Kartikeya Swaminatha Muruga Who is he?

When the five elements governed by Lord Shiva (Panch Mahabhoota - Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether) united with Sakti(Pure Consciousness), Lord Kartikeya was born.

Shiva is called Panchaanana 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 (six headed), also called Lord Karthikeya.

We can understand this in terms of the Kundalini Shakti. 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 Kartikeya (symbolism of the Guru Principle).

The Ajna chakra is the place of the Guru Principle. It is where the Guru Principle blossoms and manifests itself. And that Guru Principle itself is Karthikeya.
Lord Shiva is the un-manifest Divinity, while Lord Karthikeya is the manifest. So we can think of Lord Karthikeya as symbolic of the Kundalini Shakti.

Lord Karthikeya has two wives: Valli and Devasena. One is Iccha-shakti (will power) and the other is Kriya-shakti (power of action). Both these qualities come together with the Kundalini Shakti (Karthikeya). And Lord Karthikeya is the very embodiment of knowledge.

Its not enough to just have knowledge, one has to bring it in to action. This bringing to action is Kriya-shakti. And Iccha-shakti is the intention; one has to bring about an intention to perform such action. That is why our ancestors have brought about such symbolism

The two wives are only symbolic of Kriya-shakti and Iccha-shakti. Only if both are there, will knowledge be able to achieve something.

If we keep Lord Karthikeya as an embodiment of Knowledge, i.e, Gyana-shakti, then he needs the other two, which are the Kriya-shakti and Iccha-shakti. Only then will one get peace.

Lord Shiva is one of the three Gods of the Trimurti (Holy Trinity - Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva) represented by OM the primordial sound of the Creation. In OM, which actually is AUM the syllable M' belongs to Lord Shiva

There is a saying, Guru Govind dou khade kake lagu paye, balihari Guru apke Govind diyo milaye.'
(Both Guru and God stand before me, whose feet do I touch first? I bow down to my Guru first because without him I would have never been able to recognize God.)

Lord Karthikeya is also called Deva Senapati' the oguardian and rescuer of Divine qualities. Lord Shiva is known to give away boons easily to his devotees, even if they are to demons. He is Bhole Baba' (the Innocent One), so whatever boon or blessing anyone would ask for, He would instantly grant it, and then He Himself would get caught up.

At that time it would be Lord Karthikeya who would stand up to fight against the demons (who received such boons).

Karthikeya means the principle which is both peaceful and yet very active. Usually people who are very active are not quiet and at peace. And people who are quiet are not very active. So Karthikeya is that principle which is both peaceful and yet very active. Being spiritually complete and worldly-wise; having both these aspects. Dynamism and deep silence together in the form of Kartikeya.

Iccha-shakti and Kriya-shakti are together with the Gyaan-shakti (Karthikeya). That is why it is said that owing to the presence of Kriya-shakti, Lord Karthikeya became the Senapati - General of the Army of the Gods, and He protected the Gods and Goddesses.

Kartikeya also defeated Tarakasur (a demon) in battle. Tarakasur is symbolism of Ego (arrogance). When one thinks, I have conquered and mastered everything, I know everything', such a state of mind is said to be denoted by Tarakasur.

Humility, simplicity and power all these qualities get concealed when there is arrogance. So, to destroy such an ego is the job of the Kundalini Shakti, that is, Karthikeya. Hence, Karthikeya is the slayer of ego.

If you look at the idol of Karthikeya, in one hand He carries a spear. It is also called Vel. It is symbolic of the Kundalini Shakti, and it brings fearlessness and courage.

He is Danda Pani...

Krittikatanayam Vande Shanmukham Parvati sutam

Subrahmanyam mahatmanam Putra pautrabhivriddhaye

I salute to the son of Parvati,Krittikas,the six faced great Subrahmanya to flourish with sons and grand sons.

Note: Always worshipped and adored Kartikeya the epitome of knowledge.The shows these days always show him only as the war god

This is an attempt to explore Murugan with the help of Whatever I read and understood.

