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Kartikeya
Kartikeya (IAST: Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha or Muruga, is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the son of the deities Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha.
Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Mentions of Skanda in the Sanskrit literature data back to fifth century BCE and the mythology relating to Kartikeya became widespread in North India around the second century BCE. 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. 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. Muruga is a tutelary deity mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature, of the Kurinji region. As per theologists, the Tamil deity of Muruga coalesced with the Vedic deity of Skanda Kartikeya over time. He is considered as the patron deity of Tamil language and literary works such as Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai by Nakkīraṉãr and Tiruppukal by Arunagirinathar are devoted to Muruga.
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 asuras including Tarakasura and Surapadma. He is regarded as a philosopher who taught the pursuit of an ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.
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).
The epithet Kartikeya is linked to the circumstances surrounding the deity's birth. According to the Skanda Purana, six divine sparks emerged from Shiva, forming six separate baby boys. These boys were raised by handmaidens known as the Krittikas. Later, Parvati fused them into one, creating the six-headed Kartikeya. Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas" in Sanskrit. According to Hindu literature, he is known by 108 different names, though other names also exist in common usage. Most common amongst these include Skanda (from skanda-, 'to leap or to attack'), Muruga ('handsome'), Kumara ('youthful'), Subrahmanya ('transparent'), Senthil ('victorious'), Vēlaṇ ('wielder of vel'), Swaminatha ('ruler of gods'), Saravaṇabhava ('born amongst the reeds'), Arumukha or Shanmukha ('six faced'), Dhanadapani ('wielder of mace') and Kandha ('cloud').
The name of Muruga is popular in the South, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with the gendered morphological adaptation of the noun in the deep Dravidian languages like Tamil and Malayalam, appearing in the form "Murugan" with the addition of -n as a masculine suffix.
On ancient coins featuring his images, his name appears inscribed as Kumara, Brahmanya, or Brahmanyadeva. On some ancient Indo-Scythian coins, his name appears in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara, and Vishaka.
Various Indian literary works recount different stories surrounding the birth of Kartikeya. In Valmiki's Ramayana (seventh to fourth century BCE), he is described as the child of deities Rudra and Parvati, with his birth aided by Agni and Ganga. The Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the third-century BCE Hindu epic Mahabharata narrate the legend of Skanda, presenting him as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati: Shiva and Parvati were disturbed during sex, causing Shiva to inadvertently spill his semen. The semen was then incubated in the Ganges, preserved by the heat of the god Agni, and eventually born as baby Kartikeya.
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Kartikeya
Kartikeya (IAST: Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha or Muruga, is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the son of the deities Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha.
Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Mentions of Skanda in the Sanskrit literature data back to fifth century BCE and the mythology relating to Kartikeya became widespread in North India around the second century BCE. 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. 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. Muruga is a tutelary deity mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature, of the Kurinji region. As per theologists, the Tamil deity of Muruga coalesced with the Vedic deity of Skanda Kartikeya over time. He is considered as the patron deity of Tamil language and literary works such as Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai by Nakkīraṉãr and Tiruppukal by Arunagirinathar are devoted to Muruga.
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 asuras including Tarakasura and Surapadma. He is regarded as a philosopher who taught the pursuit of an ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.
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).
The epithet Kartikeya is linked to the circumstances surrounding the deity's birth. According to the Skanda Purana, six divine sparks emerged from Shiva, forming six separate baby boys. These boys were raised by handmaidens known as the Krittikas. Later, Parvati fused them into one, creating the six-headed Kartikeya. Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas" in Sanskrit. According to Hindu literature, he is known by 108 different names, though other names also exist in common usage. Most common amongst these include Skanda (from skanda-, 'to leap or to attack'), Muruga ('handsome'), Kumara ('youthful'), Subrahmanya ('transparent'), Senthil ('victorious'), Vēlaṇ ('wielder of vel'), Swaminatha ('ruler of gods'), Saravaṇabhava ('born amongst the reeds'), Arumukha or Shanmukha ('six faced'), Dhanadapani ('wielder of mace') and Kandha ('cloud').
The name of Muruga is popular in the South, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with the gendered morphological adaptation of the noun in the deep Dravidian languages like Tamil and Malayalam, appearing in the form "Murugan" with the addition of -n as a masculine suffix.
On ancient coins featuring his images, his name appears inscribed as Kumara, Brahmanya, or Brahmanyadeva. On some ancient Indo-Scythian coins, his name appears in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara, and Vishaka.
Various Indian literary works recount different stories surrounding the birth of Kartikeya. In Valmiki's Ramayana (seventh to fourth century BCE), he is described as the child of deities Rudra and Parvati, with his birth aided by Agni and Ganga. The Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the third-century BCE Hindu epic Mahabharata narrate the legend of Skanda, presenting him as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati: Shiva and Parvati were disturbed during sex, causing Shiva to inadvertently spill his semen. The semen was then incubated in the Ganges, preserved by the heat of the god Agni, and eventually born as baby Kartikeya.
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