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Kartikeya (/kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda (/skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha (/ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) or Muruga (/mʊɾʊgə/), is the Hinduism 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 Vedic period. 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. He is hailed as the "favoured god of the Tamils", and the tutelary deity of the Sangam landscape region in Sangam literature, whose cult gained popularity later. As per theologists, the Tamil deity of Muruga coalesced with the Vedas deity of Skanda over time. He is considered as the patron deity of Tamil language and Tamil literature 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 Eternal youth man, riding or near an Indian peafowl (named Paravani), and sometimes with an Cock flag 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 Philosophy 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 diaspora (including the United States and Australia).
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 language 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-Scythians coins, his name appears in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara, and Vishaka.
According to Shiva Purana, asura Tarakasura performed tapas to propitiate the creator god Brahma. Brahma granted him two boons: one, that none shall be his equal in all of the Trailokya, and two, that only a son of Shiva could slay him. As Shiva was a yogi and thus unlikely to bear children, Tarakasura was armed with near immortality. In his quest to rule the three worlds, he expelled the devas from Svarga. Indra, the king of devas, devised a scheme to disrupt Shiva’s meditation and beguile him with thoughts of love, so that he could sire an offspring and thusly end Tarakasura's immortality. Shiva was engaged in meditation, and hardly noticed the courtship of Parvati, the daughter of Himavat who sought him as her consort. Indra tasked god of love Kamadeva and his consort Rati to disturb Shiva. Shiva was furious with the act and burnt Kamadeva to ashes. But Shiva's attention then turned towards Parvati, who had performed tapas in order to win his affection, and married her, then conceiving Kartikeya.
According to the seventeenth-century CE text Kanda Puranam (the Tamil language rendition of the older Skanda Purana), the asura brothers Surapadma, Simhamukha and Tarakasura performed tapas to Shiva, who granted them with various weapons and a wish wherein they could only be killed by the son of Shiva, which offered them near-immortality. They subsequently oppressed other celestial beings including the devas, and started a reign of tyranny in the Trailokya. When the devas pleaded to Shiva for his assistance, he manifested five additional heads on his body, and a divine spark emerged from each of them. Initially, the wind god Vayu carried the sparks, later handing them to the fire god Agni because of the unbearable heat. Agni deposited the sparks in the Ganges river. The water in the Ganges began to evaporate due to the intense heat of the sparks. Ganga took them to Saravana lake, where the sparks developed into six baby boys. The six boys were then raised by the Krittikas and they were later fused into one by Parvati. Thus, the six-headed Kartikeya was born, conceived to answer the devas' pleas for help and deliver them from the asuras.
Kumarasambhava () from the fifth-century CE narrates a similar story on his birth wherein Agni carries the semen of Shiva and deposits them in Bhagirathi River (headstream of Ganges). When the Krittikas bathe in the river, they are impregnated and give birth to Kartikeya.
An alternate account of Kartikeya's parentage is narrated in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, where he is described as the son of Agni and Svaha. It is narrated that Agni goes to meet the wives of the Saptarshi (seven great sages) and, while none of the wives reciprocates Agni's feelings of love, Svaha is present and attracted to Agni. Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by one, and has sex with Agni six times. She is unable to take the form of Arundhati, Vasistha's wife, because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of Agni into the reeds of Ganges river, where it develops and is born as the six-headed Skanda.
As per Kanda Puranam, sage Narada once visited Shiva at Kailasha and presented him with a Jnana Palam (fruit of knowledge). This fruit is generally regarded as a mango. Shiva expressed his intention of dividing the fruit between his two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya, but Narada counseled that the fruit could not be divided. So, it was decided to award the fruit to whomsoever first circled the world thrice. Accepting the challenge, Kartikeya started his journey around the globe atop his peafowl vahana. However, Ganesha surmised that the world was no more than his parents Shiva and Shakti combined, circumambulated them, and won the fruit. When Kartikeya returned, he was furious to learn that his efforts had been in vain, and felt cheated. He discarded all his material belongings and left Kailasha to take up abode in the Palani Hills as a hermit. According to Fred Clothey, Kartikeya did this out of a felt need to mature from boyhood. According to Kamil Zvelebil, Kartikeya represents the actual fruit of wisdom for his devotees rather than any physical fruit such as a mango or a pomegranate.
