To understand the birth of Lord Murugan, one must recall the story of King Daksha. His story brought about the emergence of Parvati, who fused the 6 Muruga children into the being we know at Lord Muruga.
King Daksha is one of the sons of Lord Brahma, who, after creating the ten Manas Putras, created Daksha, Dharma, Kamadeva and Agni,
When King Daksha performed a yaga, he invited the gods but deliberately did not invite Lord Shiva, his son-in-law. Dakshayani, Shiva’s consort, goes to her father’s yaga, overruling Shiva’s objections. She is insulted and she jumps into the sacred hawan fire. She is then reborn as Parvati, who is devoted to Lord Shiva and yearns to marry Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva was engaged in a divine state of deep meditation. With the Hindu god, separate from his consort, there world had no instances of procreation. The celestial empire desperately wanted them to unite.
The the God of love Kama, was dispatched to bring about their union. Kama shot his arrows at Lord Shiva to spur a romantic interest. Some say this act had disturbed the penance of Lord Shiva which led to the god of destruction and death opening his third eye. The blue-throated god’s third eye, is known to destroy evil and bring about good for the world, burnt Kama to oblivion.
The spark of Lord Shiva
It was Lord Shiva’s third eye (element of ether or akasha) that brought forth divine sparks, that delivered the world a Lord Muruga.
The sparks from Shiva’s third eye was carried by the God, Agni, (element of fire) and the wind God Vayu (element of wind or air) carried them and dropped them into the sacred River the Ganges, who is no other than the Divine Mother in the form of flowing water (element of water).
Mother Ganga carried these divine rays to Lake Saravana, where lotus flowers sprang from the mud and thus the lake represents the element of earth. The rays were then transformed into six baby boys lying on lotus flowers.
When the five elements governed by Lord Shiva (Pancha Bhootham which means five natural elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether) united with Shakti (Pure Consciousness), Lord Murugan was born. The spark then took the form of six babies which Goddess Parvati embraced them fusing them into one divine Being with six heads..
Shiva is called Panchanana – Lord with five heads. These five heads represent the five elements in nature. When these five elements united with the sixth: Chaitanya Shakti (Pure Consciousness), they gave birth to the Shadaanana (the six-headed), also called Lord Murugan. You can understand this in terms of the Kundalini Shakti (the primordial, dormant yet potent energy said to be present in a coiled form at the base of the spine).
Muruga’s many names
Because Muruga was carried by Ganga to Saravana Poigai, Muruga is called Gangeya. Because the spark from which Muruga emerged was deposited in Saravana Poigai, Muruga is also called Saravana. Because he was raised by the Krittikas, he is Kartikeya. Because he has six faces, he is Shanmukha.
In Saint Arunagirinatha’s ‘Kandar Alankaram’, he praises the six faces and twelve arms of Lord Muruga which come to the rescue of the world. Because his star is Vishaka, Muruga is also called Vishaka. He is eternally young, and so he is Kumara. He is Devasenapati, because he is commander of the celestial forces. He explained the pranava mantra to his father, Lord Shiva, and so he is Swaminatha.
We have seven chakras (energy centers) within us. When the energy surges through the six chakras and stabilizes at the sixth chakra – the Ajna chakra (present in the middle of the eyebrows), it blossoms as Lord Murugan (symbolism of the Guru Tattva-Principle). The Ajna chakra is the place of the Guru Tattva. It is where the Guru Tattva blossoms and manifests itself.
Sri Eswaran
