Vel

Divine spear in Hindu mythology

Vel
Murugan statue with Vel at Batu Caves, Malaysia
Type	Spear
Place of origin	India
Service history
Used by	Murugan
Production history
Designer	Given to Murugan by Parvati (mother)

Vel (Tamil: வேல், lit. 'Vēl') is a divine spear associated with Murugan, the Hindu god of war.^[1]

Significance

According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan, as an embodiment of her shakti, in order to vanquish the asura Surapadman. According to the Skanda Purana, in the war between Murugan and Surapadman, Murugan used the vel to defeat all the forces of Surapadman.^[2] When a complete defeat for Surapadman was imminent, the asura transformed himself into a huge mango tree to evade detection by Murugan. Not fooled by asura's trick, Murugan hurled his vel and split the mango tree into two halves, one becoming a rooster (Tamil: சேவல், lit. 'Cēval'), and the other a peacock (Tamil: மயில், lit. 'Mayil'). Henceforth, the peacock became his vahana or mount, and the rooster became the emblem on his battle flag.^[3]

Shaivism
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Vel, as a symbol of divinity, is an object of worship in the temples dedicated to Murugan. The annual Thaipusam festival celebrates the occasion when Murugan received the divine vel from his mother.^[4] During this festival, some of the devotees pierce their skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers while they undertake a procession towards the Murugan temple.

Adi-vel is a major festival observed in Sri Lanka by Tamil Hindus in the month of July/August, known as Adi.^[5] The festival take place cities such as Katharagama and Colombo.^[6]

The alternative interpretation of vel is that it is a symbol of wisdom/knowledge. It symbolically shows that wisdom/knowledge should be sharp as in the vel's tip, as broad and tall as the javelin. Only such wisdom is supposed to be able to destroy the darkness of ignorance.^[7]

Gallery

Stone vel from the Sangam period, Saluvankuppam, Tamil Nadu
Vel, used to worship in temple
Statue of Murugan with Vel
Coin of the Yaudheyas 200 BC, depicting Murugan with the Vel.

Kaumaram
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Deities Murugan (Kartikeya) Parents Shiva Parvati Brother Ganesha Consorts Devasena Valli
Sacred symbols Weapons Vel Cock flag Birds Peacock Cock
Texts and scriptures Mahapurana: Skanda Purana Tiruppukal Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai
Six sacred abodes Thiruparankundram Swamimalai Thiruchendur Palani Thiruttani Pazhamudircholai
Other temples Nallur Kandaswamy temple Batu Caves Chennimalai Ghati Subramanya Kalugasalamoorthy Kukke Subramanya Kunnakudi Maruthamalai Pachaimalai Sikkal Thindalmalai Viralimalai Vallakkottai Vadapalani Vayalur
Festivals Kandha Shashti Thaipusam Karthika Deepam Kartika Purnima Panguni Uthiram Vaikasi Visakam Chitra Purnima Adi Krittikai
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References

^ Jackson, Frances Kozlowski and Chris (August 2013). Driven by the Divine. Balboa Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4525-7892-7.
^ Belle, Carl Vadivella (2018-02-14). Thaipusam in Malaysia. Flipside Digital Content Company Inc. ISBN 978-981-4786-66-9.
^ Krishna, Nanditha (2014-05-01). Sacred Animals of India. Penguin UK. p. 271. ISBN 978-81-8475-182-6.
^ Abram, David; Edwards, Nick (February 2004). The Rough Guide to South India. Rough Guides. p. 517. ISBN 978-1-84353-103-6.
^ Elliott, C. Brooke (1938). The Real Ceylon. H. W. Cave & Co. p. 133.
^ Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (1986). Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781850430261.
^ Natarajan, Muni (2012-07-02). A Monk's Tale. ISBN 9780985701918.^{[permanent dead link]}