Sources. Skandh Puran ,Extracts from Art of Living discourses

Lakshmi

To be continued

Originally posted by: VividDiamond

Thank you for enlightening us with such a great information Lakshmi ! 😊

Muruga has come to possess a power that is unequalled. He is known as the epitome of knowledge. He is known as all powerful. He is known as the embodiment of beauty. He is known as the ultimate God or as God of all Gods.

Upamanyu a great devotee of Siva says thus about Kumara

Tapta Chamikara prakhyah Satapatra dalekshanah

Kumarah Sukumaranam rupodaharanam mahat.

He possessed the colour of burnt gold. His eyes resemble the petals of lotus.. He is so tender and an illustration for unparalleled beauty.

He is described as an extension of Siva, the eternal reality, the one without a second. He is special because he has the unique combination of the power of Sakthi derived from Mother Parvati and the power of knowledge acquired from father Siva. He appeared on earth with the combination of all powers and knowledge with a view to provide peace and security.

Having nursed by Krithika maidens who shine as brilliant stars in the galaxy and having brought up by Siva and Parvati with care and affection, Muruga grew up as a handsome youth (Kumara).

With the powerful Vel (lance) presented by Parvati, Muruga came to Tiruchendur and put an end to the atrocities of Soorapadman and other distractors and restored peace and tranquility on earth.

It is impossible to visualize the image of Muruga without Vel (lance). The Vel represents not only the power to destroy but also the power to protect. It is believed that the power of Vel excels all the three divine weapons held by Siva (trishul), Vishnu (discus) Indra (vajrayudha).

The lance radiates the light of knowledge and is known as Kadir Vel. The Vel of Muruga is powerful enough to bring light of knowledge where there is ignorance. Though many pundits described Muruga and Vel in glorious terms, it was Arunagirinathar who described Muruga very beautifully, truthfully and completely.

Arunagirinathar described Vel as the weapon that destroyed the Krowncha mountain, symbolizing the ego of Soorapadman. In his Vel Vakuppu, Arunagirinathar says that the Vel carries the power to ward off the adverse effects of Karma (consequences arising out of our action).

It has the power to remove the fear of death. It brings confidence, courage, happiness, health and prosperity. It guides the way to the Lotus Feet of Muruga.

Thaipusam is celebrated in a grand manner at Palani. The word Thaipusam comes from the Tamil month of Thai and the star Pusam). It was on this day, mother Parvati gave Muruga the powerful Vel which destroyed the demon, Tarakasur

When Lord Siva brought a rare fruit of knowledge, both his sons, Ganesha and Muruga claimed it. Lord Shiva then put up a contest; thereby the fruit could go to one who went round the universe and returned first.

While Muruga went all over the universe, mounted on his peacock, Ganesha went around his parents, Siva-Parvati and claimed the fruit on the ground that one's parents represented the whole universe and received the fruit. Here, the fruit remained as the symbol of knowledge.

While Lord Ganesa sought it from his parents, Siva-Parvati, Muruga sought it from the all pervading universe. Addressing the disappointed Muruga, Parvati stated; You are the fruit (Pazham Nee) which is the reinstatement of the great words of Upanishad; You are That'. "

This means the divinity is in you and you are God, you are the fruit of knowledge and you are the embodiment of knowledge, said Parvati.

According to legend, renouncing everything worldly, Muruga proceeded to South (Pothigai Hills) and chosen his abode at Palani. Appearing as Gyana Pandita (personification of knowledge), he radiates the light of knowledge from here and blesses the devotees.

Muruga's father, Siva, is the source of all knowledge. Muruga's mother, Parvati is the embodiment of power, Sakti. Having inherited the combined qualities of his divine parents, the knowledge and power, Muruga has become the Lord Supreme, unequalled and unparalleled.

Yet, Muruga has renounced everything, went atop the hill and stood with bare loin-cloth. He remains there as Andi Pandaram (penniless mendicant).

The message he gives us is loud and clear. "Do not go after material objects. They are as transitory as bubbles in the water.

To be continued.

Originally posted by: rsnarula67

Thanks Laxmi... looking forward to reading more.


The very essence of each story is the lessons it teaches us. So it gives great joy to read it.

