India is a deeply spiritual nation. This is the only thing that can be said definitively about a country so diverse. Unlike America, India can hardly be seen as a melting pot. India’s populace remains as fractured – linguistically, ethnically, politically – as any disparate group. Nowhere is this more evident than in the people’s religious practices. Hinduism provides a complex of lenses to focus virtually every nuance of concern its devotees could possibly have.
The first–tier gods consists of Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer. Each has his own distinct mythology and personality. In addition, there are also a whole slew of second-tier gods, consisting of the consorts and offspring of the first-tier gods. Each one caters to a specific individual human yearning.
I recently visited a Murugan Temple just down the beach from us in Besant Nagar. It is within sight of the Ashtalakshmi Temple about which I have written previously. Whereas Ashtalakshmi is a Vishnu Temple, Arupadai Veedu slips into the Shaivite slot by virtue of Lord Murugan’s parentage. Murugan, a.k.a. Subrahmanya, is the elder brother of Ganesha, the hugely popular elephant(-headed) god. Legend has it that Shiva proposed a contest for his sons. The test was to see which one could circumnavigate the universe in the least amount of time. Subrahmanya promptly jumped on his peacock vehicle and began the race. Ganesha simply walked around his parents, Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then declared Ganesha the winner. When Subrahmanya returned and found he had lost the contest, he felt profoundly hurt. He changed his name to Murugan and vowed to become an ascetic.
In India there are specific temples built to Subrahmanya as well as to Murugan. Both are known for their prowess in war; both are pictured carrying the vel (weapon), but each has a separate and distinct personality. Subrahmanya is the domesticated (married) aspect of the godhead, whereas Murugan is the celibate ascetic, grizzled with shaved skull.
The Arupadai Veedu Temple complex is built only recently in granite, making it somewhat of a rarity in this region. Temples of this type are more likely found in the neighboring state of Karnataka. The architecture is spare and does not in the least bit resemble the intense, lavish, color-splashed temples so unique to this region. Its close proximity to the sea, definitely adds to its charm.
The morning I visited, I pretty much had the place to myself. A handful of priests were getting everything ready in anticipation of the tour busses arriving around 10 AM, bringing pilgrims who would expect to receive their blessing. The woman at the gate was busily threading garlands ahead of the expected influx.
I walked to the beach and felt the wet breeze pressing against my face like a cloth. I suddenly felt hungry and turned back. When I reached the car, I asked my driver to take me over to Murugan Idli, a popular Chennai restaurant chain frequented also by western tourists. I would imagine that there is a write-up on it in The Lonely Planet (guide book).
Murugan Idli? And I suddenly recognized the legitimacy of what is usually understood about Lord Murugan in these parts: that he, perhaps more than any other Hindu deity, is most closely and inexorably linked with the intrinsic identity of the Tamil people (the oldest, continuous civilization on earth.
Peter Koelliker; pkoelliker8@yahoo.com
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