Request for meaning of "Sri Subrahmanya Ashtottara"

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 26 Feb 2008, 03:14

Interesting!
In Tamil I have read
mu = mukundan = viShNu
ru = rudran = Sivan
ka = kamalan = Brahma

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 26 Feb 2008, 04:47

Quite interesting! I never knew about a possible association between skanda and sanatkumAra or about the fact that 'murugA' was a word coined this way.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 27 Feb 2008, 21:48

26. Om krounchadAraNAya nama:

One who tore open the krouncha mountain

krouncha was an asura - a subject of tArakAsura and used to take the form of a mountain to fight the asura enemies.

27. Om sEnAniyE nama:

Prostrations to the army general

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 28 Feb 2008, 07:55

sEnAnI= leader of an army
since this is (IkArAnta) masculine it is declined in the dative as 'sEnAnyE'
Hence to be grammatically correct 27 should be
27. Om sEnAnyE namaH

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 28 Feb 2008, 11:30

cml - thanks for the correction.
On the lighter note, "Om sEnAniyE nama:" seems like the tamil version of "Om sEnAnyE namaH"

.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 28 Feb 2008, 21:03

On the lighter note again notice that the word 'sEnA' in sanskrit is feminine (perhaps Amazonians or belonging to queen Alli

Since the sEnA is personified as married to Lord SubramaNya (the essence of masculinity) sEnAnI ('sEnA nIyatE iti' One who leads the army i.e., the Lord of the Army) is masculine, it is one of those rare masculine words ending in 'I' (since almost all of the IkArAnta are feminine words). Accordingly if it was declined as a feminine word (like nadI) it would be : sEnAnyai (but it is not!)

The concept of treating the battalion as the spouse of the Commander is poetically beautiful which shows the philosophical depth and elegance of the Sanskrit language!

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 29 Feb 2008, 12:19

samyak krtam indeed !!!

28. Om agnijanmanE nama:

Prostrations to the One born of agni

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 29 Feb 2008, 21:10

29. Om vishAkhAya nama:

Prostrations to the One born in the vishAkhA nakshatra (or)
Prostrations to vishAkhA Himself

skanda was born in the vaishAka month (vaikAsi in tamil) in the vishAkha nakshatram. This nAma probably has an alternate interpretation arising from the work vishAkhA. I request the wise people to shed more light.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 29 Feb 2008, 22:06

According to the amarakOsha (svargavarga . 41) the alternative explanation is:
vinA mayUrENa shAkhatIti vishAkhaH | 'shAkh^Ri ovyAptau' ||
With the peacock's wings one who spans (all the world) and hence he is vishAkhaH. The dhatu shAkh means to pervade.
In other words Lord SubramaNya literally pervades the Universe through the outstretched plumes of his peacock.
One should read the 'mayil viruttam' of AruNagirnaathar eulogizing the peacock to get an idea of this explanation!

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 03 Mar 2008, 22:28

Unlike other nAmas that may be used towards others dEvatAs as well, vishAKha seems to be unique to skanda.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 03 Mar 2008, 22:51

30. Om shankarAtmajAya nama:

the son of shankara (shiva)

Although the word 'Atmaja' generally refers to 'son', I remember having read that in some cases 'Atmaja' is used to refer to 'a son begotten from one's self'. This applies appropriately to skanda.

This leads to an interesting thought. The words 'Atmaja' (son) and 'AtmajA' (daughter) seems to always be prefixed by the father while more common words like 'suta' (umAsuta), 'nandana' (rohiNi nandana, gOkula nandana), 'putra' (aditi putra) or 'tanuja' (satyavati tanuja) can be prefixed by mother or father (sometimes even other qualifiers like races e.g. kuru nandana).

Perhaps more insight into the way these words are coined could help us understand.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 04 Mar 2008, 21:53

There is nothing peculiar about the formation of these bahuvrIhi compounds. The afix 'ja' can be added to any noun to indicate that something was born out of that! It will be 'jA' if the outcome is feminine and 'jam' if it is Neutre. However the affix is never used directly with proper nouns to indicate the offspring. For example the terms shankaraja, umAja etc will not be meaningful as their offsprings. These words will mean something born out of the 'name' shankara , umA etc. Hence we use the intermediate expression Atmaja, tanuja etc to indicate the derivation from the 'body'. Hence 'shankarAtmaja' would mean 'born of a body which was named shankara'. Note that the 'body' intrinsically has no name which it acquires only after the 7th day after birth...

