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Concept
Kartikeya
Summary
Kartikeya (Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), Murugan (முருகன்), and is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha and a god whose legends have many versions in Hinduism. Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, worshipped as Mahasena and Kumara in North India and is predominantly worshipped in the state of Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius by Tamils as Murugan.
Murugan is widely regarded as the "God of the Tamil people". It has been postulated that the Tamil deity of Murugan was syncretised with the Vedic deity of Subrahmanya following the Sangam era. Both Murugan and Subrahmanya refer to Kartikeya.
The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly; he is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near an Indian peafowl, called Paravani, bearing a vel and sometimes with an emblem of a rooster upon his banner. Most icons show him with only one head, but some show him with six heads which reflect the legend surrounding his birth. He is described to have aged quickly from childhood, becoming a philosopher-warrior, destroyed the demons Tarakasura, Simhamukha and Surapadma, and taught the pursuit of an ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta. He has inspired many poet-saints, such as the aforementioned Arunagirinathar.
Murugan is an ancient god, traceable to the Vedic period. He was hailed as 'Palaniappa' (Father of Palani), the tutelary deity of the Kurinji region whose cult gained immense popularity in the south. Sangam literature has several works on Murugan such as Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai by Nakkirar and Thirupugal by poet-saint Arunagirinathar. Archaeological evidence from the 1st-century CE and earlier, where he is found with the Hindu god Agni (fire), suggests that he was a significant deity in early Hinduism. He is found in many medieval temples all over India, such as the Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves.
Official source
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