Kartikeya believed that asuras and devas were all descendants of Shiva and that if asuras were to correct their ways, the conflict could be avoided. He sent messengers to communicate as much and to give the asuras a fair warning, which they ignored. Kartikeya killed Tarakasura and his lieutenant Krowchaka with his vel. While Tarakasura was confused at facing Shiva's son, as he thought his war was not with Shiva, Kartikeya felt it necessary to vanquish him, as his vision was occluded by Maya. Zvelebil interprets this episode as the coming of age of Kartikeya.
Kartikeya killed the next brother Simhamukha and faced off with Surapadma in the final battle. Surapadma took a large form with multiple heads, arms and legs trying to intimidate Kartikeya. When Kartikeya threw his vel, Surapadma escaped to the sea and took the form of a large mango tree, which spread across the three worlds. Kartikeya used his vel to split the tree in half, with each half transforming into a peacock and a rooster, respectively. After Surapadma was killed, Kartikeya took the peacock as his vahana and the rooster as his Pennon.
In the northern and eastern Indian traditions, Kartikeya is generally regarded as a celibate bachelor. In Sanskrit literature, Kartikeya is married to Devasena (; as her husband was 'Devasenapati' ). Devasena is described as the daughter of Daksha in the Mahabharata, while Skanda Purana considers her as the daughter of Indra and his wife Shachi. In Tamil literature, he has two consorts: Devayanai (identified with Devasena) and Valli. In Kanda Puranam, Devayanai (; as she was brought up by Airavata, the elephant) is depicted as the daughter of Indra, who was given in marriage to Kartikeya for his help in saving the devas from the asuras. Kartikeya is also said to have married Valli, the daughter of a tribal chief. In Tamil folklore, both Devasena and Valli were daughters of Vishnu in the previous birth. When they reincarnation, Devasena was adopted as the daughter of Indra as a result of her penance and Valli was born on the Earth. However, both were destined to marry the son of Shiva.
He wields a divine spear known as the vel, granted to him by Parvati. The vel signifies his power, or shakti, and symbolizes valor, bravery and righteousness. He is sometimes depicted with other weapons, including a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow. His vahana or mount is depicted as a Indian peafowl, known as Paravani. While he was depicted with an elephant mount in early iconography, his iconography of a six faced lord on a peacock mount became firmly enshrined after the sixth century CE, along with the progression of his role from that of a warrior to that of a philosopher-teacher, and his increasing prominence in the Shaivism cannon. According to the Skanda Purana, when Kartikeya faced asura Surapadma, the latter turned into a mango tree, which was then split in half by Kartikeya using his vel. One half of the tree became his mount, the peacock, while the other half became the rooster entrenched on his flag.
Originally, Murugan was not worshipped as a god, but rather as an exalted ancestor, heroic warrior and accomplished Siddhar born in the Kurinji landscape. In that role he was seen as a guardian who consistently defended the Tamils against foreign invasions with the stories of his astonishing and miraculous deeds increasing his stature in the community, who began to view him as god. Many of the major events in the narrative of Murugan's life take place during his youth, which encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-god.
According to Raman Varadara, Murugan, originally regarded as a Tamil deity, underwent a process of adoption and incorporation into the pantheon of North Indian deities. In contrast, G. S. Ghurye states that according to the archeological and epigraphical evidence, the contemporary deity worshipped as Murugan, Subrahmanya and Kartikeya is a composite of two influences: Skanda from the south, and Mahasena from the north. He as the warrior-philosopher god was the patron deity for many ancient northern and western Hindu kingdoms, and of the Gupta Empire, according to Ghurye. After the seventh century, Skanda's importance diminished while his brother Ganesha's importance rose in the west and north, while in the south the legends of Murugan continued to grow. According to Norman Cutler, Kartikeya-Murugan-Skanda of South and North India coalesced over time, but some aspects of the South Indian iconography and mythology for Murugan have remained unique to Tamil Nadu.
According to Fred Clothey, the evidence suggests that mythology relating to Kartikeya became widespread in North India sometime around 200 BCE or later. In addition to textual evidence, his importance is affirmed by the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Numismatics record of this period. For example, he is found in numismatic evidence linked to the , a confederation of warriors in North India who are mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini. During the Kushan Empire, that included rule over the northwest Indian subcontinent, more coins featuring Kartikeya were minted. He is also found on ancient Indo-Scythians coins, where his various names are minted in Greek script.