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 05 Mar 2008, 21:22

31.Om sivasvAminE nama:

the lord of shiva

As bAlagurusvAmi, skanda became shiva's guru and expounded on the meaning of the praNava.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 05 Mar 2008, 22:18

I have come across two variations of the next nAma -

32. guNasvAminE nama:

This can be interpreted in two ways -

- the lord of qualities (Shat guNas) - possessing the six divine qualities jnAna (wisdom), shakti (potency), bala (strength), aishvarya (opulence), vIrya (prowess) and tEjas (splendour), and
- as the lord of all material modes of existence (tri guNas), i.e., sattva, rajas and tamO guNas

32. gaNasvAminE nama:

This can also be interpreted in two ways -

- the lord of the dEva gaNas - their saviour, and
- the lord of the indriya gaNas - our sense organs

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 05 Mar 2008, 22:48

guNa is also the primary property of shabda (sound). Since the ultimate origin of sound is OmkAra(praNava), SubramaNya is the master of guNa (praNava)....

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 05 Mar 2008, 23:41

cml,

Can you elaborate a little more on this connection between guNa and shabda please?

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 06 Mar 2008, 05:14

There is extensive material on this subject in kaavya. For example Mammata devotes a whole chapter on Guna (chapter 8) in his kAvyaprkaasha. In brief guna is the intrinsic property of words (or shabda) which renders them excellent.. This embraces both sound and rasa (sentiment) as also the artha (meaning). The idea also is elaborated in Mimamsa as well as even buddhist philosophy.

I have also heard that the letter 'u' intrinsically represented Lord Subramanya. By grammatical rules if you gunate 'u' you get 'O' which with the anusvaram becomes praNava. It is well known that 'u' also represents Siva. In fact the seed (bIja) inside Siva was Lord subramanya who manifests as the Omkaara....(as the master of the Universe)

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 06 Mar 2008, 11:46

CML,

Many thanks for providing this elaboration. This definitely inspires me to peep into the kAvya texts - something I have not done before.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 06 Mar 2008, 11:51

Continuing on,

33. Om sarvasvAminE nama:

the lord of all (everything? everyone?)

This nAma probably has an inner meaning to it. I request the expert to comment.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 06 Mar 2008, 22:04

sarva is yet another name of Siva and hence this reverts back to the afore mentioned meaning viz., Master (guru) of Siva.
But then sarva also has a special interpretation in Tantrik literature which somebody who knows more deeply may kindly elaborate!
A fancy way of etymological analysis will be:
sarvAsu aminE (all saptami vibhakti) ( in all inviolable meaning that 'One who cannot be attacked by anything physical or spiritual'.
In fact it is traditional in TN to chant 'shaShTi kavacam' to protect from all malefic factors. Arunagiri beautifully sings it in his kandaralankaaram: as
naaLencheyum vinaithaanencheyum enai naaDivantha
kOLencheyum koDu^NkURRencheym kumarEshariru
thaaLum chilambum chada^Ngayum thaNDayum Shanmukanum
thOLum kaDambumenakku munnE vanthu thOnRiDinE

Of course for this explanation we must rewrite it as:
33. Om sarvAsvAminE nama:

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 08 Mar 2008, 04:24

Thanks again, CML.

34. Om sanAtanAya nama:

the eternal One

As kripAnanda vAriyar svAmigaL explains, skanda is shiva incarnate. Shiva is described in the vEdas as 'ajam' - the unborn. VAriyar svAmigaL goes on to explain that while rAma, kriShNa and other avatAras have jayantis, skanda does not. Above all, if skanda is, in Himself the praNava svarUpam, then he is sanAtana.

35. Om anantashaktayE nama:

the One with limitless energy. Let us recall how skanda was born from shiva and also how vishvAmitra describes skanda in the rAmAyaNa as jvalana upamAnam - the One analogous to blazing fire.

36. Om akshOBhyAya nama:

the unshakable One

One so strong and steady as to confront sUrapadma, tArakAsura and their entire army of asuras that none else could face and raze them down.

