One of the major festivals in the Tamil calendar is Vaikasi Visakam. This festival honors Muruga, the son of Shiva and Parvati, as well as the brother of the elephant-headed deity, Ganesha. On this day, Muruga was born to fulfill a special purpose. 

Muruga is the patron deity of Tamils. The handsome God is also the deity of war. He has the power to control Mars or Kuja, so those who have Kuja Dosha worship him for relief from Mars afflictions in their horoscope.

 He has two consorts. One is Valli, a tribal girl, and the other is Deivanai, the daughter of Indra. Muruga's permanent abode is in the Palani hills.

 The deity is associated with both courage and wisdom. He was the general of the Gods’ army. But he also taught his father, Shiva, the Pranava Mantra.

 He has many names like Skanda, Subramanya, Shanmugha, Kumara, Kartikeya, etc. Since ancient times, Hindus have worshipped him as Mahasena and Kumara in North India. But he is mostly worshipped in Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, etc.

 The belief is that Murugan, the Tamil deity, was syncretized with Subramanya, a Vedic deity, after the Sangam period.

 Muruga’s Iconography

 Muruga is usually depicted as ever-youthful. His mount is a peacock, and he carries a Vel or lance. There is the emblem of a rooster on his banner. He may have one or six heads. Supposedly, he aged quickly from infancy to adulthood. He was a philosopher-warrior who killed demons and taught people to pursue an ethical life, as well as the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta. He was a source of inspiration for many poet-saints, like Arunagirinathar.

Devotees call him 'Palaniappa' (Father of Palani). He is the tutelary deity of the Kurinji region. There are many works in Sangam literature about Murugan. They include Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai by Nakkirar and Thirupugal by Arunagirinathar. One can see his images in many medieval Indian temples, like the Ellora caves and the Elephanta caves.

The Story of Muruga’s Birth

Kumarasambhava, the 5th-century epic poem by poet Kalidasa, claims that the Gods wanted Muruga to be born in order to slay the demons Taraka, Simhamukha, and Surapadma. The 3 brothers had a boon that only Shiva's power (Skanda was born of Shiva without Parvati’s involvement) could kill them. They sent Parvati to woo Shiva, who was in deep meditation after Sati died. But Shiva did not fall for Parvati’s charms until Kamadeva, the God of love, struck him with his arrows. Shiva burned Kama to ashes by opening his 3rd eye. As he had been meditating for many years, the prolonged abstinence made Shiva's seed very powerful. Hence, fearing the result, the Gods sent Agni (the God of fire) to interrupt Shiva's lovemaking with Parvati.

Agni received Shiva’s seed and dropped it into the Ganges. The Ganges, too, could not bear the heat and carried it to Saravana Poigai, where Muruga was born as six infants who were raised by the Karthigai Pengal until Parvati fused them into one by embracing them.

Vaikasi Visakam 2023 Celebrations

On this day, people take out processions. They carry milk pots to Muruga temples, where the milk is used for performing ‘Abishekam’ to the deity. Many people also take kavadi.

 Devotees flock to Muruga temples on Vaikasi Visakam. There are huge crowds at the Arupadai veedu (6 abodes of Muruga) temples in Tamil Nadu. They are Palani temple, Swamimalai temple, Thiruchendur temple, Thirupparamkundram temple, Thiruthani temple, and Pazhamudircholai temples for Murugan. The Subramaniaswamy Temple at Tiruchendur and Muruga Temple at Tirupparankundram see huge crowds of devotees.

 The Thiruparankundram Temple is near Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The festival is a major event here, with over 50,000 people taking part in this annual event.

Here, Vaikasi Visakam is a ten-day festival, which begins nine days before the Vaikasi Visakam date.

 Importance of Vaikasi Visakam

 Muruga is the God of courage, wisdom, and wealth. By worshipping the deity, one can get rid of all negativity in life. Vaikasi Visakam reminds us that Muruga will destroy the negativity within us – represented by greed, hatred, envy, ego, etc – in the same way that he killed the demons.