Lord Skanda-Murugan
 

Ida-Ten, Japanese portrait of Skanda

Note on Skanda in Japanese Zen tradition

by Chuan Yuan Shakya

"For just as an eagle or a wild bull may capture our imagination and emotion and hold us in a devotional bond, so do heroic archetypes create an inspirational connection and help us to rise to whatever height survival requires. The Buddha is a Prince of Peace, but since some wars must be fought, Śiva's son, Skanda (Japanese: Ida-Ten), is a god of war. Gods make us better human beings. They allow us to absorb into ourselves their heroic or majestic qualities - a true mystique of participation within the paradigm of spiritual change."

Śiva's son Skanda, celibate and reclusive god of war. Note Śiva's emblem, the bull-horn, moon crescent, on his headdress. Illustration at right from D.T. Suzuki's Manual of Zen Buddhism.

Skanda in Japanese Zen tradition

Courtesy: Ruminations on Zen's Cows: A series of essays on the Oxherding Pictures


Bodhisattva Skanda (Wei Tuo Pú sà) in Chinese Buddhism
Iconographic Contact between Karttikeya and ManjuŚrī in China
Index of articles from the First International Conference on Skanda-Murukan