Chapter 8

The peacock and the rooster

The vel split Surapadman in two — one half became the peacock he rides, the other the rooster on his banner

The Kanda Puranam

Kacchiyappa Sivachariyar of Kanchipuram wrote the Kanda Puranam in medieval Tamil — commonly dated around the fourteenth century, though its exact date is disputed — based on the Shankara Samhita of the Sanskrit Skanda Purana.

It is the fullest Tamil telling of Murugan, and the source of the imagery Tamil Nadu actually uses today.

Surapadman

Surapadman rules from an island fortress, Viramahendrapuram. His brothers have fallen. Now Skanda faces him at the seashore at Tiruchendur — the seaside temple there marks the spot.

Surapadman shifts shape again and again, and finally becomes a giant mango tree.

Skanda hurls the vel. The vel splits the tree — the demon — in two.

The enemy as mount, the enemy as flag

From the two halves emerge a peacock and a rooster. Skanda subdues them and takes both into his service.

One becomes a peacock — Paravani — which Skanda rides.

The other becomes the rooster that sits on his banner — the seval kodi.

The one he fought became his mount and his flag. That is the image of this chapter.

Kavadi

An asura named Idumban, who becomes Skanda's devotee, carries two hills — Shivagiri and Shaktigiri — on a shoulder-pole to Palani.

That is the origin of the kavadi — the burden on the shoulder that millions of devotees carry on Thaipusam today.

Note: Kanda Puranam (Tamil), by Kacchiyappa Sivachariyar of Kanchipuram — commonly placed around the 14th century, though its precise date is disputed — is based on the Shankara Samhita of the Sanskrit Skanda Purana. Surapadman's island fortress is Viramahendrapuram; the final battle is at Tiruchendur; Surapadman takes the form of a mango tree and is split by the vel, the two halves becoming the peacock (Paravani, the mount) and the rooster (seval kodi, the banner). Simhamukha's end is told differently from text to text. Skanda Shashthi (Aippasi month) reads the whole Surapadman war over six days, ending with a mass enactment of the "Sura Samharam". The story of Idumban and the kavadi belongs to Palani.

Source: from several texts and traditions, The peacock and the rooster

Now — how much stayed with you?

Fact

Who composed the Kanda Puranam?

  • Nakkirar
  • Kacchiyappa Sivachariyar of Kanchipuram
  • Kamban
  • Thiruvalluvar
Read the whole story — The fullest Tamil telling

The Kanda Puranam is commonly dated around the 14th century (the date is disputed).

It is based on the Shankara Samhita of the Sanskrit Skanda Purana.

It is the source of the Murugan imagery Tamil Nadu uses today.

Fact

Which Sanskrit text is the Kanda Puranam based on?

  • Valmiki's Ramayana
  • The Bhagavata Purana
  • The Shiva Purana
  • The Shankara Samhita of the Sanskrit Skanda Purana
Read the whole story — From Sanskrit to Tamil

Kacchiyappa cast the Sanskrit Shankara Samhita into Tamil verse.

The larger war against three asura brothers came from that southern Sanskrit tradition.

The Tamil poet developed it, he did not invent it.

What happened?

Just before the vel splits him, what form did Surapadman take?

  • A serpent
  • A mountain
  • A cloud
  • A giant mango tree
Read the whole story — The last form

Surapadman shifted shape again and again.

Finally he became a giant mango tree.

Skanda hurled the vel and split the tree — the demon — in two.

What happened?

The vel split Surapadman in two — what did the two halves become?

  • Two new asuras
  • A peacock and a rooster
  • Two mountains
  • Two rivers
Read the whole story — The enemy as mount, the enemy as flag

From the two halves emerged a peacock and a rooster.

The peacock became Skanda's mount; the rooster sat on his banner.

The one he fought became his mount and his flag.

Fact

What is the name of Skanda's peacock?

  • Garuda
  • Jatayu
  • Paravani
  • Ucchaihshravas
Read the whole story — The peacock's name

One half of Surapadman became a peacock named Paravani.

Murugan rides this peacock.

The other half is the "seval kodi" — the rooster on the banner.

Fact

Where does the final battle with Surapadman culminate?

  • At Tiruchendur
  • At Madurai
  • At Palani
  • At Kanchipuram
Read the whole story — A battle on the shore

Surapadman ruled from an island fortress, Viramahendrapuram.

The final battle is at the seashore at Tiruchendur.

The seaside temple there marks the place.

What happened?

Idumban carries two hills — Shivagiri and Shaktigiri — on a shoulder-pole to where?

  • Kataragama
  • Tiruchendur
  • Thiruthani
  • Palani
Read the whole story — The kavadi story

Idumban was an asura who became Skanda's devotee.

He carried two hills on a shoulder-pole to Palani.

Today millions of devotees carry that same pole — the kavadi — on Thaipusam.

The texts disagree

Did the Tamil Kanda Puranam invent the three-brother war?

  • Yes, it is entirely the Tamil poet's invention
  • No
  • Yes, and the north adopted it later
  • It is in the Vedas already
Read the whole story — Inheritance, not invention

The extended war cycle with Surapadman, Simhamukha and Taraka was already in the southern Sanskrit tradition.

Kacchiyappa developed it in Tamil verse.

It is wrong to say the Tamil poet turned one enemy into three.

Why is that?

"The one he fought became his mount and his flag" — what does this mean?

  • Surapadman's two halves are the very peacock Skanda rides and the rooster on his banner
  • Skanda made two new animals
  • The peacock and rooster were already Skanda's
  • It is only a metaphor; it does not happen in the story
Read the whole story — Keeping the defeat close

Surapadman is split, and from the two halves emerge a peacock and a rooster.

Skanda subdues both forms and takes them into his service.

The peacock below and the rooster on the flag keep the defeated enemy permanently within Murugan's iconography.

Later tradition

Which festival stages the Surapadman war ("Sura Samharam")?

  • Thaipusam
  • Diwali
  • Skanda Shashthi
  • Pongal
Read the whole story — Six days of recitation

Skanda Shashthi falls in Aippasi (October–November).

The Surapadman war is recited over six days.

On the last day the "Sura Samharam" is enacted at Tiruchendur and elsewhere.