Kartikeya(extreme right) in Durga Puja

In Hinduism, Kārttikeya (also Skanda, Subrahmanya, Kumara, Arumugan, Shanmugan, Murugan, Guha, Saravana, Swaminatha, Velan, Velavan, Senthil) is a god born out of a magical spark created by Shiva. The name Kārttikeya means "him of the Pleiades". There are several legends surrounding his birth. These names are also common among the people in southern part of India. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 294 KB) Photographer: Hasan Iqbal Wamy from Dhaka, Bangladesh Title: Goddess Durga with her children Ganesha, Saraswati, Laxmi, Kartik on Durga-Puja festival, fighting the Dämon Mahisasura Taken on: 2003-06-03 01:19:36 Original source: Flickr. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 294 KB) Photographer: Hasan Iqbal Wamy from Dhaka, Bangladesh Title: Goddess Durga with her children Ganesha, Saraswati, Laxmi, Kartik on Durga-Puja festival, fighting the Dämon Mahisasura Taken on: 2003-06-03 01:19:36 Original source: Flickr. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Lord Åšiva. ... The Pleiades are an open cluster dominated by hot blue stars surrounded by reflection nebulosity The Pleiades (also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters) is an open cluster in the constellation of Taurus. ...

Origins

In the Hindu epics

The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to heve been born from Agni and his wife after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the seven sages. The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.(In latter mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga). Indra attacks Kartikeya as he see the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena - Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army(sena) of Devas. A Hindu (archaic Hindoo) is an adherent of philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural system of India (Bharat), Nepal, and the island of Bali. ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pleiades refers to: Pleiades (star cluster) an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. ... In Hinduism In Hindu mythology, the Asura are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes misleadingly referred to as demons. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Lord Śiva. ... Deva, a Hindu deity Deva is also a term for heavenly beings in traditional Buddhist cosmology. ...

The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below. The Rāmāyana (Sanskrit: रामायण, march or journey (Āyana) of Rāma) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ... The Puranas are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss devotion and mythology. ...

In the Hindu puranas

Though slightly varying verisons occur in the Puranas, they broadly follow the same pattern. (By this period, the identification of Shiva/Rudra with Agni, that can be traced back to the Vedas and Brahmanas, had clearly made Kartikeya the son of Shiva.) Lord Śiva. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Vedas are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ... The Brahmana (Sanskrit ब्राह्मण) are part of the Hindu Shruti; They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and the period of their composition is sometimes referred to as the Brahmanic period or age (approximately between 900 BC and 500 BC). ...

The universe is said to be terrorised by the Asura Taraka. The Devas are assured that only a son of Shiva can destroy the demon. The Devas manage to get Shiva married to Parvati and yet no child is born for a long time. Finally, Shiva hands over his effulgence to Agni, as he alone is capable of handling it till it becomes the desired offspring. But even Agni tortured by its heat hands it over to Ganga who in turn deposits it in a lake in a forest of reeds(Shara). The child is finally born in this forest(vana) with six faces. He is first spotted and cared for by six women reprsenting the Pleiades - Kartika in Sanskrit. He thus gets named Kartikeya. As a young lad, he destroys Taraka. As this youthful saviour he is called Kumara(Youth in Sanskrit). In Hinduism In Hindu mythology, the Asura are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes misleadingly referred to as demons. ... Taraka is the name of two characters from Hindu mythology. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The River Ganges (Ganga in Indian languages) is a major river in northern India. ... Pleiades refers to: Pleiades (star cluster) an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. ...

In Sanskrit literature

The birth of Kartikeya is treated in great detail by Kalidasa in one of the greatest Sanskrit epics - Kumaarasambhavam. The story here is essentially same as the one found in the Sanskrit Puranas. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम्) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

The adoration of Kartikeya

Historically, Kartikeya enjoyed immense popularity in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita(Ch.10, Verse 24) Krishna, explaining his omnipresence, says - "Of generals I am Skanda, the lord of war". Skanda Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text believed to be written and compiled over a long period, from 6th century to 15th century, is the largest Purana, and is devoted mainly to the life and deed of Kartikeya (also called Skanda), a son of Shiva... The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit/Hindi (भागवद् गीता - Bhāgavad Gītā) is revered as a sacred text of Hindu philosophy. ... Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, IAST ) is according to common Hindu tradition the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ...

His presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta.As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in the Sanskrit works like the Katha-Saritsagara. Kalidasa chose his birth as the subject of one of his epics. Silver coin of the Gupta King Kumara Gupta I (414-455 CE). ... Skandagupta was a ruler of northern India under the Gupta dynasty. ... Kailasanatha Temple Ellora is an ancient village 30 km from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra famous for its magnificent rock cut architecture comprising of Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina cave temples and monasteries built between the 6th and 10th century A.D. These structures were excavated... Picture of a cave Elephanta Caves are located one and one-half hours (by boat) out of Mumbai on Elephanta Island in the Bombay Harbour. ...

