Sudalai Madan
Encyclopedia
Sudalai Madan or Madan, is a regional Tamil
male deity who is popular in South India
, particularly Tamil Nadu
. He is considered to be the son of Shiva
and Parvati
. He seems to have originated in some ancestral guardian spirit of the villages or communities in Tamil Nadu, in a similar manner as Ayyanar
.
, Pillai, Senguntha Mudaliyar, Pallar/Mallar
,
Konar, Thevar, Paraiyar
, Nadar, and other castes found in the southernmost Tamil Nadu
. This deity is very popular in the southern districts. Large Madan temples are rare. Madan shrines usually consist of simple stone platforms with stone pillars. They are usually located at the outskirts of the villages. Sometimes Madan is painted on the pillar and sometimes he is represented in sculpture form, but frequently those pillars are only white, daubed with red marks. When Madan is represented iconographically, he is usually standing in a threatening position, carrying weapons (Sickle, club, sword, cleaver, whip) in both hands.
Owing to the non-Vedic origin of this deity, rituals in most Madan temples are officiated by non-Brahmin
priests.
Each Caste or families will have their own Madan temple in their villages.
and Parvati
.
Madan is also related with Harichandran
and is thus revered by all communities for his proverbial honesty
and his adherence to only the truth
at all stages of his life.
The story about Mada Samy tells of his birth on Kailasa, the mountain home of Siva and Parvathi. It is said that Devi Parvathi wanted a child, but Lord Siva had sworn celibacy. He had promised to be chaste at the request of the gods, since they had feared that his union with Parvathy would be so powerful it would shatter the universe. Siva suggests another way to have a child. He tells Parvathy to go to Patala Loka, the watery underworld, and to gather a spark from the sacred lamp that burns there. Parvathi did so, carrying the spark in the hem of her skirt.
When Parvathi Devi returned to Kailasa, she opened the folds of her skirt, and found that the spark had become a shapeless mass of tissue. she was really worried and pleaded shiva to give her a solution. Thus sudalai madan is often called as Mundan which means a person without head and other body parts. Siva asked Brahma to give the baby a shape. shiva gave life to the baby . He named him as sudalai madan because, he came to the world because of a lamp(sudar)and he was shapeless. The boy was blessed by everyone and he was brought up as their son.
Parvathi initially feeds the child on Amrita (the nectar of immortality), instead of on breast milk. So it is said that the child became immortal. However, the child also became desirous for solid food. He went to the cremation grounds ("sudalai") on Kailasa, and began to eat the bodies that were burning there. When he finished those, he began to eat everything around him, the other spirits, the animals, the trees, the ground itself etc. He feasted with a heavy appetite.
Because he ate so much, and since he had such a fondness for meat, it was decided that he ought not remain in Heaven. Siva instructed him to go to Earth, and to care for its people. Siva proclaimed that Mada Samy's protection and kindness would be re-paid with offerings of cooked food and drink, and thus he would always have a meal, as well as people who would pray to him. So Mada Samy came to earth, accompanied by a number of singers and dancers who were sent by Siva to see to his worship. Many of the Paraiyar and Kanniyar drummers who play during the rituals to Mada Samy claim descent from these divine musicians.
in Sri Lanka
, Singapore
, Malaysia, Réunion
and the French
overseas territories in the Caribbean
sea.
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
male deity who is popular in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, particularly Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. He is considered to be the son of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
. He seems to have originated in some ancestral guardian spirit of the villages or communities in Tamil Nadu, in a similar manner as Ayyanar
Ayyanar
Ayyanar is a Hindu village god, worshipped predominantly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Tamil villages in Sri Lanka. He is primarily worshipped as a guardian deity who protects the rural villages...
.
God of the dispossessed
Madan's principal role is being a protector and a hero (Veeran). He is the divinity of the dispossessed. Madan is usually considered to be the caste deity of the NaiduNaidu
Naidu is a title used by various social groups of the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states of India. It is also used in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and Chattisgarh...
, Pillai, Senguntha Mudaliyar, Pallar/Mallar
Pallar
The Pallar are a caste from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are mostly agriculturalists in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and amongst the Tamil diaspora...
