THE STORIES OF LORD KARTHIKEYA- VIII

The Fight over the Fruit of Knowledge (Gnanapazham)

Lord Narada the son of the Creator Lord Bramha was a meddler and trouble-maker by nature.
He took a luscious mango called the Gnanapazham the fruit of knowledge (the giver of
knowledge) to Kailash and offered it to the Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva offered it to his children Lord
Ganesh and Lord Karthikeya to share but Narada stopped the sharing of the fruit saying that as it
was a magical and special fruit it needed to be consumed whole.
Thus it was decided that Lord Muruga a bit of a jock (after all he is the God of War!) and Lord
Vinayaka kind of a geek (Elephant headed God of Wisdom) decided to race for the fruit. It was
decided that whoever circled the universe thrice first would win the fruit of knowledge as a prize.
As soon as Lord Muruga flew off on his peacock, Lord Ganesh whose mount is a mouse, calmly and
piously circled his parents Shiv-Shakti thrice and approached Narada for the prize. He told the divine
messenger, My parents are the world to me and all of creation and together they contain within
them the entire cosmos and universe, so by circling them not once but thrice before my brother I
have won the fruit.
Blown away by the shrewdness of the God of Wisdom, Lord Narada hands over the fruit and Lord
Ganesha merrily consumes as his proud parents watch over the drama in an amused manner. By the
time Lord Muruga returns to Kailash. Its all over!
The God of War is enraged by the slight of hand and the fact that his parents condoned it. But Lor
Shiva and Goddess Parvati stand firm saying in an unequal contest Vinayaka utilized his talent to
outwit his brother who travelled faster than light on his peacock and rightfully won the fruit.
Finding no recourse Lord Muruga walks off in a huff from Kailash disowning his unfair family.
He arrived at the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu and dwelt in the caves there as a shorn-headed ascetic.
He gained the name Dhandapani (Dhandayuthapani) or the one who is equipped with a stick
(dhanda) and Palani Andavar (Lord of the Palani Hills), as lord Muruga had left behind the all-
powerful vel as it was a gift from Goddess Parvati who didnt support his claim to the Gnanapazham.
According to some legends Dhandapani did severe penance in Palani and pleased and invoked his
parents and was taken back to Kailash. Others say that Lord Ganapathy and Narada come and beg
him to return. Other myths say that the great Tamil poetess Avvaiyar, played mediator between the
alienated Kailash dwellers and Lord Dhandapani and cooled the latters anger by singing many songs
in praise of Lord Subramanya thus returning him to his rightful dwelling in the pantheon Kailash
with his family.
August 17-18, 2014, Sunday-Monday