Muruga is how a chunk of his devotees call the Lord, whose provenance and cult are distinctly South Indian. He does have many other names like Subrahmanya, Kartikeya, Shanmukha, Arumuga, Guha, Vela, Swaminatha, Kumara, Skanda. As for the pilgrim trail, there are six major temples. All of them are in Tamil Nadu: Palani, Thiruchendur, Thiruttani, Tirupparankunram and Swamimalai, besides another about which there is no consensus among scholars.
The six-headed spear-holding god, a blend of Vedic influence and Tamil culture, appears as Skanda in the Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, he is a warrior fathered by Rudra (Shiva) to defeat the Asuras. Murugan has had pagan origins too: the god of the forest people. The 1st- and 2nd-century Tamil treatises describe him as the god of the mountains and hunters; ritualistic trance-induced dances by beautiful women were part of the Muruga cult. He is also the patron god of Tamil literature.
From as early as the 1st millennium BC, the sacred hills of Muruga have attr acted devotees. The first is Palani where the young god meditated for long, after being bested by his brother Ganesh in a challenge. Legend says the idol of Palani, whose provenance dates back to antiquity, was built by ‘bhogars’—mystical, prehistorical alchemists—who fashioned it from nine restorative, immortal elements. Hence its association with healing.
There is a story attached also to Tiruchendur—‘the village of the sacred battle’. It is here that Muruga vanquished the demon Surapadman who turned into a peacock that became the god’s vehicle. Pilgrims flock to the temple in October-November for the yearly festival that celebrates this victory.
Some 85 km northwest of Chennai, close to the Andhra border, lies the hill of Thiruttani—‘blissful repose’. Here Muruga’s manifestation as both philosopher and lover—he wooed a forest goddess—is celebrated with bhajanais , or musical fests where worshippers come all year around to sing and dance.
Tirupparankunram— referred to in classical Tamil texts as the ‘Southern Himalaya’ where the gods live and ‘the place where the sun and moon abide’—is a hill five miles southwest of Madurai. It houses a cave temple where the god is said to have married Devasena. For centuries, Tamils consider it an most auspicious site for weddings, especially during the Pankuni Uttiram, a marriage festival held in late March. Next to the temple is the famous Muslim shrine of Sekunder, beloved of the god.
Legend says Shiva was taught the sacred meaning of ‘Om’ by child Muruga in Swamimalai—the ‘Mountain of the Lord’—which is the fifth sacred spot situated. It’s near Kunbakonam off Tanjavur. The idol there is of Muruga as a child sitting on Siva’s shoulder, whispering into his ear.
The location of the sixth Muruga site has been disputed for centuries but many scholars and priests believe it is the temple of Paramthirsolai on the Alagar hill near Madurai.