However, his popularity in the north India saw a great erosion from the middle ages. He slowly vanished from the scene and is today virtually unknown in these areas except in scholarly circles.The last vestige can be seen only in Bengal where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja along with Durga. This suprising change may perhaps be attributed to the fact that he was stongly associated with the ruling classes and from the middle ages most of the ruling houses were Muslims. Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in Bangla (Bengali), is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... A priest worshipping a contemporary idol of Durga, shown riding her lion and attacking the demon Mahisasur. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In Tamil land

In the south of India, it is a different story. Kartikeya, known as Murukan, has enjoyed continuos popularity with all classes of society right from the Sangam age. This lead to the more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language. The Sangam is a collection of Tamil literature composed between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. ... Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. ...

The most popular and erudite, the Kanda-Puranam (Sanskrit Skanda-puranam), is by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar(1350-1420 A.D.). A scholar in Tamil and Sanskrit, he was a votary of Shaiva Siddhanta. Based mainly on the Sanskrit Skanda-purana, this Tamil epic, makes Kartikeya the destroyer of Taraka but also of his elder and more powerful demonic brothers, Shoorapadman and Simha-mukhan. Shiva let out a stream of fire from his third eye on his forehead, that split into six streams. Each landed on a lotus in a lake called Saravana Poigai. Six women, called Karthigai Pengal (literally Woman of the Pleiades) saw the babies and each took one with her to look after. On the day of Karthigai, Parvati united the six children into a six-headed child, unable to cuddle all of them together. This is also the origin of a common Tamil name of the deity, Arumugan or Shanmugan, which literally means "one who has six faces". Apart from the festival of Karthigai, the Thaipusam festival, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide, commemorates the day he was given a vel (lance) by his mother Parvati in order to vanquish the demons. This article needs cleanup. ... Pleiades refers to: Pleiades (star cluster) an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai, mostly by the Tamil community. ... The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... The term lance has become a catchall for a variety of different pole weapons based on the spear. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

He married two deities, Valli and Devayani. The latter is identical to Devasena and the former is a daughter of a tribal chief. However, other Hindu legends he is unmarried, and call him Kumaraswami (Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God)

Kartikeya rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance (called vel in Tamil) is a weapon closely associated with him. The flag of his army depicts a rooster. In the war, Shoorapadman was split into two, and was granted a boon by Kartikeyan, to become the peacock, and the rooster. Peacock re-directs here; for alternate uses see Peacock (disambiguation). ... A bow is a weapon that shoots arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow. ... Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. ... This article concerns biological roosters. ... This article concerns biological roosters. ...

As Karttikeya is worshipped predominantly in south India, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil (the "Red" or formidable one); Arumuga (the six-faceted one); Muruka; Guha; Maal-Marigan (nephew of Vishnu) and many others. A map of Southern India, its rivers, regions and water bodies. ... In Hinduism, Kārttikeya (also Murugan, Subrahmanya, Skanda, Kumaran, Swaminanda, Velan) is a deity born out of a magical spark created by Shiva. ... For other uses of the name Vishnu, see Vishnu (disambiguation). ...

Differences in Northern and Southern traditions

There seem to be some intriguing differences in the traditions associated with Kartikeya in the North and South of India. The Sanskrit epics and Puranas seem to indicate that he was the eldest son of Shiva, as the tale of Shiva's marriage to Parvati indicates. In the Shiva Purana, he is seen helping Shiva fight the newly born Ganesha, Shiva's other son, when Ganesha stopped Shiva from entering his home in Kailasa.The south has all along maintained that he was the younger of the two. In the north, he is generally seen as a bachelor whereas the southern tradition has him married to two wives. Lord Ganesha In Hinduism, Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश or श्रीगणेश (when used to distinguish lordly status) (or lord of the hosts, also spelled as Ganesa and Ganesh, sometimes also referred to as Ganapati) is a son of Shiva and Parvati, and the husband of Bharati, Riddhi and Siddhi. ... Kailasa (also called Kailash) is believed to be the home of Lord Shiva by Hindus, and is a pilgrimage site. ...

Related Links

• Swami Sivananda's book on Lord Kartikeya; also available on PDF.
• Murugan Bhakti site
• The one major Murugan temple that is not atop a hill

Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa
Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Indra | Lakshman | Hanuman
Female Deities: Gayatri | Lakshmi | Saraswati | Durga | Devi | Sita | Radha | Kali | Parvati | Shakti
Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata