South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c9.s18.7

c9.s18.7

The worship of Skanda in India has been very ancient. Dr. Bhandarkar in his work Vaishnavism, Saivism, etc., has put forth literary and inscriptional evidence to prove that Skanda was worshipped in the time of Patanjali and in the early centuries of the Christian era. Sūdraka, the author of the drama Mrichchhakatikā, introducing a thief as one of the characters in his drama, makes him, before starting on his profession, invoke the blessings of Skanda. The artisans of the present day also resort to Skanda as one of the chief deities who preside over their craft. In the south the worship of Skanda-Kumāra under the name Vēlāyudha, Muruga, etc., is most popular. All classes are equally devoted to him, the non-Brahmans being particularly so. It may be noted that the shrines sacred to Skanda are always situated on hills, as at Tiruttani, Palnis, Tirupparangunram, Kunnakudi or on the seashore as at Tiruchchendūr, etc. An ancient Tamil poem called Tirumurugārruppadai probably written in the early eighth century A.D. is devoted exclusively to describing the shrines of Subrahmanya in Southern India. The god has been included in Aryan theogony from very early ages. Like most Saiva gods he may be the outcome of the fusion of the ancient Aryan and Dravidian cults and this may account for the large number of devotees he claims among the non-Brahman classes of Southern India. Like the other Saiva attendants described above, who partake of the nature of Siva and are made of his substance, Skanda is also one of the leaders of the Saivite hosts (*ganas*). He is a guardian deity and is enshrined in almost every Siva temple of importance in Southern India. He is *par excellence* the god of youth, of energy and virility.