What is Murugan Bhakti

Introducing Murugan Bhakti

Murugan, the ever-youthful champion-deity of South Asian song, legend and literature, has long been far more than His diminutive appearance suggests. Presenting the outward resemblance of a boy or a youth (or any other form that pleases Him!), Guha 'the Mysterious' repeatedly surfaces in myth, lore and legend from remote prehistory down to the present, for He always is in the 'here and now' (Tamil: ippō-ingē), within and yet beyond time and space.

Although best-known today as the God of the South (i.e. South India and Sri Lanka), in His ancient Sanskritic aspect as Kārttikeya ('born of the Pleiades') Skanda (literally, 'the Leaper') was for centuries one of India's most popular deities during the classical Gupta age and even earlier in late Vedic times. And although uncounted thousands of years old, this pan-Indian god of love, war, paradox and mystery continues to exert His charm upon millions of young and old, urban and rural, rich and poor alike even today at the dawn of a new millennium.

 Just like holy Murugan himself, Murugan bhakti has been around for a very long time -- ancient Tamil Sangham poets sang His glory and told others how they too could obtain His abundant grace or arul.Indeed bhakti, a Sanskrit word meaning 'participation' or 'involvement' (however interpreted as 'devotion' by early Christian missionaries), had its roots not in North India at all but in the Dravidian South where Murugan reigned then as today.

Whoever they were, the ancient Dravidian sages and seers themselves were undoubtedly Murugan bhaktas-- spiritual enthusiasts who were not mere poets or observers of the god'sTiru Vilaiyādal or Divine Play, but deeply involved participants as well. Whatever your background may be, if you call onMurugan Bhakti even occasionally, sooner or later you are likely to feel attached to Skanda-Murugan and the rainbow of spiritual paths that converge upon Him. 

 Whether you hail from East or West, North or South, and regardless of your self-identity as student or teacher, professional or amateur, pragmatist or idealist, something extraordinary about Murugan Bhakti is likely to subtly transform your outlook on life. The Murugan Bhakti home page serves as a meeting point for scholars and non-scholars, bhaktas and others alike, who have found (or suspect) that there indeed is more to Skanda-Murugan than meets the eye.