Most scholars agree that while Vedic Sanskrit traditions moved south, the south had a very rich flourishing culture of its own rooted in Tamil. The early literary Tamil tradition is considered to be at least 2,000 years old, taking shape around the time Mahabharata and Ramayana were reaching their final form in the north. It is referred to as Sangam literature and they are full of songs and stories related to love, war, governance, trade and bereavement. These allude to gods and goddesses but are not primarily religious.

But a few centuries later, a poetic - story emerged that celebrates Muruga, the great god of the hills, the very virile warrior - god who rides a peacock, who holds a lance, whose symbol is a rooster. Known as Tirumurukarruppatai, “An ode to the Lord Muruga”, this Tamil work is also a love story. It describes in detail the courtship of Valli.

What is interesting in this narrative is its rawness and unbridled passion, devotion mixed with eroticism, devoid of Brahmanical and monastic restraint. Love and lust are seen as two sides of the same coin and there is no shame or guilt associated with desire.

Muruga is a Tamil god, son of the wild goddess Kotravai, who later became identified with Skanda, the son of Shiva. He is described as a beautiful virile epitome of manhood. In Sanskrit texts, he was the commander of Devas, who led them to victory.

Most north Indian traditions describe him as a bachelor. Sometimes, he has a wife called Devasena, meaning “army of the gods”, who was the daughter of Indra, king of Devas. Devasena seems more like an idea, and less like a person, but she is the first wife of Muruga. The wife who fired the imagination of Tamil people was the second wife, Valli.

Valli's father Nampi, a tribal chief, wanted a girl - child as he had many sons. And to his delight, he found her in a hole that had been dug by women who were searching for wild forest yams (valli), hence her name. Who was she? She had been delivered by a doe who had been made pregnant by the amorous thoughts of a sage, or perhaps a god disguised as a sage. She was thus a child of the forest raised by tribesmen and when she came of age, she was asked to guard the millet field. And that is when Muruga was told of her by the wily sage Narada.

He came down from the hill where he resided to see her and was smitten by her instantly. He took the form of a young hunter and spoke to her, introducing himself and asking about her. She too was smitten by him but hesitated. Their conversation was interrupted by her father and brothers who came with food for her: honey and millets and fruits and milk.

When they came, Muruga turned into a tree. When they left, he appeared again as an old man and asked to be fed. She fed him. He then asked her to be his beloved. She was not sure how to respond, a little embarrassed, a little awkward. Suddenly a wild elephant appeared (it was Ganesha, Muruga's brother). In fear, Valli ran into the arms of the old man. Muruga showed her his true form and took Valli into the millet field where all resistance vanished and the two became one.

Valli was scared of her father and family. What will they say? She wondered. After the encounter in the millet field, she looked different. Her female companion asked her about it. And she confessed her tryst with the hill-god. Muruga demanded that the female companion help the two lovers meet, and she complied. And so days passed in the millet field with Muruga and Valli discovering their love for each other.

Then it was harvest time. Valli's father fetched and took his daughter back to return to her village. She returned forlorn, unable to bear her separation. Worried by her countenance, her mother called soothsayer women. And she said Valli showed signs of deep love. Who was the secret lover Valli wouldn't say.

At night, Muruga came to the village, having not found her in the millet field, and took her away to his abode. At dawn, her father and brothers, fearing she had been kidnapped, raised their weapons and beat their drums and marched to the hill, where they had been told Valli had been taken. Muruga's rooster crowed with such force that the sound killed them all. Valli wept for her father and begged they be brought to life.

Narada told Muruga that while love is divine, consent of father and family is also necessary. Muruga relented. He then revealed his divine form and approached Nampi who realized that his daughter had been chosen as the bride of the god who he had worshipped for years. He saw the love in his daughter's eyes. How could he say no?

The couple sat on a tiger skin and everyone danced and sang to celebrate their union. Through Valli, divinity of the hill came down and entered the hearts of the tribal people. He who was once distant was now one of with the people.

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik
Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
Courtesy: Star of Mysore