Lord Muruga was born from the power of Lord Shiva! He was created exclusively to kill Surapadman. His birthday is celebrated as Vaikasi Visagam.

Vaikasi Visakam (07-June-2017)

Vaikasi Visakam is celebrated every year as the birth anniversary of Lord Muruga. This auspicious occasion falls on the full moon day (Poornima) in the Tamil month of Vaikasi (Mid May – Mid June) and on the Vishaka nakshatra (star). Lord Muruga, also known as Lord Subramanya, is the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati while Lord Ganesha is his elder brother. Lord Muruga appears with six faces and hence is also called Arumugan. (‘Aaru’ in Tamil language means six while ‘mugam’ means face). It is said that the six divine faces of the Lord help in spreading his grace in all four directions viz the East, West, North, South, as well as the Heaven above and the Patala (underworld) below.

Legend about Vaikasi Visakam Festival

According to Hindu Mythology,  there once lived three Asura (demon) brothers named Soorapadman, Singamuhan and Tarakan. The demon brothers are said to have acquired immense strength and powers through severe penance that they undertook. As they grew powerful, they became too arrogant to the extent that they began tormenting the Devas. The worried Devas submitted themselves before Lord Siva seeking a solution to their problems. In order to help the Devas, Lord Shiva is said to have opened his divine Third Eye (the one seen on his forehead called the ‘Netrikan’ in this Tamil) and emanated six sparks of fire. Agni Deva (god of fire), Vayu Deva (god of air) carried these sparks to the Ganga (River Ganges) who in turn carried them to a stream called “Saravana Poigai”. These fire sparks then formed into six divine male babies in the stream and were looked after by six young maidens called the Karthigai Pengal. Goddess Parvathi embraced these six kids and they united them into one, having a single body with six faces and twelve hands manifesting as Lord Shanmuga. This event is said to have taken place on a full moon day (Poornima) in the Tamil month of Vaikasi and on the Vishaka star and is thus considered as the birthday of Lord Muruga. The six heads of Lord Shanmuga symbolises his six attributes namely Jnana (wisdom), Vairagya (detachment), Bala (strength), Keerti (fame), Shree (wealth), and Aishwarya (divine powers). They also represent the five elements of nature namely the ether, fire, water, earth and air, while the sixth one denotes the spirit that infuses life into the beings. The deity himself is considered an embodiment of complete and divine knowledge and wisdom.

Goddess Shakthi also gifted Lord Muruga the mighty Vel (Spear) to fight the Asuras. With the blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi, Lord Muruga successfully accomplished defeating the Asuras (demons), thereby establishing Dharma (Righteousness). On the request of Soorapadman’s wife, the kind Lord also agreed to give mukthi  (salvation) to her husband and his brother Singamuhan by making them his flag (Seval Kodi- the flag with a cock emblem) and vehicle peacock (Mayilvahanam) respectively. The war between Lord Muruga and Soorabadmaan is said to have taken place in a place called Thiruchendur, a town in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. Demon Tharakasura was killed by the Lord in Tirupporur, a village near Chennai. To celebrate the victory of Lord Muruga over the Asuras, Devendra (also called Indra, the king of devas) arranged the marriage of his daughter Deivanai with Lord Murugan. This battle won by Lord Muruga against the demons is also the reason behind people observing the revered Kanda Sashti fast.

The festival of Vaikasi Visakam is celebrated in many Lord Murugan Temples across the world. This auspicious day marks the birthday of Lord Muruga along with his victory over the demons.

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