Valli Kalyānam: The Courtship & Wedding of Valli & Murugan

[amritha varshini]

From: Murugan Bhakti <edi...@murugan.org>
Date: Sun, Jul 26, 2015 at 9:57 PM
Subject: Valli Kalyānam: The Courtship & Wedding of Valli & Murugan
To: Amritha <amrithava...@gmail.com>

Valli Kalyānam: The Courtship & Wedding of Valli & Murugan View this email in your browser "At that moment, Murugan invoked the help of his brother Vināyaka who appeared behind Valli in the shape of a frightening elephant. The terror-stricken girl rushed into the arms of the elderly ascetic for protection." -from "Murugan and Valli" by Kamil V. Zvelebil. Painting from Tiruttani Devasthanam. Facebook Email Murugan.org Palani.org Tirichendur.org Kataragama.org YouTube Pinterest Valli Kalyānam The Courtship and Wedding of Valli and Murugan as told by Malathi Jayaraman Editor’s note: Valli Kalyānam or the (courtship and) ‘wedding of Valli’ (to Murugan) is an age-old oral tradition of South India. Later it became a central theme in Tamil Cankam literature even before the arrival of Sanskrit-speaking North Indian Brahmins and sages to South India some two thousand years ago. From the start, pandits and devotees alike of North and South have agreed that Tamil god Murugan and North Indian god Skanda or Kārttikeya are one and the same divinity. Finally, elements of puranic and Brahminical Hinduism were grafted onto the original purely Dravidian story. Because it remains an oral tradition, there are as many versions as there are tellers of the story. Here Malathi Jayaraman offers an abridged telling of the everlasting romance of Valli and Murugan. Lord Murugan (Tamil: the ‘Young and Tender One’) is cherished as the divine beloved son in households all across South India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and wherever Tamil people have settled. His worship is most prevalent in South India; in the North He is known as Lord Skanda or Kārttikeya, the divine power of Siva manifested on earth. In Neolithic times there once lived a tribal girl named Valli was whose heart was set upon eternal union with the god of the hunters, Lord Murugan. The timeless story of the divine courtship of Valli and Murugan forms the basis of many folk dramas in South India. No exposition of Kaumara philosophy would be complete without referring to the romance of Valli and Murugan. The story begins like this... Once a rishi named Kanva pronounced a curse upon Lord Vishnu and His consort Goddess Lakshmi, for they had been indifferent to him when he visited them in Vaikunta. According to the curse, Lord Vishnu would be born as a dumb saint and Lakshmi as a doe living in forests. In a previous birth Valli had been Sundara Valli, one of two daughters of Vishnu. She and her sister Amrita Valli both intensely yearned to marry Lord Kārttikeya and observed austere penances with this aim in mind. Accordingly, Lord Murugan vowed to marry them both in their next birth. Amrita Valli in her next birth was born as Devasenā, daughter of Indra, the celestial King of Heaven. Sundara Valli however was destined to take a more humble birth upon earth in a wild jungle. So Lord Vishnu incarnated Himself on earth as Siva Muni, a dumb saint who was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. He was living in the same forest where goddess Lakshmi had been born to wander about as a doe. A lovelorn glance at the doe by the sage in a passionate moment was all it took to impregnate the doe. When the doe had reached her full term, she gave birth to a baby girl. Upon seeing the infant’s strange form so different from her own, the startled deer abandoned the child and fled. Nambirājan, the hunter chief of that forest, found the abandoned infant crying in a patch of valli kodi creepers. He and his wife and their seven sons and had been longing for a daughter, so they joyfully adopted the girl child. Since they found her in a cluster of vaḷḷi kodi, they named her ‘Vaḷḷi’ (Tamil: வள்ளி "creeper, sweet potato plant"). Valli grew up to be a beautiful maiden with steadfast devotion and resolute determination to marry Lord Kārttikeya. All her girl friends talk about the boys they wish to marry, but Valli says she is interested in Murugan only, the god of hunter folk. They laugh and tease Valli whenever she says she vows never to touch any man, but only her Lord Murugan. Sage Nārada learns about Valli and her vow and goes