Kartikeya

Kartikeya
God of Victory and War Commander of the Gods[1]
Statue of Kartikeya at Batu Caves, Malaysia
Other names	Murugan, Subrahmanya, Kumara, Skanda, Saravana, Arumugan, Devasenapati, Shanmukha, Kathirvelan, Guha, Swaminatha, Velayuda, Vēļ[2][3]
Affiliation	Deva, Siddhar
Abode	Āṟupadai veedu (Six Abodes of Murugan) Palani Hills Mount Kailash
Planet	Mangala, Mars
Mantra	Om Saravana Bhava Vetrivel Muruganukku Arohara
Weapon	Vel
Symbol	Rooster
Day	Tuesday
Mount	Peacock
Gender	Male
Festivals	Surasamharam or Kanda Shashti Thaipusam Karthikai Deepam Panguni Uthiram Vaikasi Visakam Kartik Purnima
Personal information
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 (Sanskrit: कार्तिकेय, IAST: Kārtikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha and Murugan (Tamil: முருகன்), among other names, is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the son of Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha.

Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. It has been postulated that the Tamil deity of Murugan was syncretized with the Vedic deity of Skanda following the Sangam era. He is regarded as the "God of the Tamil people" and is hailed as the lord of Palani hills, the tutelary deity 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 deity in early Hinduism.

The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly. He is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near an Indian peafowl (named Paravani), and sometimes with an emblem of a rooster on his banner. He wields a spear called the vel, supposedly given to him by his mother Parvati. While most icons represent him with only one head, some have six heads, a reflection of legends surrounding his birth wherein he was fused from six boys or borne of six conceptions. He is described to have aged quickly from childhood, becoming a warrior, leading the army of the devas and credited with destroying rakshasas including Tarakasura and Surapadma. He is regarded as 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 and East India. He is also worshipped in Sri Lanka, South East 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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