Page:South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses.djvu/198

178 peacock. The illustration from Tiruvottiyūr (fig. 113) shows only four hands.

The most common variety however is the six-faced Shadānana-Subrahmanya, showing in his twelve hands the symbols and weapons, sakti, arrow, sword, discus, noose and abhaya on the right and a kukktuta (cock), bow, shield, conch, plough and varada on the left. He rides on the peacock vehicle and may have on either side of him the attendants Jaya and Vijaya (fig. 114), or perhaps the goddesses Vailī and Dēvayānā or Dēvasēnā, "the army of gods." A fine stone figure (fig. 115) of Kumāra on the peacock vehicle, with a single face and four arms and attended by the goddesses Vailī and Dēvayānā, comes from Samayapuram in the Trichinopoly district. A sketch from Chidambaram (fig. 116) shows Skanda with three visible faces, ten arms and the peacock vehicle fighting with giants evidently Tāraka and his retinue. In four of his right hands he holds the weapons, sword, axe, arrow and club while the fifth is in the posture of pulling the bow string (missing in the illustration). The uppermost of his left arms shows the vismaya posture, and the four others hold the shield, bow, noose and bell. Subrahmanya may also be shown with one face and ten hands and riding on the peacock vehicle.

The worship of Skanda in India has been very ancient. Dr. Bhandarkar in his work Vaishnavism, Saivism, etc., has put forth literary and inscriptional evidence to prove that Skanda was worshipped in the time of Patanjali and in the early centuries of the Christian era. Sūdraka, the author of the drama Mrichchhakatikā, introducing a thief as one of the characters in his drama, makes him, before starting on his profession, invoke the blessings of Skanda. The artisans of the present day also resort to Skanda as one of the chief deities who preside over their craft. In the south the worship of Skanda-Kumāra under the name Velāyudha, Muruga, etc., is most popular. All classes are equally devoted to him, the non-Brahmans being particularly so. It may be noted that the shrines sacred to Skanda are always situated on hills, as at Tiruttani, Palnis, Tirupparangunram, Kunnakudi or on the seashore as at Tiruchchendūr, etc. An ancient Tamil poem called Tirumurugārruppadai probably written in the early eighth century A.D. is devoted exclusively to describing the shrines of Subrahmanya in Southern India. The god has been included in Aryan theogony from very early ages. Like most Saiva gods he may be the outcome of the fusion of the ancient Aryan and Dravidian cults and this may