the confluence of the full moon, pournami, and the star pushya in the month of makara or january. it is a day consecrated to the worship of subrahmanya - he who is full of bliss and effulgence - the younger son of shiva. he is more or less appropriated by the tamils as their own god; temples to kartikeya dot the state, most of them situated on hilltops, in places like palani and tiruttani, in thick forests as in subrahmanya in dakshina kannada and on the seashore as in tiruchendur. the lord goes by many names: kangeya because ganga was the first recipient of shiva’s veeryabindhu or life-essence, kartikeya because he was suckled by the six krithikas, skanda - he of the powerful shoulders, guha, because he lives in the innermost recesses of the realised soul, the tamil muruga, literally meaning beauty but also signifying mu-icchha, ru-kriya and gu-gnana shaktis, and kumara, the destroyer of ignorance. his consorts valli, the daughter of a hunter king and devasena, indra’s daughter also signify the first two shaktis while the velayudha, the spear-like weapon with a peepul-leaf shaped end denotes gnanashakti. another name, shanmukha or he of the six faces represents the addition of the sixth face adhomukha to shiva’s five faces - tatpurusha, aghora, sadyojata, vamadeva and ishana. kumara is believed to have been the one who instructs shiva on the significance of the pranavamantra om. hence the name swaminatha. the tamils call him thagappansami or one who is swami to his father. guhagurunatha’s role is particularly significant because of the power of om. the mundakopanishad compares om to a dhanush or bow and the jivatma, the individual soul, to an arrow, the target being brahman, the supreme. just as the arrow speeds unerringly towards the target, so must the jivatma wing its unfaltering way to the paramatma or parabrahman. shanmukha’s importance is such that, when adi sankara, during his revivalist efforts propounded shanmatha or the six sects or pathways to the infinite, kaumaram was one of them, the others being ganapatyam, saivam, vaishnavam, souryam and saktam. however, subrahmanya being generally taken to be one with shiva, the invocation ‘subrahmanyom’ is uttered thrice at the end of a special chanting of vedavakya, imploring him to grant a good dharmic life, endow one with knowledge or gnana and finally, to bless one with liberation or mukti. the subrahmanya gayatri extols him thus: tatpurushaya vidmahey mahasenaya dhimahi. the atharvasiropanisha variously hails the infinite as shiva (yacchha maheswara), brahma and shakti and finally calls out to him ‘yacchha skanda!’ (thou art skanda himself). subrahmanya’s flag bears the rooster as the emblem, his steed is a mayura or peacock, hence the name mayuravahana, too. his abode is largely amidst nature and its sylvan panoply, inspiring heights and shores awash with the ocean’s waves - congruent with the panchabhootas, the five primordial elements, symbolising his concern for ecology and environment. his marriage to a huntswoman shows his transcendence of caste and status. verily, skanda exemplifies the panchabhoota tatva, born on prithvi, borne thither by vayu and agni (wind and fire), received by the krithikas in apaha (water), he emerges from akasa (the infinite spaces of shiva’s benign glance). yet another name is sharavanabhava: sha for auspiciousness, ra for incandescence (as also dhana or charity), va for sativika (agitation-free perception and behaviour) and na for valour. in a beautiful verse in the tamil tirumurugatruppadai, abounding in evocative puns like ‘anjumukham thondril arumukham tonrum’ (if fear surfaces within one, six faces appear to drive it away), poet nakkiranar says that the velayudha dispels all one’s afflictions and apprehensions. of the various (and year-long) festivals, the makara pushya worship is most acclaimed at swamimalai (near thanjavur) where guha explained the pranavamantra to shiva. this is believed to confer on the true worshipper the benefits flowing from the aswamedhayagna or horse sacrifice. even signifying one’s intention to undertake this worship guarantees not only this but the devotee becomes guha himself. worshipping skanda on shashti days is also highly in vogue. in the inspiring 33 slokas of subrahmanya bhujangam, the spontaneous outpourings of adi sankara at the tiruchendur shrine, the sage declares: ‘‘i do not comprehend sound or meaning, poetry or prose. it is shanmukha chaitanya alone that shines within me and my words form themselves by its grace’’. redolent of the saint ramalinga vallalar (19th century) who stood before a mirror and saw kumara in his own reflection?
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