Murugan a Tamil or Aryan God?

MURUGAN ARYAN OR DRAVIDIAN ?
Written by Palaniappan Vairam

Tamil people take pride in naming Murugan a Tamil Kadavul. Their love for this particular deity is high and he is the most worshiped god in Tamil Nadu. His popularity is very high in south unlike north. The concept of Murugan as Tamil Kadavul is even expressed in latest film Billa in ‘Seval Kodi’ song.

Now let us make a small survey of names used to denote Murugan,

Kandha (dervative of Sanskrit word Skanda)
Subramaniyan(Sanskrit form Subhramanya)
Saravana(One who is born in Sara Vana, where Vana means forest)
Kumaran(which means younger one in Sanskrit)
Shanmuha (one with six faces in Sanskrit)
Karthikeya (also Sanskrit orgin)

As you see all the names is either Sanskrit or Sanskrit derivatives.

Let us now see his orgin, He is son of Shiva, Parvathi and brother of Ganesha.

So what are the elements which make him a real Tamil Kadavul?

What is the Myth as we know?

The basic Myth we know is as follows :

Shiva created Murugan to kill Curan.
He was born as six children and later integrated into one.
He arrested Brahma and taught Veda to Shiva in Swamimalai.
He fought for Gyana Palam and became an Aandi(saint) and stood on Palani hills.
He received his Vel from Parvathi in Sirakali
He destroyed Curan in Thiruchentur.
He freed the Devas and in turn got married to Indra’s Daughter Theivanai in Thiruthani. Fell in love and married Valli in Palamudhirsolai
Settled in Thriparankundram as Deity with two wives.

This myth is standard myth known to all Tamilians and explains the concept of Arupadai vedu(Concept of six sacred houses/Temples).

How does it differ from Northern Myth?

The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as ‘Agnibhuh’ or son of Agni, the fire god.
The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. Unbarable to bear handle the heat , the sisu was split into six and put in the Pond in Sara Vana (Saravana Poigai).
He is brought up as six children and later in fight with Indra he was combined as one person with six heads.
He lead the army of Gods(Devas) to defeat Taraka.
He is an eternal Bachelor or he is married to Devasena, which means army of gods.
His weapon was raging fire , since he was a form of Agni.
He is eternally young god
He has attributes of attributes of being a teacher (The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the “way that leads to wisdom”)
Myth of Skanda arresting Brahma also comes up.

Some important points to be noted here are:

Skanda is not son of Shiva.
He has no mother.
He is an eternal bachelor.
He doesn’t have a weapon called Vel.
There is no mention of Valli.

What was the Early Tamil myth?

There is no structured myth in Tamil for Murugan, but from various Sangam sources and archeological evidence and by inference, Murugan had the following features and attributes:

Eternal youth and beauty
Prowess in hunt and fighting
Prowess in love making (like Kama in Sanskrit)
Ability to enter and possess human beings
Red colour
Vel as his main weapon
Connection with animals like peacock, cock ,elephant and possibly goat and snake
Slayer of enemy cur ,representing fear ,terror and anxiety
Love for and union with Valli
Son of Mother goddess Korravai.

So here you see Murugan has a mother and not a bachelor. He has lover Vali, the daughter of mountain chief with whom he makes sexual union. He is also god of love and victory.

How was he worshiped in Early Tamilnadu?

He was believed to posses Katampu tree , hence the name Kadamban
He also possessed young women.
His priest was known as Velan.
Murugan was believed to posses Velan and give blessings to people.
He was worshiped by a form of Dance called Veriyatu.
He was also god of mountainous region Kurunji.
He was worshiped as slayer of evil and terror Cur, which later became Curan.
He was also believed to be god of Love, and often quoted in Sangam literature for his interludes with Valli.

The Integration:

Integration of Dravidian Murugan and Aryan Skanda has taken place when Pallavas came to Tamil Nadu. The Brahmins have spearheaded this integration.

Some important points in the integrated form:

The similar traits of both gods are eternal youth and destruction of evil.
The Aryan god had a father but no mother and Dravidian god has mother but no father.
The Dravidian mother Korravai was identified with Kali, Durga or Amman as early as Sangam age.
Since Kali /Durga were identified with Parvati the consort of Shiva, Murugan was identified as son of Shiva.
Taraka the asura in Aryan version was made brother of Surapadman(later name of Cur,Curan)
The eternal bachelor who was married to Devasena(Army of god) was changed to God with two wife to accommodate Valli, which was very famous tradition among Tamil .
Devasena was comfortably converted to Theivanai(Devayanai- Tamil myth says she was brought up by Ayiravatham the elephant of Indra – hence Deva yanai instead of Deva Sena or Deva Senai) a Brahmin girl and daughter of Indra.
The myth also was made up to represent two kind of marriage, Kalavu – love marriage (a Tamil/Dravidian tradition- Valli and Murugan) and Karpu – arranged marriage (Brahmin tradition- Theivanai and Murugan).
The fire weapon of North was replaced with Vel which is South Indian tradition.
Murugan as a mountain god is still maintained with all his temples situated on or near mountains.

