Who was Murugan? Was he merely a deity of the Tamil hills? Was he the pan-Indian Skanda, Kārttikeya and Subrahmaṇya? Or, as some modern Tamil narratives claim, was he an ancient ancestor—a Muppāṭṭan?
In my recent discussion on Murugan to SwadeshiTamil Channel, I examined these questions by bringing together Tamil literary traditions, Sanskrit sources, Vedic references, geographical evidence, climatic records and even some intriguing genetic findings.
My conclusion is different from both the conventional extremes. Murugan is indeed a God—but he was born as a man and was elevated to divine status. He is not our ancestor or Muppāṭṭan. Yet he occupies a unique place in our tradition as the forerunner of those who perform Vedic Homa.
Murugan's birth in Then Madurai
An important source that is often overlooked in discussions about Murugan's origin is the Tiruvilaiyādal Purāṇam. It gives an account of Murugan's birth that is very different from the familiar Puranic narrative of his birth from Shiva's divine fire.
According to this Tamil tradition, Murugan was born as Ugra Kumāra, the son of Tadātakai Pirāṭṭi and Somasundara in Then Madurai — Southern Madurai.
The place is described as Kanni Desam. I specifically distinguish this from the modern concept of Kumari Kandam. The two should not simply be equated.
The question then naturally arises: Where was this Southern Madurai?
This is where geography becomes important. I have examined bathymetric studies of the region and identified what I consider to be the probable location of the ancient Southern Madurai. This is not merely a matter of taking the traditional name and placing it somewhere on a modern map. The geographical evidence has to be examined alongside the literary descriptions.
A land that disappeared
The Tamil literary tradition preserves memories of Southern Madurai being lost beneath the sea.
The accounts associated with Nakkīrar, Ilam Pūraṇar and Adiyārkkunallār speak of the submergence or loss of the ancient southern land. I therefore do not treat the disappearance of Southern Madurai as merely a poetic invention.
There are also indications of floods before and during the period associated with Murugan, together with references that can be interpreted in the context of volcanic activity.
When these literary traditions are examined alongside climatic and geological records, an intriguing chronology emerges.
My assessment is that Murugan belongs to a period before the Holocene, roughly around 12,000 years ago. This places the Murugan tradition in a very different chronological framework from the one usually assumed.
Murugan, Kārttikeya and the re-design of the zodiac
One of the most interesting aspects of Murugan's identity emerges when we look at his astronomical associations.
The name Kārttikeya, is connected with an important astronomical change attributed to Murugan: the re-designing of the zodiac of lunar mansions.
The Mahābhārata preserves an account in which sage Mārkaṇḍeya narrates matters concerning the nakṣatras to the Pāṇḍavas. In this narration we encounter the significance of the change from the earlier arrangement.
As per this, the star Abhijit was dropped from the nakṣatra scheme and Kṛttikā was included so that the zodiac could remain as a system of 27 nakṣatras.
This provides a possible astronomical dimension to the name Kārttikeya itself, connecting Murugan with Kṛttikā.
How did Murugan become Viśākha?
The astronomical story does not end with Kṛttikā.
I also examine the association of Murugan with Viśākha.
The significance becomes clearer when we consider the astronomical reorganisation of the nakṣatra system. In the process of re-designing the zodiac, Viśākha occupies a special position because the star-group extends across two zodiacal signs in the autumnal equinoctial position.
Thus Murugan's different names and associations may preserve memories of astronomical events or changes that are far older than the later popular stories attached to him.
The connection among Kārttikeya, Kṛttikā, Viśākha and the nakṣatra system therefore deserves to be studied as an astronomical tradition in its own right.
This is particularly important because Indian traditions often preserve astronomical information through the names and stories of deities rather than presenting it as a modern scientific textbook.
Was Murugan only a Tamil deity?
Another question I examine is whether Murugan was originally a purely Tamil deity who was later transformed into Skanda or Kārttikeya.
I find this too simplistic.
The ancient Tamil tradition certainly preserves a very strong and distinctive Murugan tradition. At the same time, the Sanskrit tradition knows him by several names, including Kārttikeya and Skanda, and there are Vedic references connected with Subrahmaṇya.
I also compare these with the Mahābhārata's references to Murugan and his different names, as well as the Tamil Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai.
These sources have to be studied together rather than placing "Tamil Murugan" on one side and "Sanskrit Skanda" on the other and assuming that they necessarily represent unrelated traditions.
The red-headed Murugan
There is another unusual feature that I discuss: Murugan's red head or reddish appearance.
This becomes particularly interesting when we consider ancient populations outside India. Genetic studies of red-haired populations in Ireland and Scandinavia have been interpreted as pointing to a mutation that arose in an individual in India roughly 10,000 years ago.
This is an intriguing piece of evidence when considered alongside the ancient traditions.
The Scythians, too, are described as red-haired in historical sources, and I point out the association of objects and practices connected with Murugan among them. These parallels deserve investigation rather than being dismissed simply because they do not fit neatly into modern geographical categories.
Was Murugan a man who became God?
This brings me to the central question.
Was Murugan a God?
My answer is yes.
But I do not believe that this necessarily means that he was born as a supernatural being in the way later mythology presents him. My interpretation is that Murugan was born as a man and was subsequently elevated to the status of a God.
In other words, the categories "man" and "God" need not be mutually exclusive in the ancient Indian understanding of history and divinity.
A human being of extraordinary stature could become divinised and worshipped as a deity. Murugan, in my interpretation, represents such a case.
But was he our Muppāṭṭan?
Here I differ from another popular Tamil claim.
Some argue that Murugan was the ancient Tamil Muppāṭṭan—our forefather or ancestor.
I do not agree.
Murugan should not be reduced to the status of an ancestral figure merely because he was born as a man.
There is, however, another reason why I regard him as having an extraordinary place in our tradition.
The first Vedic Homa
Murugan is associated with the initiation of the first Vedic Homa.
Therefore, rather than calling him our Muppāṭṭan, I would describe him as a forerunner of everyone who performs Homa.
This gives an entirely different significance to his place in the religious tradition.
He is not merely a Tamil hill deity who was subsequently absorbed into a northern Sanskritic tradition. Nor is he simply a human ancestor elevated by later generations.
He stands at a much deeper point in the history of our religious tradition.
Please watch the video and share it widely.