Shanmukha the Lord of Life

1. Introduction

The Indian religious culture promotes worshipping many gods believing that many events in this world have super physical causes controlled by many divinities. In particular, Sanathana Dharma has always seen scope for all human beings to rise to perfection through worshipping each one's favorite deity. Pushpadanta, a great poet, expresses in his Siva mahimna stotram' that people can take up any path according to their various tastes,

"Trayee saankhyam yogah pasupatimatim

prabhinne prasthaane paramidamadah pathyamiticha

rucheenaam vaichitryaadrujukutila naanaa patha jushaam

nrunaameko gamyastvamasi payaasaamarnava iva

meaning,

"Various are the paths laid out in the Vedas, the Saankhya, Yoga and the Shaivite and Vaishnavite scriptures. Some of them are straight and some go up winding and people take to these different paths according to their various tastes saying This is the best, and the easiest'. But, like the waters of different rivers streaming down to the same ocean, they all lead to you, the final attachment of all beings.

To satisfy the spiritual and religious practices of diversified Hindus of the country and unify them and to emphasize that all gods are but various depictions of Saguna Brahma, Adi Sankara provided ample scope and founded six ways of divine worship, called six-deity worship (Shanmataas). These six modes of spiritual approach are Gaanaapatya, Saakta, Saiva, Vaishnava, Saura, and Skaanda (or Kaumaara) religious traditions devoted to the deities Ganapati, Sakti or Amba, Siva, Vishnu, Surya and Subrahmanya (or Shanmukha) respectively.

In this practice, the divinities are worshipped not in their anthropomorphic forms, but in certain symbols in the form of small pieces of certain precious stones or rocks, and in the form of consecrated fire. This method of worship might be considered an intermediate stage between the worship of God with form and the worship of the formless, because the symbols of worship as rock formations have certainly a form but they are also formless at the same time. It is, as though, the devotee develops the mind to worship God from the stage of forms to that of formless.

In the above tradition, the five deities, namely, Surya, Ambika, Vishnu, Ganapati and Siva are worshipped together through a ritual called, panchaayatana pooja' in which all the deities are placed on the same altar of worship. The sixth deity, Lord Shanmukha (or Subrahmanya), is worshipped in the form of consecrated fire in a yajna and also in the form of a serpent (that which decorates a Siva Lingam').

Skaanda' school of worship is as ancient as any other systems and Shanmukha was the God whose worship was extensively practiced in the ancient times. It is believed that sage Agastya' practiced this. Now-a-days, the devotees of Skanda constitute a big section of the people.

This article attempts to focus on the sixth school of worship, Skaanda, in which Lord Subrahmanya, who embodies all the qualities of the gods and who is the synthesis of Eternal Reality, is worshipped.

Lord Subrahmanya is worshipped by different names, like Skanda (divine warrior), Kaartikeya (of the Kittitas or Pleiades), Subrahmanya (effulgence of Brahman), Sanat Kumara (immortal prince), Swami (Master), Muraga (beautiful one), Shanmukha or Arumugha (one who has six-faces), Swaminatha (One who taught his own father), Guru Guha and so on. He is worshipped as the king of serpents, too.

2. Some references

Among the innumerable scriptural and other references of Lord Shanmukha, a few of them are as follows.

a. In Rig-Veda, The name Subrahmanya occurs several times as an invocation before the beginning of sacrificial rituals. Lord Subrahmanya is associated with the Vedic fire, Agni. Rig-Veda speaks of Agni, the divine fire, as the youngest of the gods; he is the divine child known as Kumara.

b. Rig-Veda begins with a prayer to Agni' (1-1-1 to 9)

"Agnimeele purohitam yajnasya deva mritvijam

Hotaaram ratna dhaatamam (1-1-1)

meaning

"I praise Agni, the priest of the house, the divine ministrant of sacrifice, the invoker, the best bestower of treasure."