When does the current myth come into Tamil Nadu?

The first textual evidence of Murugan as on of Shiva appears in Silapadikaram(4th Century AD).
The whole myth was first explained in Thirumurgatrupadai by Nakkirar(7-9thCentury AD)
Final form of myth we know was written by Kasiappa Civasariyar in Kanthapuranam(14th Century AD)
Even in Kanthapuranam , Palani was not mentioned and surrounding myth of Gyana Palam was not included.
The standard Myth we know about Murugan was only written in 14 th century by Kasiappa Civacariyar a Brahmin priest at Kanchipuram.

How did the myth enter North India?

The myth of Muruga as we know was first written in Sanksirt sources in Sivapurana.
Sivapuranas were composed around 9-10th Century AD by Sanskrit scholars of south and it was heavily influenced by the Bakthi movement prevalent in south.
Unlike south, the North Indian myth says that Karthikeya was elder to Ganesha.
The popularity of Karthikeya is also not much in North India.

This is very brief essay to outline the process of Skanda – Muruga integration. There some evidences which has come up recently to indicate Murugan might be Pre Historic god and an inherited God of Tamil people rather than an indigenous deity. My next essay would be on his Pre Historic origins.

References:

Tamil Traditions on Subrahmanya-Murugan by Kamil Zvelebil.
Tiru Murugan by Kamil Zvelebil.
Tamil Kandhapuranam by Kamil Zvelebil.

Palaniappan Vairam said:
1.If you see sanskrit literature …which i am sure you have not gone through…the original sanskrit Skanda purana….Skanda is married to Devasena. But other epics(skanda purana is not the only source of this epic…there are various different versions in ramayana ….mahabratha) so early Sanskrit literature …he was either married to women Deva sena or a bachelor in literal sense married to Deva sena(the army of god)
I can quote 4 books for your reference….three as in my article on more book which extensively surveys sanskrit literature….
The many faces of Murukan_ : the history and meaning of a South Indian god / Clothey, Fred W.
2. Again you are wrong…… the myth is Deviyanai and Valli were daughters of Thirumal on previous birth, Deviyani is born as daughter of Indra in this birth and brought up by Airavatham his elephant hence the name deviyanai
3.Yes what I have said is right…KumaraShambava is about the myth of Kumara or Skanda…who then had no correlation with Murugan who was sung by Tamil poets….Hence Silapadikaram was the first literature to have Muruga(After integration with Skanda) as son of Shiva….Again sanskrit sources with the myth we know as of now Valli,Devasena ,Murugan,Surapadman and tharaka was only written in sivapuranas during 10th century
4.Arupadai veedu is a concept of very very late orgin, probably after 15th century….till 9th century there is no shrine with statue of Murugan with Valli or Deviyanai…he is always alone as statue….only one statue ofPallava temple has Murgan with only one bride….and there is a conflict whether it is valli or Deviyanai…in sangam literature except for Thirucentur and Thiruparankundram , there is no mention of any other temples as Murugans sacred places….even in Kandapuram of Kasiappa Ciasariyar there is no mention of Palani. So taking Arupadaiveedu as proof is not valid.
5.This clearly show u have never heard about Snagam literature…See my blog on love sickness….I have quoted around 4 poems which clearly show Velan was the priest of Murugan and not Murugan himself…..
6.Again you are wrong, Valli can be traced in Srilankan religions…not the Tamils in Srilanka but the Sinhalese in Srilanka. Sinhalese have a god Kathirgama who is identified with Muruga and Similarly a tribe gal is in love with Kathirgama and marries him. This shows that the myth of Murugan and Valli was famous very long ago and as early as 4 or 3 BC.Since Sinhalese are Aryans who travelled from north to Srilanka around 5th BC.

