BLOG – Happy Birthday to Muruga – The Divine Warrior

A common characteristic of old civilizations is the use of archetypes. Archetypes are symbols, representations, blueprints of certain energies that govern the universe in general, and us in particular. They serve as helpers, reminders and even as our personal empowerment guides. One of the most popular figures of the Vedic tradition, the result of the Indo-aryan culture, settling in the Indus Valley, is Muruga.

Muruga is the archetype of the divine warrior, of courage and of strength. Some of you may be familiar with Ganesha, the popular elephant-headed archetype, the beloved remover of obstacles, and the son of Shiva and Parvati. Well, Ganesha happens to have an equally cool brother who may not be as well known, and that is Muruga.

Muruga represents the courage and strength that stem from wisdom and self-confidence.

Legend has it that there were some really dark times in the Universe. The world was on the verge of becoming enslaved to demons that were impossible for anyone to defeat. As always in life, there are gods and there are demons. The main demon was Tarakasura. Tarakasura was becoming a real pain for the gods. Shiva, being the archetype of transformation, had to do something about it, had to change the situation. And this is why Muruga was born, out of Shiva and Parvati. His duty was to defeat the demon Tarakasura. Muruga’s birthday is celebrated on the full moon of the second solar month of the Tamil calendar, which usually falls around May or June.

Video Guide

Just hit the CC button on YouTube and you will have subtitles. 🙂

Muruga is depicted having a warrior like demeanor, radiating strength and charm, riding on a full-feathered peacock, carrying his auspicious spear, his vel. He received his divine weapon from his mother Parvati, in order to defeat Tarakasura which he of course accomplished.

In the Vedic tradition they say that every one of us has our own demons. We all have weaknesses and fears that we need to overcome. One of the main such demons which happens to be the case for a lot of us, is the fear of not being good enough, feeling inadequate, even powerless. This is an extremely limiting belief which unfortunately, more often than not, gives birth to many more.

Muruga’s archetype is supposed to remind us that just like he was able to defeat Tarakasura, so can we. We can overcome our own limiting beliefs. We all have a wise and courageous Muruga within us. We just need to find him and allow him to express himself.

A powerful way to connect with Muruga, is through one of his favorite mantras: Om Skandaya Namaha

  • Om, being the primordial sound
  • Skandaya, being another name for Muruga — Skanda in Sanskrit, means “he who attacks“. Muruga earned this name after being so successful during battle.
  • Namaha, meaning to honor, to salute

Om Skandaya Namaha
is basically saying,
Muruga I Salute You

Audio Guide

Here is the audio file with the pronunciation and the translation to help you practice.
 

By repeating this mantra, we are reminding ourselves that we can defeat all our self-imposed limiting beliefs, all our fears of not being good enough. We are using the archetype of Muruga to cultivate consciousness of success, according to our individual definition of success.

It does not matter, whether you say the mantra in Sanskrit or in English, as long as you feel the divine energy that the archetype is communicating.

You do not even have to use a mantra, you can use other tools to connect with the archetypal energy. It can be a statue, a book, a picture, a stone, a song, anything that constantly reminds you of that specific energy that you wish to cultivate more of.

Muruga was able to fulfill his purpose and come out victorious. May he help us defeat all the negative influences that are stopping us from fulfilling our purpose.

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Until next time much, much love from both of us! By the way, who is your favorite archetype? Let us know, in the comment section below.

And if you enjoyed this, please hit the like button, share, and subscribe if you haven’t already. 🙂

Na’maste kala! Which in Greek means: May we all be well, adapt and thrive!

Audio Transcript

WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 

WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:01.159 --> 00:00:08.130 Happy Birthday to Muruga - The Divine Warrior! A common 00:00:08.130 --> 00:00:16.139 characteristic of all the civilizations is the use of archetypes. Archetypes are 00:00:16.139 --> 00:00:22.470 symbols, representations, blueprints, of certain energies that govern the 00:00:22.470 --> 00:00:32.189 universe in general, and us in particular. They serve as helpers, reminders, and even 00:00:32.189 --> 00:00:40.079 as our personal empowerment guides. One of the most popular figures of the Vedic 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:46.610 tradition -- the result of the Indo-Aryan culture settling in the Indus Valley -- is 00:00:46.610 --> 00:00:54.539 Muruga. Muruga is the archetype of the divine warrior, of courage and of 00:00:54.539 --> 00:01:01.100 strength. Some of you may be familiar with Ganesha the popular elephant-headed 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:07.260 archetype, the beloved remover of obstacles and the son of Shiva and 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:12.600 Parvati. Well, Ganesha happens to have an equally 00:01:12.600 --> 00:01:18.049 cool brother who may not be as well known and that is 00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:27.140 Muruga. Muruga represents the courage and strength that stem from wisdom and 00:01:27.140 --> 00:01:34.110 self-confidence. Legend has it that there were some really dark times in the 00:01:34.110 --> 00:01:40.710 universe, the world was on the verge of becoming enslaved to demons that were 00:01:40.710 --> 00:01:47.970 impossible for anyone to defeat. As always in life, there are gods and there 00:01:47.970 --> 00:01:52.549 are demons. The main demon was Tarakasura. 00:01:52.549 --> 00:02:00.229 Tarakasura was becoming a real pain for the gods. Shiva, being the archetype of 00:02:00.229 --> 00:02:06.000 transformation, had to do something about it, had to change the situation. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:13.890 And this is why Muruga was born out of Shiva and Parvati. 00:02:13.890 --> 00:02:22.230 His duty was to defeat the demon Tarakasura. Muruga's birthday is celebrated 00:02:22.230 --> 00:02:28.230 on the full moon of the second solar month of the Tamil calendar which 00:02:28.230 --> 00:02:36.420 usually falls around May or June. Muruga is depicted having a warrior-like 00:02:36.420 --> 00:02:43.489 demeanor, radiating strength and charm, riding on a full feathered peacock, 00:02:43.489 --> 00:02:51.989 carrying his especial spear his vel. He received his divine weapon from his 00:02:51.989 --> 00:02:57.959 mother Parvati, in order to defeat Tarakasura, which he of course 00:02:57.959 --> 00:03:05.190 accomplished. In the Vedic tradition, they say that every one of us has our own 00:03:05.190 --> 00:03:13.470 demons. We all have weaknesses and fears that we need to overcome. One of the main 00:03:13.470 --> 00:03:20.340 such demons which happens to be the case for a lot of us, is the fear of not being 00:03:20.340 --> 00:03:28.500 good enough, feeling inadequate, even powerless. This is an extremely limiting 00:03:28.500 --> 00:03:37.400 belief which unfortunately, more often than not, gives birth to many more. 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:45.000 Muruga's archetype is supposed to remind us that just like he was able to defeat 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:54.810 Tarakasura, so can we. We can overcome our own limiting beliefs. We all have a wise 00:03:54.810 --> 00:04:02.160 and courageous Muruga within us, we just need to find him and allow him to 00:04:02.160 --> 00:04:09.420 express himself. A powerful way to connect with Muruga is through one of 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:18.919 his favorite mantras -- Om Skandaya Namaha. Om, being the primordial sound, 00:04:18.919 --> 00:04:27.820 Skandaya, being another name for Muruga -- Skanda in Sanskrit means "he who attacks". 00:04:27.820 --> 00:04:36.139 Muruga earned this name after being so successful during battle. Namaha, meaning 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:46.419 to honor, to salute. Om Skandaya Nanaha, is basically saying Muruga I salute you. 00:04:46.419 --> 00:04:52.490 By repeating this mantra, we are reminding ourselves that we can defeat 00:04:52.490 --> 00:05:00.039 all our self-imposed limiting beliefs, all our fears of not being good enough. 00:05:00.039 --> 00:05:06.550 We are using the archetype of Muruga to cultivate consciousness of success, 00:05:06.550 --> 00:05:13.580 according to our individual definition of success. It does not matter whether 00:05:13.580 --> 00:05:19.160 you say the mantra in Sanskrit or in English, as long as you feel the divine 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:25.160 energy that the archetype is communicating. You do not even have to 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:30.979 use a mantra, you can use other tools to connect with the archetypal energy. It 00:05:30.979 --> 00:05:38.300 can be a statue, a book, a picture, a stone, a song, anything that constantly reminds 00:05:38.300 --> 00:05:46.130 you of that specific energy that you wish to cultivate more of. Muruga was 00:05:46.130 --> 00:05:54.289 able to fulfill his purpose and come out victorious. May he help us defeat all the 00:05:54.289 --> 00:06:02.000 negative influences that are stopping us from fulfilling our purpose. If you 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:07.310 enjoyed this, don't forget to hit the like button, sign up for our updates and 00:06:07.310 --> 00:06:12.830 share with everyone you believe would find it interesting. Either way, 00:06:12.830 --> 00:06:20.180 please let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. See you at one of 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:27.080 our upcoming trainings. Na'maste kala! Which in Greek means -- May we 00:06:27.080 --> 00:06:29.919 all be well!

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