Rig-Veda ends with a prayer to Agni', too.

c. Yajurveda' quotes

"Krittikaa nakshatramagnirdevataa (4-4-10-26)

meaning

(Thou art) Krttikas, the Nakshatra, Agni, the deity; you are the radiances of Agni'. Kaartikeya is the son of Krittikaas.

d. The Chandogya-Upanishad speaks of Shanmukha as Sanatkumaara. (7-26.2)

"When the intellectual aliment has been purified, the whole nature becomes purified. When the whole nature has been purified, the memory becomes firm. And when the memory (of the Highest Self) remains firm, then all the ties (which bind us to a belief in anything but the Self) are loosened.

'The venerable Sanatkumaara showed to Naarada, after his faults had been rubbed out, the other side of darkness. They call Sanatkumaara Skanda, yea, Skanda they call him.

Sanatkumaara initiates Narada into Brahma Vidya'. He is identified as Subrahmanya.

e.One of the 108 Upanishads, Skanda Upanishad', is named after Lord Skanda Himself.

f. Skaanda Puraana' composed of 30,000 verses, the thirteenth in the list of eighteen puranaas' is a sacred book devoted to Skanda. It reveals that

"'Mu' kaarostu mukundah syaat, Ru' kaaro rudra vaachakah

Ka' kaaro brahma vaadicha, MURUKO guha vaachakah

meaning,

Muruka or Muruga, a word of expression of the Supreme Knowledge (Brahma Jnaana), is a manifestation of the preceptor Guru Guha'

g. Maha Narayanam' of Taittireya Aranyakah' presents Shanmukha Gayatri' as

"Tatpurushaaya vidmahe mahaasenaaya dheemahi,

Tannahshanmukhah prachodayaat

meaning,

"Let us know that Supreme Being and meditate upon Him, the Supreme General of the great deva army. May He enlighten us and lead us to be one with Him, Lord Skanda.

h. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Sri Krishna declares

"Senaaneenaamaham Skandah (10-24)

meaning,

Among commanders, I am Skanda'.

i. In Lalita Sahasranamastotram', the Divine Mother is described as

"Guhajanma bhooh (601)

meaning,

She who is the birth place (Mother) of Lord Subrahmanya'

j. Adi Sankara explains that the word Skanda' means a wise person, in his adoration of Shanmukha, Sri Subrahmanya Bhujangam' (a hymn of 33 verses), of extraordinary merit, revealing the efficiency of prayer to and meditation on Lord Subrahmanya.

k. Kalidaasa's Kumarasambhava' is a famous Sanskrit work on the birth of the war-god.

l. Nakkirar's Tirumurugatrupadai' is famous as an immortal poem on Arupadai' about the six-temple pilgrimage' to six pilgrim centers of Lord Shanmukha.

m. Tiruppaugazh', with exquisite songs by Arunagirinathar, rejuvenated the Muruga cult in South India. The 13th century Tamil poet is famous for his devotion to Skanda.

3. The Birth Divine

The birth of Shanmukha is mysterious as he is begotten in a supernatural and extraordinary manner. Skanda has the parentage of such major gods as Siva, Parvati, Ganga, Agni and others.

One of the mythological versions of the birth of Skanda is as follows.

"Lord Siva is the perfect yogi. The Divines wanted a marriage of Siva and Uma so that the war-God might be born to them and the demons Taaraka, Surapadma and Simhamukhamight be killed. The Love-God Manmatha was set upon by the Divines to disturb Siva's penance. But Siva burnt him down to ashes by just a glance. Then Parvati (Uma) undertook a penance to seek the hand of the Lord and the divine marriage took place. But even after thousand years of the marriage, no conception took place. The vIrya' (Energy) of the Lord was considered so potent that Uma was too scared to receive it. Finally it was deposited with the Fire-God Agni, but the latter, again, was unable to bear it. Lord Siva asked Agni to pour the flaming energy into the bodies of those who were suffering from the cold of the winter. The wives of six of the saptarishis (seven great sages) who were trembling with cold after their early morning bath relaxed in the warmth of the Fire. Arundhati, the wife of the sage Vasistha, thought it was not the right thing to do and so did not join the others. In the process, the other six rishi-wives took in Siva's energy which Agni passed into them through the pores of their skin. From then on the six wives carried the burden. Their husbands cursed them that they would become stars in the sky. That is how they became krittikaas, (constellation Pleiades, away by 400 light years). The Krittiikaas aborted their fetuses on the Himalaya Mountains. The holy river Ganga carried the fetuses to a secluded place, called the Sara Vana, which was covered with reeds. After some time, Lord Kartikeya (also called Skanda) manifested Himself from those reeds. Krittikas nursed him. Since he was born to six mothers, he had six heads (and hence called Shanmukha). Since he was born in the Sara Vana' created by Lord Brahma, he is also known as Saravanabhava. Lord Siva and Parvati went to the place where the child was born. They received him as their child and later appointed him the commander-in-chief. Shanmukha killed the demons.

