Kartikeya

Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas" and the epithet is linked to the circumstances surrounding his birth.^[6] According to Skanda Purana, six divine sparks emerged from Shiva which developed into separate baby boys in the Ganges, aided by Vayu and Agni. They were raised by handmaidens known as the Krittikas and were later fused into one by Parvati.^[7][8]

While he has 108 names according to existing Hindu literature, he is known by more given names.^[9] Most common amongst these include Skanda (from skand-, "to leap or to attack"), Murugan (handsome), Kumara (youthful), Subrahmanya (transparent), Senthil (victorious), Vēlaṇ (wielder of Vel), Swaminatha (ruler of gods), Saravaṇabhava (born amongst the reeds), Arumugha or Shanmukha (six faced), Dhanadapani (wielder of mace) and Kandha (cloud).^[10][11][12]

On ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images, his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya, or Brahmanyadeva.^[13] On some ancient Indo-Scythian coins, his names appear in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara, and Vishaka.^[14][15]

Various Indian literature recite numerous different stories surrounding the birth of Kartikeya. In Valmiki's Ramayana, he is described as the child of deities Rudra and Parvati, whose birth is aided by Agni and Ganga.^[16] The Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of Mahabharata presents Skanda's legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati.^[17] As Shiva and Parvati were making love, they are disturbed, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen which incubates in Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya.^[6][18]

According to the Skanda Purana, the asuras Śūrāpadma, Tārakāsura, and Simhamukha performed austerities to propitiate Shiva. Shiva granted them various boons, which gave them the ability to conquer the three worlds and near immortality.^[4] They subsequently oppressed other celestial beings including the devas, and started a reign of tyranny in their respective realms. When the devas pleaded Shiva for his assistance, he manifested five additional heads, and a divine spark emerged from each of them.^[8] Initially, the wind-god Vayu carried the sparks, with the fire-god Agni taking over later because of the unbearable heat. Agni deposited the sparks in the Ganga river. The water in the Ganga started evaporating due to intense heat. Ganga took them to Saravana lake, where the sparks developed into six baby boys.^[8] The six boys were raised by handmaidens known as the Krittikas, and they were later fused into one by Parvati. Thus, the six-headed Kartikeya was born.^[7]

In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, he is mentioned as the son of Agni and Svaha. It is recited that Agni goes to meet the wives of the Saptarshi (seven great sages) and while none of them reciprocate his feelings, Svaha is present there and is attracted to Agni. Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by one, and sleeps with Agni. She is unable to take the form of Arundhati, Vasishtha'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.^[19]

He is considered as the younger brother of Ganesha, while some texts regard that he is the elder.^[20] In the northern and western Indian traditions, Kartikeya is regarded as a celibate bachelor, though few Sanskrit texts mention Devasena, the daughter of Indra, as his wife.^[4][5] As per Tamil literature, he has two consorts, Devayanai (identified with Devasena) and Valli.^[4][5]

Vedic text and epics

There are ancient references which can be interpreted to be Kartikeya in the Vedic texts. For example, the term Kumara appears in hymn 5,2 of the Rig Veda.^{[21][note 2]} The verses depict a bright-colored boy hurling weapons and other motifs that have been associated with Skanda.^[22] The Skanda-like motifs found in Rig Veda are found in other Vedic texts, such as section 6.1-3 of the Shatapatha Brahmana.^[23] In these, the mythology is very different for Kumara, as Agni is described to be the Kumara whose mother is Ushas (goddess Dawn) and whose father is Purusha.^[21] The section 10.1 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka mentions Sanmukha (six faced one), while the Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions a householder's rite of passage that involves prayers to Skanda with his brother Ganapati (Ganesha) together.^[17] The chapter 7 of the Chandogya Upanishad (~800–600 BCE) equates Sanat-Kumara (eternal son) and Skanda, as he teaches sage Narada to discover his own Atman (soul, self) as a means to the ultimate knowledge, true peace and liberation.^{[24][25][note 3]} The first clear evidence of Kartikeya's importance emerges in the Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where his story is recited.^[6][18]

Sanskrit literature

Mentions of Skanda are found in the works of Pāṇini (~500 BCE), in Patanjali's Mahabhasya and Kautilya's Arthashastra.^[27] Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumārasambhava features the life and story of Kartikeya.^[28] Kartikeya is mentioned in the Skanda Purana, the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts.^[29] The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature.^[30] While the text is named after Skanda (Kartikeya), he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas.^[31] The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda.^[31][32] The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE, but the Skanda Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many versions.^[33][34][35]

