Spiritual Significance About Lord Murugan, His Two Wives And The Spear:
The Hero of the Skanda Purana is Lord Skanda Himself, (The second son of Lord Shiva & Parvati, also known as Lord Subrahmanya and also as Lord Karthik in the Northern parts of India) . He is depicted with six faces and twelve hands. His Svarupa is Jyotirmaya. (Form of light) 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 Siva, 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, He is depicted with six faces (That is why He is also known as Arumuga) and twelve hands to represent divinity.
These six faces represent the following:
(i) Five, one element each: Ether, air, fire, water and earth. The sixth face represents the Spirit that bestows LIFE to the beings formed by the five elements.
(ii) The Sanskrit word Bhagavan means one who is possessed of the six godly attributes.The word bhagavan is explained by Parasara Muni: one who is full in six opulences, who has full strength, full fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation, is Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead
And each face of Lord Skanda personifies one of such functions or attributes of the Almighty.
(iii) In the Tamil scriptures a clear account of the functions of the six faces of the Lord is given. One face is shining to remove ignorance and bestow Knowledge; another fulfils the desires of devotees and attends to their needs; a third face bestows strength and inspiration for the performance of rituals and sacrifices; a fourth brings out the inner secrets and helps the seekers of knowledge by revealing those secrets to them; a fifth face has the purpose of protecting the virtuous and punishing the wicked; and the sixth face stands for that function of the Lord that ignites Love and bestows happiness amongst the Jivas.
Significance of Lord Murugan’s 2 wives:
The consorts of Lord Shanmukha are Valli and Deivayanai. Valli stands for the Iccha Sakti—the Power of Will. And the other, Deivayanai, stands for Kriya Sakti—the Power of Action.
Thus should a Jiva aspiring to Godliness, having brought the will-power under control, strive ceaselessly till it reaches the goal.
Hence the three Saktis, in the form of Vel—Jnana Sakti (knowledge), Valli—Iccha Sakti, and Deivayanai—Kriya Sakti, form part and parcel of Lord Shanmukha, who is also named as Saktidhara.
Glory to the Lord of the Saktis! Glory to the Lord who dispels ignorance amongst the devotees by His Velayudha.( the spear)
The meaning of Valli’s Wedding
The true import of this wedding seems to be this. Valli represents the Jiva that has been separated from its original abode, eternal bliss, Paramatman, who is Lord Subrahmanya. The separated Jiva roams in the wilderness of the forest of this world, due to the force of Avidya (ignorance). To rescue this ignorant Jiva wandering in the wilderness, the Guru appears in the form of Rishi Narada by whose help the wedding takes place between Valli and Lord Karttik, i.e., the holy communion of the Jiva with the Supreme Brahman.
As the Jiva possessed unflinching and unswerving faith in the Lord, Valli was determined to marry only Lord Shanmukha and was able to realise her ambition in spite of the many obstructions. Hence, having the two horns of Vairagya and Viveka, the Jiva, Valli, got herself finally rescued from the clutches of Maya—represented by her parents and other obstacles—and finally established herself in union with Lord Subrahmanya, the Supreme Abode of Bliss.
The two wives, Deivayanai and Valli, also symbolise the two types of devotees among those who strive for Moksha or Liberation through union or oneness with the Supreme. One type consists of those who rigidly and sincerely observe the injunctions and follow the teachings of the Vedic scriptures and are thus the followers of Vaidika Karmas. That type is represented by Deivayanai, whom Subrahmanya married in the regular orthodox way. The other type consists of the ardent Bhaktas who attach more importance to right mental feeling and emotion than to rules and regulations. This type is symbolised by Valli, who grows as the foster-daughter of the hunter king, Nambi. Subrahmanya marries her in the combined Gandharva and Paisacha modes of marriage. He manifests love in wooing her and uses force in fighting against her relations who try to obstruct Him…
Lord Muruga’s Vel can eradicate bad karmas:
By praying to Lord Muruga, one strengthens his Mars (Kuja or Angaraka or Sevvai) in his birth chart and get rid of afflictions and limitations caused by the graha’s weak, inimical or poor placement in the chart.
May we chant Lord Muruga’s names mindfully and receive His fullest blessings for a happy, successful and trouble-free life and living.