Mantras for Lord Kartikeya-Murugan

Lord Kartikeya-Murugan is a great Mahadeva, a Son of Shiva, who commands large armies of Devas in the subtle plane. He rules over what is known in Shaivism as Shuddhashuddha tattvas, principles that are beyond the physical plane, yet bind our intellects and restrict us from fully experiencing Shiva-consciousness. Lord Kartikeya-Murugan, also known as Sanatkumara, is the supreme Guru of mankind, who opens our doors to spirituality and ushers us unto realization of Shiva. It is only He that is capable of destroying Tarakasura, the demon who prevents our crossing the ocean of worldly existence. Lord Murugan guides us from within and always has, whether we realize it or not.

Writes Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami: “Lord Murugan's shakti works deeply within us, within our spiritual sphere, within the great depths of the mind. His electric power issues forth from the shakti vel. Just as energy races through the universe in the form of radio, radar and light waves, x-rays, heat, gamma and cosmic rays, so does Murugan's electric shakti impact our life. Just as we experience light and darkness, positive and negative potential, so do the electromagnetic forces issue forth from Murugan's realm of positive and negative forces, of devas and their asuric counterparts.” (Chapter 4 of Loving Ganesha)

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Murugan Mula-Mantra for chanting:

ॐ शरवण भव

om śaravaṇa bhava

Śaravaṇa Bhava means “born of the forest of reeds.” Śaravaṇa Bhava is made up of six syllables – śa-ra-va-ṇa-bha-va – which subtly contain the essence of the six-faced (Shadanana) Lord Murugan.

Alternative form of the mantra:

ॐ शरवण भवाय नमः

om śaravaṇa bhavāya namaḥ

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Murugan shlokas and mantras for worship/prayer:

(1) om jaya jaya mahāvīra bhagavān śrī skanda namo namaḥ

Aum! Victory, Victory (to Thee)! Salutations to the Great Hero, Lord Skanda.

(2) muruga muruga veḻ veḻ muruga, muruga muruga vetri veḻ muruga

This is a popular shloka in the Tamil language, it glorifies Lord Murugan and His Vel (a.k.a. shula, meaning ‘lance’), which represents His Shakti. Vetri means victory.

(3) jñāna śaktidhara skanda valli kalyāṇasundara |
devasenā manaḥ kānta kārtikeya namo'stute ||
om subramaṇyāya namaḥ ||

Unto Skanda, who holds the power of spiritual knowledge,
The Beloved of Valli and Enchanter of the mind of Devasena,
Praiseful salutations to Thee, O Kartikeya.
Aum! Salutations to Subramanya.

(4) mayūravāhanaṁ vīraṁ tārakāsura mardanam |
vande ṣaḍānanaṁ devaṁ kārtikeya śivātmajam ||

To the brave One, whose mount is the peacock,
That Destroyer of the demon Tarakasura,
Obeisance to Lord Shadanana, born of Shiva’s own Self.

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Skanda Gayatri Mantra(s):

There are two Skanda Gayatris, the only difference between them is the name by which Murugan is referred to – Shanmukha or Skanda.

tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahāsenāya dhīmahi |
tanno shanmukha pracodayāt ||
~ Mahanarayana Upanishad I.26
~ Taittiriya Aranyaka X.1.6

May we know that Divine Person,
And meditate upon Mahasena;
May Shanmukha impel us.

tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahāsenāya dhīmahi |
tanno skanda pracodayāt ||

May we know that Divine Person,
And meditate upon Mahasena.
May Skanda impel us.

Aum Śaravaṇa Bhavaya Namaḥ.

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