Integration of Dravidian Murugan and Aryan Skanda

By Raghu Raman

Now let us make a small survey of names used to denote Murugan,

Kandha (dervative of Sanskrit word Skanda)
Subramaniyan(Sanskrit form Subhramanya)
Saravana(One who is born in Sara Vana, where Vana means forest)
Kumaran(which means younger one in Sanskrit)
Shanmuha (one with six faces in Sanskrit)
Karthikeya (also Sanskrit orgin)

As you see all the names is either Sanskrit or Sanskrit derivatives.

Let us now see his orgin, He is son of Shiva, Parvathi and brother of Ganesha.

So what are the elements which make him a real Tamil Kadavul?

What is the Myth as we know?

The basic Myth we know is as follows :

Shiva created Murugan to kill Curan.
He was born as six children and later integrated into one.
He arrested Brahma and taught Veda to Shiva in Swamimalai.
He fought for Gyana Palam and became an Aandi(saint) and stood on Palani hills.
He received his Vel from Parvathi in Sirakali
He destroyed Curan in Thiruchentur.
He freed the Devas and in turn got married to Indra’s Daughter Theivanai in Thiruthani. Fell in love and married Valli in Palamudhirsolai
Settled in Thriparankundram as Deity with two wives.

This myth is standard myth known to all Tamilians and explains the concept of Arupadai vedu(Concept of six sacred houses/Temples)।

What was the Early Tamil myth?

There is no structured myth in Tamil for Murugan, but from various Sangam sources and archeological evidence and by inference, Murugan had the following features and attributes:

Eternal youth and beauty
Prowess in hunt and fighting
Prowess in love making (like Kama in Sanskrit)
Ability to enter and possess human beings
Red colour
Vel as his main weapon
Connection with animals like peacock, cock ,elephant and possibly goat and snake
Slayer of enemy cur ,representing fear ,terror and anxiety
Love for and union with Valli
Son of Mother goddess Korravai.

So here you see Murugan has a mother and not a bachelor. He has lover Vali, the daughter of mountain chief with whom he makes sexual union. He is also god of love and victory.

How was he worshiped in Early Tamilnadu?

He was believed to posses Katampu tree , hence the name Kadamban
He also possessed young women.
His priest was known as Velan.
Murugan was believed to posses Velan and give blessings to people.
He was worshiped by a form of Dance called Veriyatu.
He was also god of mountainous region Kurunji.
He was worshiped as slayer of evil and terror Cur, which later became Curan.
He was also believed to be god of Love, and often quoted in Sangam literature for his interludes with Valli.

How does it differ from Northern Myth?

The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as ‘Agnibhuh’ or son of Agni, the fire god.
The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. Unbarable to bear handle the heat , the sisu was split into six and put in the Pond in Sara Vana (Saravana Poigai).
He is brought up as six children and later in fight with Indra he was combined as one person with six heads.
He lead the army of Gods(Devas) to defeat Taraka.
He is an eternal Bachelor or he is married to Devasena, which means army of gods.
His weapon was raging fire , since he was a form of Agni.
He is eternally young god
He has attributes of attributes of being a teacher (The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the “way that leads to wisdom”)
Myth of Skanda arresting Brahma also comes up.

Some important points to be noted here are:

Skanda is not son of Shiva.
He has no mother.
He is an eternal bachelor.
He doesn’t have a weapon called Vel.
There is no mention of Valli.

The Integration:

Integration of Dravidian Murugan and Aryan Skanda has taken place when Pallavas came to Tamil Nadu. The Brahmins have spearheaded this integration.

Some important points in the integrated form:

The similar traits of both gods are eternal youth and destruction of evil.
The Aryan god had a father but no mother and Dravidian god has mother but no father.
The Dravidian mother Korravai was identified with Kali, Durga orAmman as early as Sangam age.
Since Kali /Durga were identified with Parvati the consort of Shiva, Murugan was identified as son of Shiva.
Taraka the asura in Aryan version was made brother of Surapadman(later name of Cur,Curan)
The eternal bachelor who was married to Devasena(Army of god) was changed to God with two wife to accommodate Valli, which was very famous tradition among Tamil .
Devasena was comfortably converted to Theivanai(Devayanai- Tamil myth says she was brought up by Ayiravatham the elephant of Indra – hence Deva yanai instead of Deva Sena or Deva Senai) a Brahmin girl and daughter of Indra.
The myth also was made up to represent two kind of marriage, Kalavu – love marriage (a Tamil/Dravidian tradition- Valli and Murugan) and Karpu – arranged marriage (Brahmin tradition- Theivanai and Murugan).
The fire weapon of North was replaced with Vel which is South Indian tradition.
Murugan as a mountain god is still maintained with all his temples situated on or near mountains.