4. Symbolism
Lord Subrahmanya is depicted in the human form possessing six faces. He holds a spear, gifted by the Divine Mother, in His hand. He is the second son of Siva, and the younger brother of Ganapati'. His banner is the cock and vehicle (Vaahana) the peacock which stands clutching a serpent. His powers are called Sri Valli and Devasena.

The symbolism associated with Lord Shanmukha illustrates the following spiritual theme.

1. The six faces of Lord have been meditated upon from different aspects.

a. Adi Sankara says that the six main qualities of Godhead, namely, lordship, valor, fame, wealth, wisdom and detachment are signified by the six faces of Shanmukha, the six-faced one.

b. The six heads represent the six rays or the six attributes viz. Jnana (wisdom), Vairagya (dispassion), Bala (strength), Kirti (fame), Sree (wealth) and Aishvarya (divine powers).

c. The six faces of the Lord confer the light of wisdom, grace, austerity, prowess, victory over evil, and love.

d. The cumulative force which combined the forms of the five gross elements (pancha bhutaas) of Siva manifested itself as a six fold divinity with six faces (Shanmukha). Lord Shanmukha is, thus, both unmanifest and manifest forms of the five gross elements.

e. Also, they signify that the Infinite Reality manifests itself as the six instruments comprising the mind and the five sense organs, namely, sight, sound, smell, touch and taste in a being and hence Lord Skanda is the experience of the ego (ahamkaara), namely, the concept I' (Ahamkaarah Skandah).

2. A spear (vel) in the hands of Lord Subrahmanya symbolizes His power to destroy the inner enemies of man, such as lust, greed, fear, anger, pride, and hatred.

3. A blue peacock next to the Lord conveys the idea that man should be very delighted to know that he is atman. Its blue color is symbolic of infinity'. Also, the peacock depicts the chitraagni', the aspect of fire or Agni'

It is interesting to see that Subrahmanya has for his vehicle a peacock, the enemy of snakes. This portrayal is designed to take us above hatred.

4. It is stated in Siva Puraana' that

"Ichaa jnaana kriyaa rupa mahasaktidharam bhaje,

Siva sakti jnaana yogam jnaana sakti svarupakam

Lord Subrahmanya is the energy of Lord Siva. Sri Valli and Devasena are His two Divine consorts. They represent the Iccha Sakti and the Kriya Sakti of the Lord who is the Jnaana Sakti.'

5. The Pranava (AUM) is a combination of six parts, namely, 1. A (Akara) 2. U (Ukara), 3. M (Makara) 4. Bindu 5. Nada and 6.the silence following the earlier five components. Thus, the six constituents of Pranava, the Omkara, are the sound manifestation of six faces of Shanmukha.

6. The six hills (Arupadai,) which are dear to him, signify the six chakras in the human body through which the Kundalini' rises to travel to the Supreme.

5. Uniqueness

No other Hindu deity enjoys more divine lineage than Lord Subrahmanya.

The word Subrahmanya' itself means the one who originated from Brahman' in joy and is inseparable from the Bliss of the ultimate Reality. God Subrahmanya is the preceptor who imparts the highest knowledge. He gave divine wisdom to his own father, Siva. He is the effulgence of Brahma.

Lord Subrahmanya is an embodiment of multifaceted knowledge (Shanmukhi Pratibha). This knowledge is the ultimate of integral knowledge, meditating upon which intellectual growth of a seeker is initiated.