there to observe her. He then reports to Lord Kārttikeya to tell her about the girl’s beauty and devotion and to remind Him of His vow to wed her. Their eventful romance then begins in the deep forest. Lord Murugan first appears to Valli as a handsome young Neolithic hunter who emerges from the jungle into the millet field that Valli is guarding. When she challenges the stranger, he claims that he is tracking a doe. Indignant Valli drives him away accusing him of trespassing when a maiden is alone. He ignores her accusation with a contemptuous laugh. Annoyed at his impudent behavior, Valli cries out for her brothers. Murugan at once transforms himself into a vengai tree. When her brothers arrive they find only a strange tree there. Such was the magic He plays to captivate the aspiring jivātma. Then He returns in the guise of a trembling old man and proposes to Valli. When outraged Valli rejects the proposal, He turns to His elder brother Ganesa for help. Valli dreads elephants, and Ganesa knows it. Lord Ganesa assumes the form of a rogue elephant and comes rushing towards her. Terrified, Valli runs towards the old man Murugan and seeks refuge in His arms. The old man says that only if she agrees to marry him, the elephant would go away.  Frightened out of her wits, Valli complies and the elephant disappears. Once out of danger Valli refuses to marry him saying that she was forced to make a promise and she is not bound by such a promise. No sooner does she utter these words than the elephant’s awful trumpeting is heard again. Safe in his embrace Valli sincerely vows to marry the old man this time. The demure damsel hangs down her blushing face when she finds herself in the arms of a decrepit old man. But when she looks upon His face, Lord Murugan reveals His identity, appears before her as a handsome youth with His mighty spear. Valli attains her ultimate goal, union with Paramātma. Lord Murugan came of His own accord to grant her the divine union because of her intense devotion. On hearing the news of Valli’s frequent meetings with a hunter and an old man, her father Nambirājan along with his kinsmen approach Valli and find her in the company of the young man. In a fit of rage, Nambirājan and his kinsmen discharge a volley of arrows at Lord Murugan. Yet, instead of killing Murugan, instead the hunters themselves all fall dead. Valli, weeping, implores her Lord to revive her kinsfolk. He bids her to restore her kinsmen to life, which she does by mere touch. Everyone now knows that the ‘rogue’ had been none other than Lord Murugan Himself. Nambirajan then requests Lord Muruga’s consent to perform the wedding according to their custom and Lord Murugan, embodiment of compassion and grace, weds Valli in a simple rustic ceremony. Valli Kalyānam or the 'wedding of Valli and Murugan’ is said to depict the soul’s aspiration to unite with the supreme Brahman. It expounds the essence of advaita.  Valli is the jivātman, the soul aspiring communion with the Lord. Tiruchendur witnessed a grand event in 2015 on April 23rd-24th. Valli Kalyanam, the union of Jivatma with Paramatma, was celebrated with great fervor and devotion. A description of Valli Kalyanam may best be exemplified by this splendid event organized by dedicated devotees. Guruji Sri A.S. Raghavan, a prodigious proponent of Thiruppugazh, evolved a pattern from Thiruppugazh hymns for conducting an elaborate wedding function of Lord Valli and Murugan.  The deities are beautifully bedecked with jewels and fragrant flowers. As Arunagirinathar predicted, every devotee present there wished they had four thousand eyes available to witness Valli and Murugan swaying gently on a flower bedecked swing. One must have accumulated merit for a million years to witness this celestial wedding.   Now enjoy this video clip of the Divine Wedding See also this YouTube discourse on Valli Kalyanam by Mrs Chitra Murthy See these other illustrated articles about Valli and Murugan: "Veddas celebrate Kataragama wedding festival"            "Valli Marries the God of the Mountain" Valli Malai, Home of Pongi (Valli) Amma 'Vaḷḷi' entry on Wikipedia.org Copyright © 2015 Murugan Bhakti, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a Murugan Bhakti newsletter subscriber. Our mailing address is: Murugan Bhakti 3130 NW 10th Place Gainesville, FL 32605-5043 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences