Similar to the sixty three Nayanmar Saints who were devoted to Lord Shiva, there are also six Murugan Saints who are collectively known as Skandanars. Most of the Murugan devotees are not aware about the six great Skandanars, and hence, it is my duty to tell about their details, since I recently traced this rare information from an old Tamil spiritual Book! In order to describe the sweetness of these six wonderful saints, before writing this article, I had offered some sweets and fruits before the picture of Lord Muruga, and after some time I consumed the holy Prasad items of Lord Murga, and began to write it!
The Skandanars are the staunch devotees of Lord Muruga who lived before thousand years ago. They are the powerful aspects of Lord Muruga, and they found Lord Muruga on their each and every body cell, and worshipped him with great bhakti. They crossed many hurdles in their life, and they are tested by Lord Muruga in order to bring out their purity, and to show their great devotion to the entire universe. Each and every Skandanars are being tested in a different manner, and they passed out in the divine tests successfully, and finally reached the abode of Lord Muruga, the wonderful Skanda Loka.
The divine texts of Lord Muruga tell about the significance of the Skandanar saints and about their selfless devotion on Muruga. The Skandanar saints preached the importance of Muruga among the people, visited holy temples throughout India, and also cleared the sins and diseases of the people through the grace of Lord Muruga.
The details about the six great Skandanar Saints are as follows:-
- SRI VELAYUDHA SKANDANAR
Sri Velayudha Skandanar is a great saint and an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga, and he is considered as one among the six Skandanars. He is also considered to be an aspect of Lord Muruga’s powerful weapon VEL (The Divine Spear). His birth name was Arumugan.
Sri Velayudha Skandanar belonged to Vellalar caste and born and lived in Tiruttani District. He honoured Murugan devotees and propagated the importance of Murugan Bhakti among the people and among the devotees of Lord Muruga. Though he lived a saintly life, yet, he always carried a weapon (SPEAR) on his hand, and if someone spoke ill about Lord Muruga and his devotees, he would immediately remove the person’s tongue with his powerful weapon. He is said to have done this act, since he wants to punish the sinners with his sharp weapon VEL also called as SPEAR. Due to this act, he was called as “VELAYUDHAM” by the people.
Sri Pamban Swamigal, also praised the glory of Velayudhanar for being lived as a great Murugan devotee and also for being worshipped as a holy Skandanar saint. From his life, we should know that one should not speak badly about god and his devotees. Though he was violently behaved with the non-worshippers of Lord Muruga, but his act was pardoned by the god, since he had done such an act due to his pure bhakti on Lord Muruga.
A sculpture at an ancient Murugan Temple in Tamil Nadu depicts the posture of Sri Velayudha Skandanar who carries a spear on his hand and cutting the tongue of a non-devotee of Lord Murugan.
- SRI SUBRAMANIYA SKANDANAR
Sri Subramaniya was a great Skandanar saint, and is considered as one among the six Skandanar saints. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga and lived his life by worshipping him chanting his names and by serving his devotees.
Subramaniya was born in a village in Tiruchendur District in Tamil Nadu. He was a great devotee of Lord Muruga, and was born in the Brahmin community. He was well versed in chanting the Vedas, and a master in sacred scriptures. This Skandanar saint was well known for his generosity, and he used to invite the devotees of Lord Muruga to his home and offered food and other necessities to them. Subramanya Skandanar was a humble and a soft spoken person, and he used to chant the Muruga mantra “OM SARAVANA BHAVA” on a daily basis. He performed Yajnas (fire sacrifices) in order to please Lord Muruga. The Saint would smear sacred ash on his body, and he chanted the MURUGAN mantra for several lakhs of time during his life time. He spent his entire life by serving Lord Murugan and his devotees, and attained SALVATION after his death.
- SRI SHIVA SHANMUGA SKANDANAR
Sri Shiva Shanmuga Skandanar is a great Murugan devotee and considered as one among the 6 Skandanars. His birth name was Shanmuga. He belongs to Brahmin community and daily recites the Murugan mantra along with the chanting of Shri Rudram. Hence, he was called by the name Sri Shiva Shanmuga Skandanar. He also got the habit of doing Murugan puja at his home and in the temple and provided food to the Murugan devotees. He was a humble and a sweet natured person, who doesn’t gets angry with any one, and also spoke to others in a soft and pleasing manner.
Sri Shiva Shanmuga Skandanar was lived in a small village of Palani District. In his village, he lived nearby the famous “SRI PALANI MURUGAN TEMPLE”. Daily he used to visit the temple and worship Lord Muruga and chant various Murugan and Shiva mantras and offers flowers and perform food offering (Prasad) to the god, and also with the help of the priest, he performed various Abhishekhams(Holy Bath) to Lord Murugan.
Shanmuganar was a sincere Murugan devotee. He used to take a dip in the nearby pond in the early morning and also in the evening and chanted Sri Shiva Rudram and “OM SRI SUBRAMANYAYA” MANTRA and offer prayers to Lord Muruga. His ardent bhakti on Lord Muruga was very much pleased by the people in his region, and they listened to his lectures on Sri Skanda Purana and started reciting the Murugan mantra. Due to his sincere bhakti on Lord Muruga, after his death, he has reached the Skanda Loka, the holy abode of Lord Muruga.
- SRI ALAGESAN SKANDANAR
Sri Alagesan Skandanar was one among the 6 Skandanar Saints. Alagesanar was a weaver, and he got the practice of weaving the clothes and offering it to Lord Muruga and to his devotees. Alagesan was born in Pazhamudircholai, near the famous Murugan Temple.
He used to frequently chant the Murugan Mantra “OM SRI MURUGAYA NAMAHA” on a daily basis. Apart from donating clothes to the deity and to the devotees, he used to provide food to the Murugan devotees at his home. He got the habit of doing food donation from his younger age. According to him, donating food and clothes to the devotees of Lord Muruga, is a great good deed. Till his death, he continued the practice of giving food and the clothes to the poor and to the devotees of Lord Muruga. Due to his good deeds, and by the grace of Lord Muruga, after his death, Sri Alagesa Skandanar reached the marvellous “SKANDA LOKA” the holy abode of Lord Muruga.
Sri Alagesa Skandanar says that we must try to develop the habit of reciting Murugan mantra in our life for countless number of times. By doing that act we could attain SALVATION, and can also escape from this life cycle.
- SRI SARAVANA SKANDANAR
Sri Saravana is one of the Skandanar saints. His greatness is mentioned in the divine text “SRI SHANMUGA VELAYUDHA MAHIMAI” and it described him as an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga. He is described as a pious and a humble person, who treated others with great respect and considered the devotees of Lord Muruga as similar to that of Lord Muruga himself. In his free time, he used to worship Lord Muruga with flowers and performed various pujas to Lord Muruga.
Saravana was born in a village near Thiruparankundram, Tamil Nadu and belongs to Kurumba sect. Sri Saravana Skandanar had worked under the ruler of the then Thiruparankundram region. Though he was not a rich person, still, Saravana Skandanar had supplied food packets to the poor people and to the devotees of Lord Murugan throughout the region. He got the habit of visiting Thiruparankundram Murugan at least once in a day. He lived a simple life and spent his life by worshipping Lord Muruga and frequently chanted the mantra “OM SRI SUBRAMANYA NAMAHA” and also invoked the Murugan bhakti spirit among the people. He was an honest, sincere and a straight forward person. After his death, he has attained salvation and merged with Lord Muruga.
- SRI SENTHILNATHA SKANDANAR
Sri Senthil Natha Skandanar was a great Skandanar saint, and is considered as one among the 6 Skandanar Saints, and is well known for his sincere devotion on Lord Muruga.
Senthilnatha was born in Swamimalai in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. He belonged to the priest caste. This Skandanar was an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga. He worked as a temple priest at the Swamimalai Murugan Temple . He used to perform Abhishekham(Holy Bath) to Lord Muruga and performed various pujas. He also provided food to the devotees of Lord Muruga at his home.
Once, due to severe drought, he has become very poor and was unable to provide food even to himself and to his family, and due to that, his body became very weak. One day due to severe hunger he was fainted and he could not proceed to do puja for Lord Muruga. Hence, due to the grace of Lord Muruga, daily he was presented with a gold coin at the foot of the Murugan idol in order to sustain himself and his family till the end of the famine. But, he continued his services till the end of his life, and after his death, he reached the holy abode of Lord Muruga, The wonderful Skanda Loka.
“OM SRI SKANDANAR POTRI POTRI”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR
