MURUGAN

A Dravidian god of youth and beauty. The Dravidian cult of the young is as old as the cult of mother and ancestors. It was absorbed into the brahminical Hinduism and Murugan was sanckritized as Skandha, which name was again Tamilized into Kandha. These names are alternatives for the brachminical Karthikeya the Hindu god of war. In the Tamil tradition, Murugan is adored as a Tamil and Vedhic scholar. The name Skandha may preserve the memory of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian youth and world conqueror, who blazed like a flash of lightning on the Indian horizon and left lasting impression on the Indian mind.Murugan is known by several descriptive names: Balamurugan, Kumaran, Mayil veganan, Subramanian, Velan, and Velumurgan Iconographically, he holds a lance or spear (vel) and rides a peacock; his flag, a living malai, Thiruchengode and Vaiyappa Malai, are Murugan's favourite aunts. The most famous Murugan temple of Tmil Nadu is in Pazhani. Dinduval District.According to the Salem legends, a new image of Murugan in Pazhani was installed by a siddhar when Murugan came to and remained in Vaiyappa Malai accepting the gift of gold created by the Alavoy malai siddhars. The notable Murugan temples in Salem are at Ammapettai, Belukurichi, Kanakagiri, Kapilamalai, Thiruchengodu, Kandhasramam,Kanjamalai, Kalipatti and Vaiyappa Malai. Most of the Siva temples contain Murugan shrines.