In Tamil Nadu, He is more popularly known as Murugan' He is meditated upon by the six-lettered mantra sa ra va na bha va'. The six syllables describe Him as one who manifested as a personification of Auspiciousness, Light, Splendor, Bounty, Purity and Infinite Prowess

Lord Siva is the unmanifest form of energy and His consort Parvati is the manifest form. Being born to the two, Lord Subrahmanya is the manifestation of the expanding energy of the union of the Siva and Parvati, pervading in all the six directions in the universe.

A normal human being goes through three experiences of the waking, dream and deep-sleep states of consciousness. Waking state is the state of consciousness which man experiences when he is awake. The dream is the state of consciousness which he experiences when he is dreaming. The deep-sleep is dreamless sleep when he is experiencing a world of nothingness. Beyond these three states is the state of God-consciousness. That is the fourth state called the Turiya'. Man is hardly aware of this state much less does he experience it. Nevertheless, that is man's original and real state and his essential and infinite being. Only when one transcends the limitations of the waking, dream and deep-sleep, he/she reaches the fourth state. This is the state symbolized by Subrahmanya.

6. The Worship of 'Lord Shanmukha'

The worship of Lord Shanmukha is very common in South India. Almost every town in the South has its temple dedicated to Lord Shanmukha. The Tamils have named Shanmukha as Murugan'.

Lord Subrahmanya is worshipped in the form of a Vatu' (a brahmachaari) by observing "Skanda Shashti. This is done, specifically, to get remedies for Sarpa dosha' and get the desires of progeny fulfilled.

(a) In the form of a serpent (Naaga sarpa')

Lord Skanda is commonly worshipped to rid oneself of ailments relating to snakes. There is a strong tradition linking Skanda and Naaga Sarpa (a serpent). This includes the worship of the idol of Sarpa' (serpent deity) as Skanda is believed to be god of fertility, procreation and progeny. Hence, Lord Skanda is prayed as the bestower of progeny' (Vamsa vardhakaaya namah'). If a childless woman performs the penance sincerely on the Shasti'days, then, conception would take place in her.

"If Lord Subrahmanya is considered as the sarpa' (a serpent), then He is the highest form of Sarpa' known as Kundalini'. His Holiness Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati (Kanchi Paramaacharya) says, "sarpa' literally means Kundalini', both having a wriggled, spiral-like form. Subrahmanya has the Kundalini shakti' itself as his weapon, in the form of a spear, vel'.

"The Tirumala hills on which Lord Venkateshwara resides is also called Seshadri. The acharya says that "sarpa svaruupa dhara" (a phrase from Muthuswami Dikshitar's Subrahmanya Kriti) refers to Subrahmanya as the Tirumala hill itself. (Ref: "Hindu dharma, published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1995).

In the Sanskrit hymn Subrahmanya Bhujangam', the word "bhujangam" in the title itself refers to a snake that uses his entire body as his hands.

It is interesting to learn that the studies of human physiology have revealed that the spermatozoon, which is vital in the formation of a zygote, has a structure of a serpent, while in motion.

(b) In the form of fire in a yajna'

Lord Subrahmanya is portrayed as Vedic fire by Vedas and he is worshipped in the form of consecrated fire in a yajna. Fire is the prime object of worship in a yajna.

In Rig-Veda, a verse of invocation to Sadaspati reads,

"Sadasaspati madbhutam priyamindrasya kaamyam,

Sanim medhaa mayaasisham (1-18-6)

meaning,

I approach the wonderful Lord of sacrificial hall who is the giver of wisdom and who is dear and desirable to Indra'

Sadaspati, who is dear to Indra, is believed to be Agni. He distributes the "Soma to the gods. He associates with fire and this association connotes the identity of Subrahmanya with Agni-Soma (Agnisomaatmaka).

Thus, Subrahmnaya is identified as god of fire. The Fire-worship in a yajna, thus, might be considered to be a form of the sixth school of Shanmataas, founded by Adi Sankara.

