Shanmug

The Puraan and the Itihaas were written by great sages to bring home and to popularize the hidden truths of the Ved and the Upanishad. They illustrate through stories and narratives the deep significances of the teachings of the Ved. The Skand Puraan deals with that aspect of the Lord as the Supreme General of the Devtaa, with six faces and twelve hands and having a Spear for his weapon. His consorts are Vallee and Daivayanai. His Vaahan is the peacock. Krishn says in the Geetaa, “Of the Generals, I am Skand. The declaration of the Lord, again, “Whenever there is decline of righteousness and growth of unrighteousness, I come to the world to protect the good and to punish the wicked" is applicable in this instance also. It was to put an end to the atrocities of the Asura king Surapadm, that the Lord took Avataar in the form of Kaarttik or Subramanya. The personalities in the Puraan together with the narratives are nothing but the highest expression of human aspirations to understand the Divine Play.

The Hero of the Skand Puran is Lord Skand himself, known otherwise as Lord Subramanya. He is depicted with six faces and twelve hands. His Swaroop is Jyotirmaya. On the earth plane, every human being is an outcome of the five elements and the spirit within him. When the Lord took the human form, He was accordingly depicted in the same manner. Hence the spirit, signified by the sparks from Shiv, took the appearance of a human personality, whose body comprised the five elements and who is the Lord of them. But to distinguish Him from ordinary human beings, the author thought it better to bestow six faces and twelve hands for the Divine-man. These six faces represent the following: