Kaumaram

NOTOC Kaumaram (கௌமாரம்) is a Hindu denomination that primarily venerates the Hindu deity of war, Kartikeya, also known as Kumaran, Murugan (in South India), Arumugan, and Subrahmanyan. Devotees of Kumaran, called Kaumaras, also revere members of his family: Parvati, Shiva, and Ganesha, as well his consorts, Devasena and Sundaravalli, the daughters of Vishnu in Tamil tradition. The important theological texts relating to Kumara are a part of the Shaiva agama canon. This sub-tradition is found among the Tamils, Kannadigas, and the Vedda, in South India, Sri Lanka, and among the Tamil diaspora worldwide. The love story of Kumara/Murugan and his wife Valli, a girl from a local tribe, is popular in Tamil Nadu, where Kumara acquired the status of a national god. According to the Kanda Puranam, Kartikeya was the second son of Shiva and Parvati, and the younger brother to Ganesha. According to the Puranic sources, he incarnated as six sparks emanating from the third eye of Shiva. In a legend, Shiva pretends to forget the significance of the mantra Om and asks a young Kartikeya. The young boy astounds everyone by showing Shiva that it is the source of all creation. This earns him the epithet swaminathan, to indicate that he outdid his father. Tamil Nadu has six primary temples for Kartikeya that are known by the name Arupadai Veedu, which that translates roughly as "the Six Stations". Modes of worship include kavadi that is a form of dance, alagu which is a sharp piece of metal that one pierces on the body, carrying milk and water on the heads to offer to the deity and involves a sattvik diet. Thaipusam is an occasion that is celebrated in Kaumaram. This is much more prevalent in the Murugan Temple in Malaysia. Another chief period of worship is the Shashti. This is a period of six days when villages in South India with primary Kartikeya deities come together for a celebration. The people involved take a vow on following a vegetarian diet for the period. The six days portray events from the life of Kartikeya.