When does the current myth come into Tamil Nadu?

The first textual evidence of Murugan as on of Shiva appears in Silapadikaram(4th Century AD).
The whole myth was first explained in Thirumurgatrupadai by Nakkirar(7-9th Century AD)
Final form of myth we know was written by Kasiappa Civasariyar in Kanthapuranam(14th Century AD)
Even in Kanthapuranam , Palani was not mentioned and surrounding myth of Gyana Palam was not included.
The standard Myth we know about Murugan was only written in 14 th century by Kasiappa Civacariyar a Brahmin priest at Kanchipuram.

How did the myth enter North India?

The myth of Muruga as we know was first written in Sanksirt sources in Sivapurana.
Sivapuranas were composed around 9-10th Century AD by Sanskrit scholars of south and it was heavily influenced by the Bakthi movement prevalent in south.
Unlike south, the North Indian myth says that Karthikeya was elder to Ganesha.
The popularity of Karthikeya is also not much in North India.

This is very brief essay to outline the process of Skanda – Muruga integration.

There some evidences which has come up recently to indicate Murugan might be Pre Historic god and an inherited God of Tamil people rather than an indigenous deity.

Kannabiran, Ravi Shankar said:
சுழல் வாதமாகச் செல்வதால், ஒரே புள்ளியில் இத்துடன் முடித்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.

1. ஒருவரின் வரலாறு அறிய முடியாது இருப்பதாலேயே, அதை "இருண்ட காலம்" என்று முத்திரை குத்துவது ஏற்புடையது அல்ல - அது இலக்கிய அடிப்படையிலோ, வரலாறு அடிப்படியிலோ...எதுவாயினும்!

2. சிவபெருமானைத் தொல்காப்பியர் பண்டைத் தமிழ்க் குடித் தெய்வமாகக் காட்டவில்லை! பின்னர் வந்த இலக்கியங்களான பரிபாடல், புறநானூறு போன்றவற்றில் தான் "ஆலமர் செல்வன்", "கண்ணுதற் கடவுள்" என்றெல்லாம் லேசாக வரத் துவங்குகிறார்!

இதெல்லாம் பண்பாட்டுக் கலப்புகளுக்குப் பிறகு! ஆனால் இன்றைக்கு கிடைக்கும் நூல்களுள், மிகப் பழமையானது தொல்காப்பியம் மட்டுமே என்பதைத் தாங்கள் அறிவீர்கள்!

//நீங்கள் முழுமையாக பரிபாடலை அதுவும் செவ்வேள் பற்றிய பாடல்களைப் படித்தால் - அம்மா-அப்பா உறவு - பற்றி வருவதை ஒப்புக் கொள்வீர்கள்//

வாசித்துள்ளேன்! எழுதியும் உள்ளேன்!
http://madhavipanthal.blogspot.com/2010/08/paripaadal.html
அந்தச் செவ்வேள்-பன்னிரெண்டு கை-பதினெட்டு கண் எல்லாம் பண்டைத் தமிழ் இயற்கை முறை அல்ல! பின்னாளைய கலப்புக்குப் பிறகு தான்!

3. //சரி ’வடவர், வடவர்’ என்கிறோமே//

எனக்கு "வடக்கு"-ன்னா அலர்ஜி எல்லாம் இல்லை! வடபழனி, வடபெண்ணை, வடவாறு, வடக்கு வாசல், வட வேங்கடம் எல்லாம் "வடக்கு" தான்! :)

உங்களுக்குச் சொல்வதெல்லாம் என்னவென்றால்:
பண்டைத் தமிழ் நிலத்துக்கென்று தனிப் பண்பாடு இருந்தது; அதில் மாயோனும் சேயோனும் இயற்கை முறையிலான முதன்மைக் கடவுளர்!

கலப்பு என்று ஏற்பட்ட பின்பு, அது வடக்கோ, வடகிழக்கோ, பலவும் சேர்ந்து, முருகக் குடும்பம், 12 hands, 18 eyesன்னு எல்லாம் ஆகிப் போனது!
இதைத் தவறு சொல்லவில்லை! சொல்ல வருவது என்னவென்றால், இதற்கும் முன்பே, தமிழ்த் தொன்மத்தில் முருகன் "இயற்கையாகவே" இருந்தான் என்பதே!

கலந்த பின் வந்ததையும் நாம் பார்க்கிறோம்! தவறில்லை!
ஆனால், தொன்மத்தையும் தொன்மமாகவே பார்க்க விடுங்கள்!