Muruga, Karthikeya, Skanda, Subramanya, Kumara, Shanmukha, no deity has such sweetness that flows from each of his name than that of Muruga, the Son of Shiva, the Patron Deity of the Tamils.
Emerging out of the 3rd eye of Shiva, his origin story is as varied as there are Puranas.
In the Gita section of the Mahabharata, Shri Krishna mentions that among warrior chiefs he is Karthikeya, the General of the Armies of the Devas. (B.Gita, 10.24).
In other parts of the epic, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Uma and the many devatas gave their very best warriors to serve Muruga as his Parivara Devatas.
In the ancient Tamil Sangam Literature text, Thiru-muruga-trupadai, written by the sage Nakeerar, and dated 3000 years ago, it mentions his 6 abodes, holy kshetras in Tamil-land which still exist today and are known as the Aarupadai Veedu of Murugan.
Though today, the worship of Murugan in these 6 temples follow the Agamas, back then each abode was patronized by a specific sect. The Rishis, with matted hair, skinny, wearing tiger skins, who rarely ate and took energy from the Sun, worshipped him via internal Yogic methods.
The Andanars (priestly clan) through the holy fire, the hunters via the sacrifice of hunted animals like wild-boars and the fishermen clans through the use of a specific type of alcohol.
Every worship method, as documented by the sage Nakeerar, was accepted by the Great General of the Divine Army.
The Tamil Saint Arunagiri-nathar, is the most popular devotee of Lord Murugan in fairly recent times and is said to have defeated the vaunted Vili-putrar, the author of the Villi Bharatham (The Tamil Mahabharata) in a poetry / debate contest using a special Peacock metre, that is said to be extremely difficult to master and the favourite of Murugan.
The name Muruga can be divided into 6 Aksharas,
Ma, Uu , Ra, Uu , Ga, Aa.
Each akshara contain 2 Shaktis, hence the name Muruga contain 12 Indomitable Shaktis of The Great Lord
Ma = Contains the Shaktis Mahamaya and Vidya Shyamala
Mahamaya gives us Jyana and Vidya Shayamala gives knowledge of self. Hence Ma gives one Paripoorana Anugraha of Skanda.
Uu = Contains the Shaktis Uma and Ugra
Uma gives us the love and affection of a mother (Through Murugan) while Ugra is a Samhaara Devi.
Hence though one can get the love and affection of a Mother through worshipping Muruga, one has to always be wary and be careful as he also has the Ugra aspect as well.
Ra = Contains the Shaktis Rakta and Resika
Rakta means red while Resika consumes the whole of creation.
Thus, Rakta denotes the reddish complexion of Subramanya while Resika explains that the whole of creation is within The Great Lord himself.
Uu = Contains the Shaktis Uma and Ugra
As explained, this is repeated to emphasize on the fact that though he is as loving as a mother, one has to be very careful and disciplined in his sadhana.
As a devata who is a Vrata Priya, one should not approach him haphazardly. One who emerged from the 3rd eye of Shiva and the General of the Divine Army is not to be trifled with.
Ga = Contains the Shaktis Gayatri and Dhumra
Gayatri Devi gives supreme intellect and untainted wisdom. Dhumra Devi creates Dush Maya,
In that way the worship of Skanda gives one intelligence, wisdom and the ways to deal with Shatrus (enemies), both internal and external.
Aa = Contains the Shaktis Akarshini and Atharvini
Akarshini Devi gives the power of Sammohanam (Enchantment) while Atharvini Devi removes Dukha and gives one Anantha.
This reveals how Muruga has enchanted the whole of creation with his Akarshini Shakti (which a sincere sadhaka of his would also have) and how he removes the Dukha of his devotees and gives them Anantha (happiness of a much higher realm).
In this way, one can see the 12 aspects of the Divinity that is the Lord, expressed in his name Muruga. Hence a devotee who sincerely chants the name of Muruga with Shraddha and Bhakti, will get all the benefits of the 12 shaktis mentioned above.
Aum Saravana Bhava,
Karuppar Thunai
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