37. Om pArvatipriyanandanAya nama:

One beloved to pArvati

38. Om gangAsutAya nama:

son of gangA

39. Om sharOdBhUtAya nama:

the One who 'came to be' from the shara grass (dharbai)

skanda was born in the shara vana (dharbai forest) on the banks of gangA.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 08 Mar 2008, 21:49

While many of these 'names' have a plain meaning, there is also a hidden tantric meaning. SubramaNya is a well known 'siddha' (an avatara of the Lord himself) and there are a number of compositions in siddhar paaDal by him which have abstract meaning which are yet to be deciphered. They also direct one to processes of yoga through which one may attain samyama (self control) enroute to liberation. My knowledge is quite limited though I have spent some time with a Tantrist exploring the esoteric during my younger days at India having witnessed events that defy scientific explanations!

As Kartik explains 'akShObhya' has the plain meaning firm or unshakeable. But in the Tantric literature akShObha is one of the sixteen petals of the sOma cakra which is above the Aj~nya cakra through which the kuNDalini traverses. Control of this petal gives steadiness permitting the upward migration of kuNDali. Meditation on Lord SubramaNya (in accordance with the yogic process) will permit the development of this control.. In particular 'kShObha' is one of the powerful arrows of Cupid (manmatha). Meditation with the grace of Lord SubramaNya permits one to conquer 'lust' from which even Lord Siva could not escape! It is well known what a lust-blinded wastrel AruNagiri was in his younger days. When the grce of Muruga descended he was completely transformed into a naadayOgi. He mentions it briefly in the Thiruppugazh 'apakaara nindai..' as
'upadEsha manthira poruLaalE..
japa maalai thantha satguru naahthaa..' etc.,

By the by if these digressions are distracting from the main flow of meanings of the aShTottara pl let me know!

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 12 Mar 2008, 02:00

CML,

Thanks for such an elaborate post.

The connection between such an apparently simple nAma 'akShobhya' and higher concepts like kuNDalini was unknown to me. Coming to know about something like this makes me wonder if the purAnas - the characters, the stories, the incidents - all these are cleverly-disguised and appealingly-wrapped packages to help the layman approach much higher concepts like mukti, yOga etc. To a casual skanda bhakta, 'akShobhya' (meaning = firm or unshakeable) signifies a heroic attribute of skanda. I remember sri kripAnanda vAriyAr saying in his skanda purANa upanyAsam - 'shiva and skanda are one and the same, but the greatness of skanda is higher than that of shiva' (I am translating the tamil word 'perumai' to mean 'greatness' here). To a pourANika like him, this nAma (meaning = one whom lust cannot shake) can indicate the greatness of skanda. A yOgi, on the other hand, could greatly get attached to and revere skanda, for He bestows "akShobha" (meaning = steadiness towards his Atma jnAna prayAsa). These interpretations seem to be at different levels.

I am greatly benefitted by these discussions. I am sure many people in the forum would agree with me on this. The spiritual knowledge that we share and exchange through this discussion is not oriented towards a goal or target we have in mind. Our minds are open to anything we have an opportunity to learn - and in such a context, I think some amount of digression helps to widen our plane of thought.

I definitely welcome such discussions by everyone.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 12 Mar 2008, 09:38

'shiva and skanda are one and the same, but the greatness of skanda is higher than that of shiva'

Who is great and who is small? who is tall and who is short? who is there to measure?

Dikshitar's 'mAna mAtR mEyE' (mInAkshi mE mudam) & 'jnAtR jnAna jnEya' (jnAnAmbikE) -
Thyagaraja's 'evarani nirNayincirirA' -
Lalita Sahasra Namam's 'dhyAna dhyAtR dhyEya' -
Gita's 'tamEva cAdyam purusham prapadyE yataH pravRttiH prasRtA purANi' (XV.4) -

these are all voices which show their ultimate wonderment after exasperating attempts to grasp the truth in 'subject - observation - object' relationships.

Indeed I have been totally foxed by the aforesaid words of Gita - the Gitacharya who declares that 'atO(a)smi lOkE vEdE ca prathitaH purushOttamaH (15.18) should also say 'tamEva prapadyE'. Who is this 'asmi' and who is this 'tam'?

