When you say Muruga, the first thing that befalls my mind is his gorgeous appearance. Murga was said to be one of the most elegant looking and aristocratic lords, quite unlike his jolly and chubby brother Ganesha. Being one of the most prominent warrior gods, he has destroyed Tarakasura, the brother of Surapadma. Muruga is the younger brother of Ganesha and the son of Shiva and Parvathi. The young boy is frequently known as Aarumugan.
There is a story behind Lord Murga’s six heads and abodes. According to the legend, in the olden days, the demon Soorapadman tortured the Devas. But, who are the Devas and Asuras? The Devas and Asuras are children of Maharishi Kashyapa. Matha Adithi, mother of the devas and, Matha Dithi mother of the asuras. Asuras were demigods and opposed the followings of the Vedic gods.
As time progressed, asuras came to be acknowledged as demons. The Devas went to Lord Shiva, who lives in Mount Kailash. When the Devas reached Shiva, they chanted Om Namah Shivaya repeatedly. As Shiva unfolded his eyes from his meditation, he listened to what the devas ought to say. Shiva declared that a child will be born to win over the asuras. Joyousness scattered across the devas yet still confused about Shiva’s words. Shiva went into mediation while the devas waited. Opening his third eye he ejected out six divine sparks. Shiva requested Agni Deva (god of fire) and Vayu Deva (god of wind) to carry the sparks and drop it off to Matha Ganga. Ganga is one of seven sacred rivers in India. The Ganga river is the third largest river on Earth.
Shiva resumed, Matha Ganga will take the sparks to the Saravana River. Agni and Vayu Devas took turns taking the sparks to Matha Ganga. Vayu Deva carried the sparks first. When Vayu couldn’t tolerate the heat, he gave the sparks to Agni. After Agni reached the river, Ganga proceeded on her path. When the sparks reached the Saravana River they all merged and turned into a gorgeous baby. Not a normal baby, but a baby with six heads. This six-headed baby was Lord Muruga. The Krithikas that lived there came hurrying to the river as they saw the majestic radiance. As they make their way to the river, they notice the six-headed baby. The six Krithikas: Prabha, Abha, Teja, Bhavya, Shobha, and Sukriti each wished to grow the child. Krithikas mesmerized by the beauty of baby Shanmuga sat there hallucinating and fighting. Lord Muruga didn’t want to upset the Krithikas , so he transformed from one baby to six babies. Each Krithika took one baby and grew them up.
The Krithikas are a group of six stars, who reincarnated as six young ladies to look after Muruga. And, yes this does correlate to the famous celebration Aadi Krithigai. Aadi is the first month in the Dakshinayana punyakalam – when the sun god changes his direction from north to south. Aadi Krithigai is celebrated with great devotion and passion in Murugan Temples across the world.
Momentarily, Shiva requested Parvathi to bring their son to Kailash. Parvathi did as asked by Shiva, she held all the six kids together . The six kids had transformed into an individual boy with six heads and twelve hands, hence Muruga is also called Aarumugan. What happens next? Stay tuned to find out more about Lord Muruga…