,
Konar, Thevar, Paraiyar
Paraiyar
Paraiyar, Parayar, and Sambavar, anglicised by Europeans as Pariah are a social group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and in Sri Lanka . In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, though they have been enumerated under three different caste names, they have generally been referred to as...
, Nadar, and other castes found in the southernmost Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. This deity is very popular in the southern districts. Large Madan temples are rare. Madan shrines usually consist of simple stone platforms with stone pillars. They are usually located at the outskirts of the villages. Sometimes Madan is painted on the pillar and sometimes he is represented in sculpture form, but frequently those pillars are only white, daubed with red marks. When Madan is represented iconographically, he is usually standing in a threatening position, carrying weapons (Sickle, club, sword, cleaver, whip) in both hands.
Owing to the non-Vedic origin of this deity, rituals in most Madan temples are officiated by non-Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
priests.
Each Caste or families will have their own Madan temple in their villages.
Madathy Amman (Goddess Madathy)
Madathy amman shrines or pillars representing her are common in Madan temples. Goddess madathy is worshipped for good causes, such as for marriage and child birth, for good character in children, for a better society, etc. Madan is considered to be the husband of madathy, so that in Madan shrines, the pillars representing Madan are usually taller than those of the goddess. But madathy is considered to be powerful than madan because she is considered as mother of all and so the requests are placed before her, so that she would recommend her hubby to resolve the issue.Harichandran
He is considered to be the son of SivanShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
.
Madan is also related with Harichandran
Harishchandra
Harishchandra, in Hindu religious texts is the 36th king of the Solar Dynasty, Surya Maharishi Gothram . His legend is very popular and often told as a benchmark for an ideal life. He was renowned for his piety and justice. His name is Sanskrit for "having golden splendour".Harishchandra had two...
and is thus revered by all communities for his proverbial honesty
Honesty
Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft....
and his adherence to only the truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
at all stages of his life.
The story about Mada Samy tells of his birth on Kailasa, the mountain home of Siva and Parvathi. It is said that Devi Parvathi wanted a child, but Lord Siva had sworn celibacy. He had promised to be chaste at the request of the gods, since they had feared that his union with Parvathy would be so powerful it would shatter the universe. Siva suggests another way to have a child. He tells Parvathy to go to Patala Loka, the watery underworld, and to gather a spark from the sacred lamp that burns there. Parvathi did so, carrying the spark in the hem of her skirt.
When Parvathi Devi returned to Kailasa, she opened the folds of her skirt, and found that the spark had become a shapeless mass of tissue. she was really worried and pleaded shiva to give her a solution. Thus sudalai madan is often called as Mundan which means a person without head and other body parts. Siva asked Brahma to give the baby a shape. shiva gave life to the baby . He named him as sudalai madan because, he came to the world because of a lamp(sudar)and he was shapeless. The boy was blessed by everyone and he was brought up as their son.
Parvathi initially feeds the child on Amrita (the nectar of immortality), instead of on breast milk. So it is said that the child became immortal. However, the child also became desirous for solid food. He went to the cremation grounds ("sudalai") on Kailasa, and began to eat the bodies that were burning there. When he finished those, he began to eat everything around him, the other spirits, the animals, the trees, the ground itself etc. He feasted with a heavy appetite.
Because he ate so much, and since he had such a fondness for meat, it was decided that he ought not remain in Heaven. Siva instructed him to go to Earth, and to care for its people. Siva proclaimed that Mada Samy's protection and kindness would be re-paid with offerings of cooked food and drink, and thus he would always have a meal, as well as people who would pray to him. So Mada Samy came to earth, accompanied by a number of singers and dancers who were sent by Siva to see to his worship. Many of the Paraiyar and Kanniyar drummers who play during the rituals to Mada Samy claim descent from these divine musicians.
Outside India
Madan is also popular amongst certain segments of the Tamil diasporaTamil diaspora
The Tamil diaspora is a demographic group of Tamil people of Indian or Sri Lankan origin who have settled in other parts of the world. Significant Tamil diaspora populations can be found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Middle East, Réunion, South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji, Guyana,...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
overseas territories in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
sea.