The Lord Murugan Mantra

Vamadeva said:-

Om, obeisance to the meaning of the Pranava, to the enterpreter of the Pranava, to the Bija of the letters of the Pranava.
Obeisance to the lord in the form of the purport of the Upanisad, to their enterpreter and the knower of the purport
.Obeisance to Guha, to the deity concealed in the cavities of the heart of all living beings.
Obeisance to the secret one of secret form.
Obeisance to the knower of the secret sacred lore.
Obeisance to you the minutest of the minute, the greatest of the great, the knower of the greater and the lesser, the lord in the form of the great Atman.

Obeisance to Skanda; to the lord of splendour as red as that of the sun in the form of
Skanda; to the lord who wears the coronets adorned with the garlands of the flowers of
the divine Mandara tree.
Obeisance to the disciple of Siva; to the son of Siva to the bestower of bliss and
happiness, to the beloved of Siva; to the storehouse of pleasure of Siva and Sivai.
Obeisance to the son of the Ganga, to the intelligent Karttikeya, to the noble son of Uma,
lying in the grove of Sara plants.
Obeisance to the six-faced god of six imperishable bodies to the one who interprets in six
ways, to the lord whose form is beyond the sixfold path.
O soul of the twelve obeisance be to you with twelve wide eyes, with twelve uplifted
arms and twelve types of weapons.
Obeisance to the four-armed lord, to the calm lord who bears Saktis and a cock, to the
bestower of boons; the learned or to one with a bird in his hand.
Obeisance to the splitter of the Asuras.
Obeisance to the lord whose chest is marked by the saffron that had been smeared over
the breasts of Gajavalli.
O Lord, whose song of praise is sung by Brahma, other gods, rsi’s and the Kinnaras,
obeisance be to you who are the abode of fame reflected upon by the pious. O lord,
whose lotus-like beautiful feet deserve the worship of the garlands that decorate the
splendid crowns of the gods, obeisance to you.

He who reads or listens to this divine prayer to Skanda, uttered by Vamadeva, attains the supreme goal.
This prayer sharpens intelligence, enhances devotion to Siva, increases longivity, imparts health and affluence and yields all desires always.

Note: This prayer to Lord Skanda was uttered by Vamadeva in the Rathantara kalpa at Kumarasikhara, the southern summit of Meru, where the peacock-vehicled lord Karttikeya stays:

Lord Karttikeye, the hero possessed of the power of knowledge, the suppressor of the Asuras, stays there along with Gajavalli and bowed to by all the gods.
Near the lord there is a lake Skandasaras as vast as an ocean with plenty of deep, sweet, cool, clear water of wonderful attributes. The Rishi Vamadeva took his bath there along with his disciples. He saw Skanda seated on the summit attended by the rishis, shining like the rising sun, with the peacock as his vehicle. He had four arms and splendid body. He was bedecked in coronet and other ornaments…He held Sakti
and a cock. He showed the mystic gestures of boons and protection with his hands. On seeing Skanda the sage worshipped him with devotion and began to eulogise him.

The places mentioned in this narrative by the glorious preceptor Rsi Suta in the Siva Purana cannot be located today. Indeed each Kalpa reshapes the earth, its continents, mountains, plains and forests, oceans and lakes. However the sacred mountains reform for they are the abode of the Mahadevas and devas. Lord Skanda resplendant as the bearer of Sakti, reseeds and reestablishes the fruits, plants, roots etc. Lord Visnu issues forth all moving beings. This happens again and again as Brahma’s day turns to night. The Earth and the worlds in the Universe are not static but are the body of the Primordial Sakti, moving with joy, vibrancy, ecstatic love and devotion to the Yogamaya, the Purusha that is the prana of being, the Pranava, that generated the start of the Universe, and all the worlds, when uttered by the Supreme Brahman – ‘Om’.


From: Siva Purana , Vol. IV, Kailasasamhita Chapter 11.
ivñeñrn !
August 2003