Why is Murugan called a Tamil God? Indologist explains amid Jr NTR film row

The controversy over the tagline of Jr NTR's upcoming film has reopened a larger debate over history, faith and identity, with scholars arguing that reducing Lord Murugan's origins to a single geographical claim oversimplifies a far more layered cultural evolution.

While the teaser describes Murugan as born in the North and worshipped in the South, historians say the issue cannot be viewed solely through mythology or politics.

The Federal spoke to noted Indologist Rahul Balakrishnan about the historical evolution of Murugan worship, the relationship between Murugan, Skanda and Kartikeya, and why the debate goes beyond cinema into questions of culture, literature and anthropology.

Has the objection to the film’s tagline come from history, belief or politics?

I would say it is all three — history, culture and politics. But it is also simply cinema. A tagline is often designed to generate controversy. Personally, I would neither ignore it completely nor take it too seriously beyond a point.

Whenever a pan-Indian film is made, there is an attempt to make everything look culturally neutral. Characters may belong to Tamil Nadu, but their costumes and presentation are altered into something that appears more universally Indian. It makes dubbing easier and broadens the audience. I see this tagline in a similar light.

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The more people talk about it, the more the purpose of the announcement is served. The entire Tamil Nadu discussing it means the objective has already been achieved.

However, as an academic and researcher, my interest lies elsewhere. I approach the issue from an academic perspective. We need to understand Murugan, understand his origins and understand exactly whom we are referring to.

When we speak about Murugan, are we speaking about Murugan, Skanda, Kartikeya or Kumara? Are these all different gods, or are they the same deity? Those are the questions that deserve serious discussion.

Most people assume Murugan, Skanda, Kartikeya and Kumara all refer to the same god. Are they actually different?

There is no black-and-white answer. The answer is both yes and no.

Murugan, Skanda and the others have different origins and emerged in different historical and cultural contexts. By origin, I do not mean someone physically gave birth to them. I mean the circumstances in which these traditions evolved.

Indian civilisation has always absorbed, merged and appropriated traditions. Just as mergers happen in the corporate world, similar processes have happened in Indian religious history. Historians examine it historically, anthropologists study it anthropologically, while myths develop their own explanations.

One way traditions merge is through their gods. That is exactly what has happened here.

Why is Murugan uniquely identified as the Tamil God? No other deity is associated so closely with a language.

That is an excellent question because there is really no parallel.

Tamils take pride in identifying Murugan as their own. To understand why, we must go back to the earliest available Tamil grammar, the Tolkappiyam.

Even Tolkappiyar himself refers to earlier literary traditions that no longer survive. This tells us there was already a rich oral and literary culture before the Tolkappiyam.

Within that tradition, Murugan is identified as Cheyon. I have discussed this extensively in my book Red God. Cheyon literally means "the red one". In classical Tamil literature, Murugan is identified as the deity of the mountainous landscape.

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Tamil literature is organised around the concept of Thinai, where every human emotion is linked to a specific geographical landscape. Love, separation, longing and every emotional experience are situated within different ecological regions — mountains, forests, agricultural lands, deserts and the coast.

Murugan belongs to the mountainous landscape.

Does that mean the Murugan described in Sangam literature is different from the Murugan worshipped today?

The Murugan described in Sangam literature lives among ordinary people. He is part of the landscape itself. He does not possess six heads, nor does he have a divine birth. His birth is not connected with divinity at all.

This is not the Murugan later known through Puranic traditions.

One must also remember that early Tamil society did not originally have the concept of a creator god who creates, preserves and destroys the universe. The Tamil gods were part of everyday life and nature itself.

Murugan appears repeatedly in Sangam literature as someone who belongs to the people and the land they inhabit. That, in my understanding, is what makes him the Tamil God.

Today Murugan is widely regarded as the son of Shiva and Parvati, alongside Ganesha. Yet there seem to be different traditions in North India. How do you explain that?

When I travelled in North India, I found something fascinating. There, Kartikeya is often regarded as a celibate bachelor.

On the other hand, Ganesha is commonly believed to be married, with two wives — Siddhi and Buddhi — and two children, Shubh and Labh.

