Antiquity of Skanda-Muruka Cult in Ancient Sri Lanka

[Shanmukha]

A Historical Perspective

Synopsis of forthcoming paper by Dr. S.K. Sitrampalam

Professor and Head,
Department of History
University of Jaffna
Jaffna Sri Lanka
Although there have been many writings on the cult of Skanda-Murukan in Sri Lanka hardly any attempt has been made to trace the antiquity of this cult. The purpose of this study is to trace the origin and development of this cult in Sri Lanka on the basis of the archaeological and literary sources from Tamilakam and Sri Lanka during the period preceeding the Christian era.

The main sources will be:

  1. Archaeological findings from Sri Lanka, especially from its megalithic sites;
  2. Material from the Cankam classics; and
  3. Various names relating to this cult found in the Sri Lankan Brahmi inscriptions datable to pre-Christian era.
The comparative study of the above sources reveal that this cult in Sri Lanka went through the same process as in Tamilakam, i.e. Kadamba tree, vel, velan veriyatu-kalam-Murukan, padai veedu. The survival of the archaic form of Muruka worship in ancient Murukan temples of Sri Lanka confirm this.

This is also corroborated by the study of the folk religion of the Sinhalese where Murukan as Kataragama Deviyo has found a place as one of the guardian deities of Sri Lanka. Brahmi inscriptions confirm how the Muruka cult became syncretised with the Skanda cult in Sri Lanka as in India.

The common Dravidian megalithic cultural base of ancient Tamilakam and Sri Lanka is exemplified in the Muruka cult of both regions. The excavations in the megalithic sites such as Anuradhapura, Kantarodai, Pemparippu, the stray references in the Buddhist chronical namely the Mahavamsa, and the presence of forms indicative of North Indian cults in the early pre-Christian Brahmi inscriptions are the main sources of information.

Although the form Muruka occurs in the Cankam classics, it does not figure in the Sri Lankan sources. Nevertheless, there is indirect evidence for the antiquity of this cult in Sri Lanka as in Tamilakam. Kadamba tree is mentioned in the Mahavamsa as one of the sacred trees of ancient Sri Lanka. The vel or spear of Muruka has been unearthed from Sri Lankan megalithic sites. Also, it futures as a graffiti mark on the megalithic pottery. The references in the Brahmi inscriptions to Velan priests as vela is again an indication of the prevalence of this form of worship. The concept of padai veedu is perpetuated in the Padai Veedu temples of Sri Lanka such as Selva Sannithi in the North, Kathirkamam in the South and Mandur in the East. Also the archaic form of Muruka worship still survives in the above temples.

Analysis of the pre-Christian Brahmi inscriptions show how the ưn cult of Muruka became syncrenised with North Indian Aryan forms. This is confirmed by the presence of such forms as Skanda, Kumara, Guha, Visakha, Karttikeya and Samadatta.

Prof. Sitrampalam be contacted at:

TA-11, Thendral Flats
Balakrishnan Street
Tiruvanmiyur Chennai 600 041 India

Return to the

Researchers and Topics list