PS : Error as pointed by CML corrected.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 13 Mar 2008, 00:31

VGV
you meant (15:18)
Just observe that every deity as they manifested through their own bhakta always claimed their superiority over others. None of the religions are also immune from such claims. it essentially shows the immaturity of the bhaktas themselves rather than a reflection of the 'egoism' of the particular manifestation of God himself.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 13 Mar 2008, 09:17

cml,
Thanks for the correction - I have updated my post.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 13 Mar 2008, 21:00

VGV,
Nice to hear from you...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 13 Mar 2008, 21:36

welcome back home again Arasi!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 14 Mar 2008, 03:35

Thank you, mom ami.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 14 Mar 2008, 20:26

I have found variations in the next nAma also -

40. Om AhUtAya nama:

Prostrations to the One who exists in the form of invocations (Ahuta-svarUpa)

skanda is agni svarUpa and his AvAhanam often happens through vEda mantras. He plays an important role in yagnya karmas.

40. Om Atmabhuve nama:

Prostrations to the self born One

skanda and shiva are One. Hence skanda seems to be called the self born one. Experts - please clarify.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 14 Mar 2008, 21:20

Yes, for 40 both interpretations are appropriate. Since SubramaNya is agnisvarUpa he is the one who invokes all other deities to the sacrifice as indicated in the first Rik: agnimILE purOhitam.. This derivation follows from the dhatu 'hvE shabdE' ('hvE' meaning call by name). The second meaning is derived from the dhatu 'hu dAnAdanayOH '('hu' meaning to perform a sacrifice...). The derivative 'AhUta' would mean one who is called into the sacrifice or the one to whom the sacrifice is offered, which appropriately is SubramaNya as the ultimate brahman. In other words he is both the inviter and invited.

Atman is the 'inner soul' in every being. Hence 41 would also mean Prostrations to the one who is the innner soul of all...

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 15 Mar 2008, 03:29

Thanks cml.

41. Om pAvakAtmajAya nama:

Prostrations to the son of agni

agni is called pAvaka because he purifies. For the same reason, gangA can also be called pAvaka. Of course phonetic rules call for agni and gangA to be called pAvakaH and pAvakA respectively. It is interesting to note that skanda happens to be born of agni and of gangA.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 15 Mar 2008, 03:51

..as derived from the dhatu 'pU' meaning clensing of sinsor expiation , the term pAvaka would also denote Siva...

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 17 Mar 2008, 20:50

The next three nAmas seem to belong in a group -

42. Om jrmBhAya nama:
43. Om prajrmBhAya nama:
44. Om ujjrmBhAya nama:

One interpretation for the word 'jrmBha' is to 'split open with a spear' or 'gape open'. This seems to indicate skanda splitting the mango tree that sUrapadma disguised himself as. I request the experts in the forum to help with these nAmas.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 17 Mar 2008, 22:11

I have a difference of opinion here. The dhatu 'j^RiMbh gAtravinAmE' (to yawn) is primarily used in a constructive (not destructive) sense. j^RiMbha refers to bursting open or efflorescence of (a flower, or youth (adolescence etc.,). Kalidasa uses it in the sense of sudden manifestaion (of Spring due to the magic of Cupid) in Kumara sambhava.

Accordingly I would interpret the first one to mean the sudden manifestation (efflorescence) of baala muruga into kumara of matchless beauty. Almost like a colourful butterfly emerging from the chrysalis (pupa stage).

The second one would refer to the underlying physiological process of living beings attaining full maturity (adolescence) and Muruga being the guardian angel governing that process. In other words Lord SubramaNya governs every being attaining full vigour and beauty.

The third one means 'one who controls yawning'. In fact yawning is the body's control mechanism of relieving its stress. I guess the naaDi (nerve) connected with, inducing the yawning process has the name SubramaNya (I do do not have the reference). Accordingly this epithet refers to the Lord as one who relieves bodily stress and restores Full vigour.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 18 Mar 2008, 00:41

As I searched the web I came across
http://www.yoga-age.com/modern/kun6.html
which gives 'devadatta' as the praaNa naadi responsible for yawning. The shlOka is:
devatattO vij^RiMbhaNE
devadatta also means 'one who was given to the devas (by God (Siva)) which indirectly is Lord SubramaNya himself.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 18 Mar 2008, 23:04

cml,

The nAmas themselves and the way you have explained them are excellent. This discussion is truly a rewarding exercise. Thank you for this elaboration.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 19 Mar 2008, 01:14

You are welcome. Meditation of Lord SubramaNya is of profound yogic significance. Our ancient siddhas were past-masters in that art who have codified the process though communicated only to a select group of few.

