Kartikeya

Murugan
God of Victory and War Commander of the Gods[1]
Statue of Murugan at Batu Caves, Malaysia
Other names	Kartikeya , Subrahmanya, Kumara, Skanda, Saravana, Arumukha, Devasenapati, Shanmukha, Kathirvela, Guha, Svaminatha, Velayuda, Vēļ[2][3]
Affiliation	Deva
Abode	Āṟupadai Vīdu (Six Abodes of Murugan) Palani Hills Kailasha
Planet	Mars
Mantra	Vetrivel Muruganukku Arohara Om Saravana Bhava
Weapon	Vel
Symbol	Cock
Day	Tuesday
Mount	Peacock
Gender	Male
Festivals	Surasamharam Thaipusam Kartikai Deepam Panguni Uthiram Vaikasi Visakam Kartika Purnima
Genealogy
Parents	Shiva (father) Parvati (mother)
Siblings	Ganesha (brother)
Consort	Devasena and/or Valli or celibate [note 1]

Part of the series on
Kaumaram
Deities Murugan (Kartikeya) Parents Shiva Parvati Brother Ganesha Consorts Devasena Valli
Symbols Vel Cock flag Peacock
Texts and scriptures Kanda Shasti Kavasam Skanda Purana Tiruppukal Tirumurukarruppatai
Six sacred abodes Palani Pazhamudircholai Swamimalai Thiruchendur Thiruparankundram Thiruttani
Other temples Nallur Kandaswamy temple Batu Caves Chennimalai Ghati Subramanya Kalugasalamoorthy Kukke Subramanya Kunnakudi Maruthamalai Pachaimalai Sikkal Thindalmalai Viralimalai Vallakkottai Vadapalani Vayalur
Festivals Chitra Pournami Kandha Sashti Karthikai Deepam Kartika Purnima Panguni Uthiram Thaipusam Vaikasi Visakam
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Kartikeya (IAST: Kārtikeya), also known as Murugan, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha and Skanda, among other names, is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha.

Kartikeya has been an important god in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. It has been postulated that the Tamil god of Murugan was syncretized with the Vedic god of Skanda following the Sangam era. He is the god of the Tamil peoples and is the lord of Palani hills, the tutelary god of the Kurinji region whose cult gained immense popularity. Numerous works in Tamil Sangam literature are devoted to Murugan, such as Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai by Nakkīraṉãr and Tiruppukal by Arunagirinathar. Archaeological evidence from the first century CE and earlier shows an association of his iconography with Agni, the Hindu god of fire, indicating that Kartikeya was a significant god in early Hinduism.

The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly. He is an ever-youthful man, riding and near an peacock named Paravani, and with a cock as his emblem on his flag. He wields a spear called the vel, given to him by his mother Parvati and father Shiva. While most icons show him with only one head, some have six heads, a reflection of the stories surrounding his birth wherein he was fused from himself as six boys and was borne of six conceptions. He is described to have aged quickly from childhood, becoming a warrior god, leading the armies of the devas as their leader and killing all asuras and their armies with them in battles including Tarakasura and resurrecting from near death some good asuras like Surapadma. He is a philosopher who taught the pursuit of an ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.

Kaumaram is the Hindu denomination that primarily venerates Kartikeya. Apart from significant Kaumaram worship and temples in South India, he is worshipped as Mahasena and Kumara in North India and East India. He is also worshipped in Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia (notably in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia), other countries with significant populations of Tamil origin (including Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa and Canada), Caribbean countries (including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname), and countries with significant Indian migrant populations (including the United States and Australia).

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