Busacca Gallery

ANTIQUE INDIAN STONE HAND CARVED FIGURE: This beautifully detailed hand carved black soapstone figure, thought to be Subramanian, son of Shiva, dates from the late 19th to early 20th century. This God who was represented with multiple heads and a peacock was chosen by the Gods to lead them into battle. This finely rendered piece which measures 12 inches high, by 6 inches wide, by 3 inches deep is in excellent condition and would be a much appreciated treasure in anyone's home.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murugan

Murugan (Tamil:), also known as Kartikeya, is the Hindu god of war and victory, worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple (also in Sinhala "Katharagama Devalaya") situated deep south. Ethnic Tamils in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves temple and Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, He is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him. In Bengal, he is popular by the name Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika') respectively. Murugan is more popular amongst the Tamil people who refer Him to as Thamizh Kadavul (God of Tamils).



Like most Hindu deities, Murugan is known by many other names, including Senthil (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Shanmuga (from Sanskrit Ṣaṇmukha), Arumugam (meaning 'one with six faces'), Kumāra (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruhuha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit), Vēlaṇ and Swaminatha.





Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, " the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as " the favoured god of the Tamils. The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru.One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan:



"Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth; His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world. The references to Murugan in can be traced back to the first millennium BCE.



The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Subrahmaṇya is installed on the left of the main deity.The story of His birth goes as follows:



Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Parvathi could not control herself and her breast milk started flowing automatically. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga, to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.