(This article was published in Dinamlar paper . And thanks to Gd, for translating this article.)
The festival of “Thai Poosam Thiruvizha” is celebrated in the temple of “Lord Pazhani Dhandayudhapaanni”. In Hindu mythology, every name and every festival is christened based on and after an episode/event that had unfolded. Let us try to understand the reason behind the baptizing of this deity.
Idumban, a mighty demon, carried the two hills, Sakthi Giri and Siva Giri to the South of Podhigai , to fulfill the orders of the great sage Agathiyar. On the way, to unburden himself for a while, he laid these hills down. Lord Muruga who was in ‘Thiru Aavinan Kudi’ at that point in time, climbed a top ‘Sakthi Giri’, as that was considered an incarnation of His mother. As Idumban found this as a hindrance to his order execution, he resisted Lord Muruga. In this process, he was engulfed by Lord Muruga himself.
Lord Muruga had a staff in His hand during this whole sequence. A ‘Staff’ in Tamil is called ‘dhandam’. And ‘ayudham’ means ‘weapon’. As He held a staff for a weapon, He was christened ‘Dhandayudhapaani’.
The other interpretation to this name goes thus: “dhandam” has yet another meaning in Tamil and that is “penalty/charge/fine”.
It is believed that on top of this mountain, Lord Muruga dons the role of a teacher and a preacher. He preaches the lesson of material life’s impermanence in this world.
As is the practice, a teacher has a staff in his/her hand to keep the students under control and to discipline them to the righteous path. Lord Muruga too, like a good teacher, with the staff in His hand, preaches to His devotees to forego their mirage-like worldly desires of money, lust and land, in which they are drowned and suffering. He urges them to renounce this material world and follow His footsteps to becoming a saint. For those who turn a deaf-ear to His morals, He levies punishments in the form of ‘penalties/fines’ (miseries in this worldly life). Human beings, unable to tolerate and bear these punishments, adhere to His advice and start following His path.
In Sanskrit, ‘Giri’ means ‘hill/mountain’. ‘Sakthi’ is how the Mother of Lord Muruga is addressed by devotees and ‘Siva’ is His Father. These two hills are named after them.
(Will write as a seperate posting about podhigai)
The festival of “Thai Poosam Thiruvizha” is celebrated in the temple of “Lord Pazhani Dhandayudhapaanni”. In Hindu mythology, every name and every festival is christened based on and after an episode/event that had unfolded. Let us try to understand the reason behind the baptizing of this deity.
Idumban, a mighty demon, carried the two hills, Sakthi Giri and Siva Giri to the South of Podhigai , to fulfill the orders of the great sage Agathiyar. On the way, to unburden himself for a while, he laid these hills down. Lord Muruga who was in ‘Thiru Aavinan Kudi’ at that point in time, climbed a top ‘Sakthi Giri’, as that was considered an incarnation of His mother. As Idumban found this as a hindrance to his order execution, he resisted Lord Muruga. In this process, he was engulfed by Lord Muruga himself.
Lord Muruga had a staff in His hand during this whole sequence. A ‘Staff’ in Tamil is called ‘dhandam’. And ‘ayudham’ means ‘weapon’. As He held a staff for a weapon, He was christened ‘Dhandayudhapaani’.
The other interpretation to this name goes thus: “dhandam” has yet another meaning in Tamil and that is “penalty/charge/fine”.
It is believed that on top of this mountain, Lord Muruga dons the role of a teacher and a preacher. He preaches the lesson of material life’s impermanence in this world.
As is the practice, a teacher has a staff in his/her hand to keep the students under control and to discipline them to the righteous path. Lord Muruga too, like a good teacher, with the staff in His hand, preaches to His devotees to forego their mirage-like worldly desires of money, lust and land, in which they are drowned and suffering. He urges them to renounce this material world and follow His footsteps to becoming a saint. For those who turn a deaf-ear to His morals, He levies punishments in the form of ‘penalties/fines’ (miseries in this worldly life). Human beings, unable to tolerate and bear these punishments, adhere to His advice and start following His path.
In Sanskrit, ‘Giri’ means ‘hill/mountain’. ‘Sakthi’ is how the Mother of Lord Muruga is addressed by devotees and ‘Siva’ is His Father. These two hills are named after them.
(Will write as a seperate posting about podhigai)
