This year, I attended the Houston temple’s Kandasashti celebrations. Kandasasthi celebrates Muruga, and tells the story of his victory over the asuras, and his marriage to Devasena.
The Kandasashti starts by granting the vel, Muruga’s divine weapon, to Muruga. Then, we follow the procession to Muruga’s battleground. Different asuras emerge, one with an elephant’s head, one with a lion’s head, and finally one with a demon’s face- Soorapadman. The asuras are lifted on podiums, and surrounded by neem leaves. Muruga, with his vel beheads them all, proving himself brave and victorious. The demon transforms into Murugua’s peacock and a rooster, which becomes his symbol.
After this, Muruga is set to be married. We sat in the main temple, waiting for Muruga and his new wife, Deivanai, to be dressed and wedded. When the curtains finally drew back, revealing Muruga, the crowd’s gasps said it all. The priests bathed Murugu in milk, yogurt, coconut water, rose water, sandalwood, etc. then decorated him for his marriage.
Overall, the process was beautiful to watch, and there was a much larger crowd than I had expected. I learned so much about this festival and enjoyed watching it be reenacted in such splendor, even in the United States.