Yajna, the fire-worship, is an outer form of worship in which offerings are made to different deities in a prescribed and systematic manner, so that the gods invoked (Indra, Varuna, Agni and others) would bless the worshipper in achieving certain results in life. The chanting of Vedic hymns' while performing the sacrifices is expected to ensure fulfillment of specific desires, the overall welfare of an individual, a group of people or the entire society.

"Four hundred yajnaas or sacrifices are said to be mentioned in our scriptures. Not all sacrifices need be performed and a number of them are meant to serve one specific purpose or another.

But, 21 sacrifices should be performed once in a lifetime.

These are divided into three groups of seven, namely, pakayajnas, haviryajnas and somyajnas.

a. Pakayajnas are minor sacrifices and are performed at home.

b. Haviryajnas are more elaborate, though not so large in scale as the somayajnas.

c. Soma yajnaas are performed on large scale for the welfare of the entire community, to increase fertility of soil, to invite rains, to welcome peace and wealth etc. (Ref Hindu dharma)

The outer aspect of yajna consists of building an altar, generally with bricks, kindling fire, using specific types of grass and wood and then pouring into it oblations.

The inner or hidden aspect of Yajna consists of worshipping the Supreme or one's own Inner Self.

According to a saying, "Yajnovy sreshthatamam karma, Yajna is an unparalleled act (or karma) of life.

The term yajna has a very wide application and deserves a distinct discussion.

7. Shanmukha Shatkona'

Lord Siva is known as Kaala Kaala' and his Tejas' or power is known as Kaalaagni' or Samvatsaraagni', taken as basis for time metrics. The six heads and twelve hands of Lord Shanmukha are symbolic of six ritus (seasons) and twelve months respectively, in Hindu calendar.

Shanmukha hexagon (Shanmukha shatkona) has six sides each one representing the one letter of Shanmukha mantra, namely, Sa, Ra, Va, Na, Bha and Va.

Further, the symbolization of the hexagon or two crossed triangles with Shanmukha is significant as it is nothing but zodiacal representation in the astronomical connotation.

The lower triangle with vertex downwards is symbolic of Goddess Parvati and the triangle with its vertex upward is symbolic of Shiva. The superposition of the two triangles forms a hexagon, symbolic of Shanmukha, called Shanmukha shatkona', which is worshipped as the abode of Lord Shanmukha (Shatkona Madhya nilayaaya namah').

8. The six temple Muruga pilgrimage and Shat-chakra bheda'

The six temple Muruga pilgrimage, called Aarupadai Veedu, is accomplished by visiting the six holy places of Shanmukha in Tamil Nadu, namely, 1. Tiruppara Kundram 2. Tiruchendur 3. Palani 4.Swami Malai, 5. Tiruttani and 6. Palamuthirsolai. It is believed that these places are symbolic of the shat-chakraas (six lotuses) in the human body and visiting these places stimulates the six chakraas in the body, namely, Mulaadhaara, Swaadhishtaana, Manipura, Anaahata, Vishudha and Ajna chakraa of the seeker. This is known as Shatchakra bheda'. From here, the seeker looks deeply into the mind to travel freely to any region of mind in his true inner body and ultimately Jiva arrives in a state of perfect wisdom in the seventh chakra, Sahasraara.

9. Conclusion

Thus, in Shanmukha, we have the ultimate emergence out of the six lotuses or Shat-Chakras' and this is the state of Supreme Wisdom. Therefore, Lord Shanmukha is an incarnation of the ultimate transcendental Supreme Knowledge.

Thus, roles taken by Lord Shanmukha are many, to grant boons to His devotees. Sri Shanmukha Sahasranaama stotram' (in Skaanda puraana), praises Lord Shanmukha, as a benefactor, who bestows life (Praanadatah), sustains our life when we are exhausted and worried (Lulitodhaarakah), makes it meaningful and fruitful (Yoga sidhidah), free us from three types of debts (Runathraya vimochanah) and helps us attain deliverance (Mokshadah) by setting us free from web of mundane attachments (Luta bhava paasa prabhanjah).

Source: Sulekha creatives.