For example the well-known japa mantras are the panchAkShara (OM namashivAya) and the aShTAkShara (OM namO nArAyaNAya). In the south equally well-known is the ShaDAkSharam (Om SaravaNabhava). There is a big difference in these process of meditations. Note the occurrence of 'namaH'(indicative of abandoning the physical body and the soul seeking identification) in the first two but not in the last. In the former two the invocation is to an external deity (outside of our physical self ) with whom we wish for unification (advaita mukti). In the last one we are requesting our physical self to be transformed into 'shara vana' (the place of origin of Lord SubramaNya) so that the Lord may come over and reside in our body as his Temple. This is the secret of the final concluding verse in Subramanya pUja viz., subramaNyOhaM subramaNyohaM. (meaning subramaNyaH aham (I am subramaNya himself ). In the nirvANAShTakm also AcArya says 'SivohaM SivOham', but the difference is, there one is identifying the 'soul' (Atman) as identical with Siva; whereas in the SubramaNya invocation we seek to transform our physical body as the Temple of the Lord himself and in that proces transform our total individual selves as 'Living' icons of Lord SubramaNya. In short that is what AruNagiri himself achieved as did many of our ancient siddhas....

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 21 Mar 2008, 11:27

cml,

I am aware of the ShaDAkSharam, but your elaboration of its uniqueness from the others is very interesting.

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 21 Mar 2008, 14:15

CML. I really wish that all your comments and explanations are put together so that I can take a print -out and readat leisure. I cant just go thro them and assimilate all of that.Anyway thanks for enlghtening us. Probably at the end of this thread, it will be possible to do so.Thanks once again.
I am getting so addicted to this site, that I log on almost every hour;sometimes I do so in the middle of the night also.I do not mind-bec it is a good addiction

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 27 Mar 2008, 01:54

45. Om kamalAsana samstutAya namaH

Prostrations to the One worshipped by brahmA

When skanda asked brahmA for the meaning of the praNava mantra and brahmA was unable to explain it to His satisfaction, skanda imprisoned him. He then took over creation for a while and after Siva sought brahmA's release, skanda released him. brahmA then worshipped Him.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Mar 2008, 06:51

Puranic Importance of Tiruttani:
Of Lord Murugan's six padai veedus, Tiruttani ranks prominent as the crown jewel of the Lord. As its very name indicates, when we propitiate the Lord in this holy shrine, He blesses us with mental peace and bodily happiness. His righteous indignation towards the Asuras for their cruelty is said to have been quelled and cooled at this place and is therefore known as "Shantipuri" (Abode of Peace). As the prayers and desires of the devotees who worship Lord Subramanya on this hill with faith and intense devotion are fulfilled in no time, this hill is also called "Chanikasalam". When the Lord came to this hill after wedding Goddess Valli at Vallimalai, She implored Him to enlighten Her on the importance and greatness of this hill. In reply, the Lord said that if one worshipped Him with heart and soul for five consecutive days in this hill temple, that person would be blessed with all that is best in this life and hereafter. In Treta Yuga, Lord Rama, after putting an end to Ravana, worshipped Lord Shiva at Rameshwaram, at whose request Rama came to Tiruttani and found perfect peace of mind by worshipping Lord Subrahmanya here. In Dwapara Yuga, Arjuna got the blessings of the Lord here by offering prayers to Him on his way to the South for Teertha Yatra (pilgrimage to take sacred immersion). Lord Vishnu prayed to the Lord at this place and got back His powerful Chakra (sacred wheel), Shanku (sacred conch), which were forcibly seized from Him by Tarakasura, brother of Soorapadma. Lord Brahma propitiated the Lord here at the holy spring (by the sides of the steps to the shrine) known as "Brahmasonai" after his imprisonment by the Lord for his failure to explain the Pranava ('Om' mantra) and got back his creative function of which he was deprived by the Lord due to his egotistic impudence in neglecting to worship Lord Subrahmanya on his way to Mount Kailasa to worship Lord Shiva. Lord Indra planted and reared in the pool known as "Indrasonai" adjoining this hill temple the rare plant known as "Karunkuvalai", which gave three flowers a day and worshipped the Lord thrice daily with these flowers and, thus, got back the precious wealth of Deva Loka such as Sanghaneeti, Padmaneeti, Chintamani etc seized by the Asura Titan.

From http://www.travelchacha.com/cities/tami ... ttani.html

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 27 Mar 2008, 16:40

CML - ManyThanks for providing this info. regarding Tiruttani. It's interesting that Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar was also blessed at this shrine only.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 28 Mar 2008, 03:47

cml,

Thanks for the reference.

