In Tamil Nadu it is one of the most popular Puranic stories.

Brahma the creator deity becomes too conceited. He refuses to pay obeisance to infant Murugan/Skanda – the son of Shiva. Murugan summons Brahma and asks him who he is. Brahma answers that he is the creator. Murugan asks him what is the basis of creation. Brahma when confronted with this question becomes silent. He does not know. Amost as if he was expecting this answer Murugan knocks the ‘creator’ on his head and for good measure imprisons him.

Hearing this Shiva summons Murugan to enquire as to the reason behind his mischief and to perhaps deliver an admonishment. His children needed to behave better.

Murugan responds to Shiva that the god who claims himself to be creator does not even understand the real basis of creation and hence, what else to do with him, he has been locked up.

A stunned Shiva asks his son if he himself knows the secret and basis of creation. “Yes" says Murugan. Of course, Murugan knows. He is the deity of knowledge in Tamil lore.

But if Shiva wants to know, then he must request his son to impart him the knowledge in a proper fashion – as a humble disciple would seek from his guru. Shiva then kneels, bows in respect to Murugan, his guru for the time, and most humbly seeks to know. Murugan, perhaps chuckling a little to himself, reveals the basis and secret of creation: it is pranava - the sound symbol of the self in the Upanishads.

In others words, there is no external deity creating – it is at best an early pedagogic tool. The single self evolves into the entire variety of creation.