Skanda was regarded as a philosopher in his role as Subramanhya, while Murugan was similarly regarded as the teacher of Tamil literature and poetry. In the late Chola empire from the sixth to thirteenth centuries CE, Murugan was firmly established in the role of a teacher and philosopher, while his militaristic depictions waned. Despite the changes, his portrayal was multi-faceted, with significant differences between Skanda and Murugan until the late Vijayanagara period, when he was accepted as a single deity with diverse facets.
According to Richard Gombrich, Skanda has been an important deity in the Theravada Buddhist pantheon in countries such as Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Nikaya Samgraha describes Skanda Kumara as a guardian deity of the land, along with Upulvan (Vishnu), Saman and Vibhishana. In Sri Lanka, Skanda, as Kataragama deviyo, is a popular deity among both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists. While many Sri Lankan Buddhists regard him as a bodhisattva, he is also associated with sensuality and retribution. Anthropologist Gananath Obeyesekere has suggested that the deity's popularity among Buddhists is due to his purported power to grant emotional gratification, which is in stark contrast to the sensual restraint that characterizes Buddhist practice in Sri Lanka.According to Asko Parpola, the Jain deity Naigamesha, who is also referred to as Hari-Naigamesin, is depicted in early Jain texts as riding the peacock and as the leader of the divine army, both characteristics of Kartikeya.
Once all sages and gods assembled in Kailasha, the abode of Shiva, which resulted in the tilting of Earth due to an increase in weight on the hemisphere where the gathered stood. Shiva asked sage Agasthya to move towards the south to restore the balance. Agasthya employed an asura named Idumban to carry two hills called Sivagiri and Sakthigiri (Mountains of Shiva and Shakti) on his shoulders to be placed in the south, to balance the weight. Idumban carried the hills and set southward, stopping en route to place them down for a while and rest. When he tried to lift them again, he was unable to move one of the hills. He found a youth standing atop the hill and fought with him, only to be defeated. Agasthya identified the youth as Kartikeya, and the two discussed the dispute. The hill was left to remain at its resting location, which later became Palani. Kartikeya later resurrected Idumban as his devotee. The mythology behind Idumban carrying the hills on the shoulder may have influenced the practice of Kavadi.
Worshipers also practice a form of mortification of the flesh by flagellation and by Body piercing their skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers. These practices are suppressed in India, where public Self-harm is prohibited by law. Vibuthi, a type of sacred ash, is spread across the body, including the piercing sites. Drumming and chanting of verses help the devotees to enter a state of trance. Devotees usually prepare for the rituals by keeping clean, doing regular prayers, following a vegetarian diet, and fasting while remaining Celibacy. They make pilgrimage to the temples of Kartikeya on bare feet and dance along the route while bearing these burdens.
tonsure is performed by devotees as the ritual fulfillment of a vow to discard their hair in imitation of the form that Kartikeya assumed in childhood. Newborns may undergo a ritual of tonsuring and ear piercing at temples dedicated to Kartikeya. Panchamritam () is a sacred sweet mixture made of banana, honey, ghee, jaggery and cardamom along with and sugar candy, which is Prasada to Kartikeya. It is believed to have been prepared before by Ganesha to soothe his brother Kartikeya after their battle for the divine fruit of knowledge. The practice is followed in modern times in temples where the devotees are provided the mixture as a prasad.
Places of worship dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala include temples at Haripad, Neendoor, Kidangoor and Kodumbu. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he is worshipped under the names Subrahmanya, Kumara Swamy, and Skanda, with major temples at Mopidevi, Biccavolu, Skandagiri, Mallam, and Indrakeeladri, Vijayawada. In Kukke Subramanya and Ghati Subramanya temples in Karnataka, he is worshipped as Subrahmanya and is regarded as the lord of the Snake. In West Bengal, Kartikeya is associated with childbirth and is worshipped in Kartik temples. Temples also exist in the rest of India in Pehowa in Haryana, in Manali and Chamba in Himachal Pradesh and Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand.
Murugan is revered in regions with significant population of Tamil people and people of Tamil origin, including those in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar, Fiji, Mauritius, Seychelles, Réunion, South Africa and Canada, Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, countries with significant Indian migrants including the United States and Australia. Sri Subramanyar Temple at the Batu Caves in Malaysia is dedicated to Murugan, who is depicted in a 42.7-meter-high statue at the entrance, one of the largest Murugan statues in the world. There are some other temples in Malaysia such as Balathandayuthapani Temple and Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Marathandavar Temple and Kandaswamy Kovil. Sri Thendayuthapani Temple is a major Hindu temple in Singapore. Murugan temples also exist in several western countries like United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland.
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