Somaskanda Murthi, Lord Shiva
Somaskanda is a form of Lord Shiva, and in this form, he can be seen seated with his consort Ma Parvati, along with Lord Skanda, who appears in the form of a beautiful child. This form of Lord Shiva was popularly worshippedby the devotees since 6th century AD, and this form is still gaining popularity amongst the Shiva devotees, since in this form, almost the entire family of Lord Shiva is available.
As per ancient legend, once Lord Shiva appeared in the dream of a Chola King, and he instructed him to sculpt the Utsava idols of SomaskandaMoorthy. As per the wishes of Lord Shiva, immediately the Chola King had made arrangements to sculpt the Utsava idols of SomaskandaMoorthy, and placed it in some of the temples of Lord Shiva, and from then onwards, people began to worship this special form of Lord Shiva.
In most of the Shiva Temples, we can see the Utsava Idols of SomaskandaMoorthy, and these idols would be taken out for procession during the times of festivals like Shivaratri, SkandaShasti and Vijayadasami.
Those who worship theSomaskanda idol during the times of temple processionsin the temples is considered as a good act and it would bring lot of good fortunes in the lives of the devotees.
SomaskandaMoorthy looks verybeautiful, wonderful and merciful,and he wouldfulfil our reasonable needs and wishes, and also would remove the obstacles in our life. It is also believed that those who sincerely worship this form of Lord Shiva would be blessed with a good child similar to Lord Muruga.
This form can be seen on some of the Temple towersand we can alsosee the Paintings and the inscriptions of SomaskandaMoorthy on the walls of the temples.Lord Shiva appears in different forms in different temples. By worshipping his various forms in the temples, and by chanting the Shiva Mantra, “OM NAMAH SHIVAYA”, would bring prosperity to us, and we would be able to run our life efficiently, effectively and beautifully.
“OM SRI SOMASKANDA MOORTHY NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR