Murugan ("fragrant, lovely") Primarily revered Hindu god in southern India.
Murugan first appears in Tamil Sangam literature as a hill
god linked with hunting and untamed, uninhabited areas.
The lance, which symbolizes the hunt, is one of Murugan's
signature items.
Murugan was incorporated into the established pantheon as a
version of the deity Skanda, who is the son of the god Shiva, when brahminical
Hindu civilization eventually spread to southern India.
Murugan's identity had developed by the eleventh century
into that of a philosopher and exponent of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophical
system, as well as the patron god of Tamil literature and language.
Worshiping Murugan becomes a vehicle for southern Indians to assert their traditional culture, particularly in the state of Tamil Nadu.
This has been especially true since India's independence in
1947, when attempts to impose Hindi as the national language were seen as
cultural imperialism by northern India and met with fierce opposition.
Palani, Tiruchendur, Tiruttani, Tirrupparankunram, and Swami
Malai are the five important pilgrimage centers for Murugan's worship.
All of these locations are scattered around Tamil Nadu.
The religion of Murugan has come to symbolize Tamil identity
via this network of holy locations (tirthas).
See Fred Clothey, "Pilgrimage Centers in the Tamil
Cultus of Murukan," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 40,
No. 1, 1972, for further information.
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