46. Om EkavarNAya nama:

I think varNa, though commonly translated as colour, at its root derivatory level translates to 'to depict or describe through color, form, letter, syllable etc.'. That is probably why 'varNana' is translated as description.

So, this nAma seems to mean - Prostrations to the One that is depicted or described by 'ONE'.

I can't think of anything else that 'ONE' could be, other than the single-syllabled praNava mantra 'Om' - skanda is the most appropriate and perfect personification of the praNavam.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 28 Mar 2008, 07:35

That sounds right! SubramaNya sitting on the peacock with outstretched plumes does represent the Omkaaram (The Tamil letter 'O' personified).

You can also interpret the one as the advaita brahman.; the ultimate Brahman.
Eka also means supreme and varNa also means gold hence this epithet may signify (by reading both meanings gold as well as colour in the same word) prostrations to you the one with golden colour (tapta ka~ncana sannibhaM).

Again interpreting varNa as the caste, this would mean one of the first caste i.e., Brahmin indicating that SubramaNya is chiefly worshipped by Brahmins (Refer to SubramaNya bhujangam of AcArya)

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 07 Apr 2008, 21:10

My apologies on the lapse in posting.

cml,

I thought about colours and the varNAshrama, but some nAmAs that follow this one didn't quite seem to tally with those ideas in my mind. But I'm pretty sure you have convincing explanations for those too

.

Moving on -

47. Om dvivarNAya nama:

Prostrations to the One depicted or described by 'TWO'

skanda is the parabrahmaN, the shuddha chaitanyam - the gnAna shakti, in a state of absolute pure blissful equilibrium. His consorts valli and dEvasEna are manifestations of His ichcha shakti and kriyA shakti.

icchA shati and kriyA shakti give Him the attributes that we perceive and praise. I can't recall any other of our dEvatAs or IshvarAs who manifest their icchA and kriyA shaktis as worshippable manifestations.

I request the experts to comment.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 07 Apr 2008, 21:16

karthik76 wrote:His consorts valli and dEvasEna are manifestations of His ichcha shakti and kriyA shakti.

Sri Kripananda Wariar expounds the same idea in his discouse on skanda purANam.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 08 Apr 2008, 06:03

Taking the ordinary meaning of VarNa as colour this epithet may be quite puzzling and indeed it is. If we think deeper we can unravel the underlying principle. We pray to Siva in our daily vedic prayer (sandhya vandanam) ^RitaguM satyaM paraM brahma puruShaM kriShNapi^NgaLaM (prostrations to Siva ... who is dharma and truth incarnate and who is both dark and reddish-white...) The ardhanArI form of Siva is contemplated here where the dark side represents shakti and the bright side Siva himself. Since SubramaNya is the unification ofboth the Siva and shakti principles he is dual coloured. Obviously he is not outwardly but he is golden (more precisely 'fire' coloured). Now let us mix the krishNa and pingala together in the right proportions we will get the 'kriShNavartman' firy hue of Lord SubramaNya. Hence both colours are immanent in the lord since he is the unified principle.

Again in a broader sense the Lord signifies the duality principle of the Universe. Such as Matter and Energy (which again are other names for Siva and shakti) though they are one and the same according to modern science. He also signifies the dichotomy of jIvAtma and paramAtma, saguNa as well as nirguNa brahmam and a myriad other manifestations of duality in the Universe.

karthik76 · Post by **karthik76** » 08 Apr 2008, 10:35

cmlover wrote:Since SubramaNya is the unification ofboth the Siva and shakti principles he is dual coloured.

Representative of this fact, the subrahmaNya yantra consists of two triangles - one pointing upwards and the other inverted - symbolizing the male and female energies shakti and shiva, interlaced together.

48. Om trivarNAya nama:

Prostrations to the One depicted by THREE.

The One that manifests as the perfect balance of the the three guNas - sattva, rajas and tamas.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 08 Apr 2008, 20:30

Again taking varNa as colour we can interpret it as the manifestation of Muruga accompanied by vaLLi and dEvasEna. dEvasEna is white, Muruga is golden and vaLLi is dark; there is your tricolour.
Also a myriad explanations can be given for the number THREE. We have discussed how Muruga is a consolidation of the Trinity viz.,
Mukundanrudrankamalan.....