When I told my friends in North India that Murugan is married and has two wives, they were genuinely surprised. Likewise, I was surprised by their traditions.

We are discussing two brothers in the same divine family, yet different parts of India preserve completely different narratives about whether they are married.

I mention this not to create controversy but to raise an academic, anthropological and even genetic discussion.

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Modern genetics now speaks of Ancient Ancestral South Indians, Ancient Ancestral North Indians and later Steppe migrations. Scientific research continues to evolve.

Therefore, we should not rely only on what one Purana says or another tradition says. We should compare traditions side by side.

Every society creates its own myths. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

God remains God, regardless of whether one worships him as Skanda, Kartikeya, Shanmukha, Arumugam or Murugan. I have no objection to any of those names.

My only objection is to the claim that Murugan was born in the North. Murugan belongs to the ancient layers of Tamil civilisation.

There are also connections that scholars such as Asko Parpola, Iravatham Mahadevan, and my own research explore between the Indus civilisation and Sangam literature. We can discuss those in greater detail later.

Why is Murugan not widely worshipped in North India if the teaser claims he was born there?

People in North India have remained rooted in their own cultural traditions.

They understand Murugan primarily as a Tamil deity. Therefore, it is natural that he is not celebrated there in the same way he is in Tamil Nadu. That does not mean there are no Murugan temples in North India.

I have personally visited temples in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

But who established those temples?

They were largely built by Tamil communities who migrated to different parts of India, to Kolkata, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi and elsewhere.

Wherever Tamils settled, they established Murugan temples. So, Murugan worship in the name of Murugan exists there mainly because of Tamil communities.

So, would it be correct to say there is no Murugan worship in North India?

Murugan worship in the name of Murugan is virtually absent in North India. Wherever it exists, it is largely because Tamil communities have carried that tradition with them.

If we speak about Kartikeya, Skanda or Kumara, that is a different discussion. We all recognise that these identities have become linked over time.

But look at the scale of worship.

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In Tamil Nadu, Murugan worship is deeply woven into people's lives. During festivals like Thaipusam and Panguni Uthiram, devotees walk hundreds of kilometres to Palani. The concept of the Arupadai Veedu — the six sacred abodes — is central to Tamil religious tradition, and all six are located within Tamil Nadu.

Now compare that with North India.

Go and count the temples dedicated exclusively to Kartikeya, Skanda or Kumara. You will find Shiva temples, Vishnu temples and many other shrines, but dedicated Kartikeya temples are extremely few.

From my own research, I estimate there are fewer than ten such temples.

There are temples in places such as Rajasthan, the Chamba region and a few others where Kartikeya traditions survive. Some temples may also contain a small shrine dedicated to Kartikeya inside a larger temple complex.

Personally, I have visited Mahendragiri in Odisha and seen Kartikeya shrines there as well.

But overall, Murugan is not worshipped as Murugan in North India. Even Kartikeya worship survives only in a very limited way.

Historically, however, things were different.

Archaeological evidence from the Kushan and Gupta periods, roughly between the first and sixth centuries CE, suggests Kartikeya worship was more widespread than it is today.

Today, while Murugan worship continues to grow in Tamil Nadu and among the Tamil diaspora, Kartikeya worship in North India has become much more limited.

How do you interpret these regional differences in worship?

I often use the rainforest as a metaphor for India's diversity.

A rainforest has many layers. There is the wet forest floor with fungi, then insects and butterflies, then monkeys and elephants, and finally the towering canopy. Each layer is different, but together they form one rainforest.

India is similar.

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Different traditions may worship what eventually becomes identified as the same deity, but each tradition has preserved its own identity. That diversity should be celebrated.

What I disagree with is the attempt to appropriate one identity into another by claiming that one tradition completely belongs to another. I do not agree with that approach.

How different are the worship traditions of Murugan in Tamil Nadu and Kartikeya in North India?

From what I have observed in India and abroad, Murugan occupies a much more intimate place in Tamil society. People treat him like a member of their own family.

They speak to him in Tamil because they believe he understands Tamil. He is seen as a god who promotes love and who remains emotionally close to his devotees.

The image of Kartikeya in North India is somewhat different. As I mentioned earlier, he is often regarded as a celibate bachelor.

In some places, if I remember correctly, women are either discouraged from entering certain Kartikeya temples or are not encouraged to participate fully in the worship.

He is primarily recognised as a god of war. The element of war also exists in Tamil traditions.

Texts such as the Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai describe Murugan as a warrior and as Devasenapati, the commander of the celestial forces. Stories such as the battle against Surapadman also emphasise that aspect.

As societies evolve and warfare becomes a greater part of social life, naturally their gods also begin carrying weapons. In that sense, I have no problem with Murugan being viewed as a war god.

That aspect exists in both traditions.

At the same time, Tamil traditions place equal importance on Murugan as a god associated with love, family and everyday life.

His symbols — the rooster flag, the peacock mount and stories such as the mango contest between Murugan and Ganesha — remain deeply embedded in Tamil culture.

Most importantly, ask anyone in Tamil Nadu who the foremost deity is, and many will immediately answer Murugan. That is not generally the case in North India.

Are there any similarities between northern and southern traditions despite these differences?

Yes.

One thing that has always interested me is the Kanwariya tradition in North India. People carry a balancing pole known as a Kanwar.

In Tamil, we have the Kavadi, where offerings are balanced on either side of a pole. The similarity between the words and the practice has fascinated me for years.

I continue researching these cultural links. Let me show you an example.

There is an Indus Valley sign depicting a figure carrying what appears to be a balancing pole. Scholar Iravatham Mahadevan described this figure as a porter carrying a balanced load.

Different versions of this sign appear many times in the Indus script. I deliberately avoid trying to decipher the Indus script because it remains undeciphered.

Instead, I study cultural continuity. I examine body language, symbols, traditions and cultural practices.

For example, if we look at symbols such as the bow, arrow, tiger, fish and the Kavadi, we find remarkable continuities between the Indus civilisation, Sangam literature and later Tamil cultural traditions.

The Kavadi first appears in the Indus signs, later in Murugan traditions and continues today as an important religious symbol connected with Shiva and Murugan.

That continuity is what interests me most.

How did the worship of Murugan, Skanda and Kartikeya eventually merge into a single tradition?

To answer that, we have to understand the cultural and chronological history of the Indian subcontinent. We need to study what happened during different historical periods and the various influences that shaped religious traditions.

Take Buddhism as an example.

India gave Buddhism to the world, but today Buddhism flourishes more prominently in places such as Tibet, China, Korea and Japan than in the land where it originated.

Jainism, too, gradually became integrated into the broader religious landscape. Similarly, Vedic traditions, Shaivism and Vaishnavism interacted with one another over centuries.

What happened was essentially a process of cultural amalgamation and merger.

Sociologist MN Srinivas described one aspect of this process as Sanskritisation.

India has always contained multiple narratives. There are many versions of the Ramayana and many versions of the Mahabharata. There are tribal traditions, non-tribal traditions, regional traditions and counter-narratives.

Because of that, India cannot be understood through black-and-white statements. Whenever an attempt is made to erase identities or merge everything into one homogeneous narrative, resistance naturally follows.

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I am not surprised by that resistance.

Some people may even want controversy because it generates attention.

I am deliberately avoiding that approach because I am interested in discussing this academically rather than politically.

Today, Murugan is often described as a pan-Indian deity. Would you agree with that?

I would actually say Murugan was already universal. It is not that someone made Murugan pan-Indian.

Perhaps films become pan-Indian through dubbing and wider distribution. Murugan, however, has long transcended regional boundaries.

Look at places such as Mauritius, South Africa, Fiji, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia.

Are they part of Tamil Nadu?

Of course not. Yet Murugan temples flourish there.

When I visited the Batu Caves in Malaysia, I saw not only Tamils but also large numbers of Chinese devotees worshipping Murugan.

In Singapore too, Murugan festivals attract people from different communities, and traffic is stopped to facilitate the celebrations.

Murugan, the God of the Tamils, is already an international deity. He is already universal because Tamil itself is a global language.