Tamil literature

Tolkāppiyam, one of the ancient texts in Tamil, mentions Cēyōṉ ("the red one"), identified with Murugan, whose name is mentioned as Murukaṉ ("the youth").^[36] Extant Sangam literature works, dated between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."^[37] Korravai is often identified as the mother of Murugan.^[38] In Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai, an ancient Tamil epic dedicated to Murugan, he is called Murugu and described as a god of beauty and youth, with phrases such as "his body glows like the sun rising from the emerald sea". It describes him with six faces each with a function, twelve arms, his victory over evil, and the temples dedicated to him in the hilly regions.^[39] The ancient Tamil lexicon Pinkalandai identifies the name Vēļ with the slayer of Taraka.^{[note 4]} Sangam literature Paripatal refers to Murugan as Sevvēļ ("red spear") and as Neduvēļ ("tall spear").^[40][41][42]

Buddhist

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra mentions Kumāra as one of the eighty gods worshipped by the common people. The Ārya Kaṇikrodhavajrakumārabodhisattava Sādhanāvidhi Sūtra (T 1796) features a section for the recitation of a mantra dedicated to the deity, where he is also paired with Iśvara. Yi Xing's Commentary of the Mahāvairocana Tantra clarifies that Kumāra is the son of Iśvara.^[43] The 16th-century Siamese text Jinakalamali mentions him as a guardian god.^[44]

Ancient Yaudheya and Kushan period coins dated to 1st and 2nd century CE, show Kartikeya with either one or six heads with depictions of single head more common.^[45] Similarly, sculptures show him with either one or six heads with the six head iconography dated to post-Gupta Empire era.^[46] Artwork found in Gandhara and Mathura, dated to the Kushan period, show him with one head, dressed in a dhoti (a cloth wrapped at waist, covering the legs) and wearing armour wielding a spear in his right hand with a rooster on his left.^[47][48] Artwork from Gandhara show him in a Scythian dress, likely reflecting the local dress culture prevalent during the time with a rooster like bird that may be a Parthian influence that symbolizes Kartikeya's agility and maneuverability as a warrior god.^[49] Kartikeya's iconography shows him as a youthful god, dressed as a warrior with attributes of a hunter and a philosopher.^[50]

He wields a divine spear known as the vel, granted to him by Parvati and signifies his power or shakti.^[51] The Vel symbolism is associated with valor, bravery and righteousness.^[9] He is sometimes depicted with other weapons including a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow.^[52][53] His vahana or mount is depicted as a peacock, known as Paravani.^[54][55] While he was depicted with an elephant mount in early iconography, his iconography of a six faced lord on a peacock mount got firmly entrenched after sixth century CE along with the increasing transformation of his role from a warrior to a philosopher teacher and his increasing role in the Shaivite cannon.^[56] According to Skanda Purana, when he faced asura Surapadman, he turned into a mango tree, which was 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.^[9]

Regardless of the variance among the legends, his birth is in difficult circumstances, he is born through a surrogate and is raised by a host of mothers, later reuniting with his biological family. According to Fred Clothey, Muruga thus symbolizes a union of polarities.^[58] He is considered a uniter, championing the attributes of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism.^[59] His theology is most developed in the Tamil texts and in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition.^[6][60] He is described as dheivam (abstract neuter divinity, nirguna Brahman), as kadavul (divinity in nature, in everything), as Devan (masculine deity), and as iraivativam (concrete manifestation of the sacred, saguna Brahman).^[61] According to Fred Clothey, as Murugan, he embodies the "cultural and religious whole that comprises South Indian Shaivism".^[58] He is the philosopher and exponent of Shaiva Siddhanta theology, as well as the patron deity of the Tamil language.^[62][63]

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 custodian 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.^[64] Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth which encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God.^[16]

Kartikeya from Kushan era, 2nd century CE

Coins of the Yaudheyas featuring Kartikeya

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.^[5] In contrast, G. S. Ghurye states that according to the archeological and epigraphical evidence, the contemporary Murugan, Subrahmanya and Kartikeya is a composite of two influences, one from south and one from north in the form of Skanda and Mahasena.^[65] 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 7th-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.^[65][66] 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.^[67]

According to Fred Clothey, the evidence suggests that Kartikeya mythology had become widespread sometime around 200 BCE or after in north India.^[68] In addition to textual evidence, his importance is affirmed by the archeological, the epigraphical and the numismatic evidence of this period. For example, he is found in numismatic evidence linked to the Yaudheyas, a confederation of warriors in north India who are mentioned by ancient Pāṇini.^[69] During the Kushan era, that included rule over the northwest Indian subcontinent, more coins featuring Kartikeya were minted.^[69] He is also found on ancient Indo-Scythian coins, where his various names are minted in Greek script.^{[70][note 5]}

Skanda was regarded as a philosopher in his role as Subramanhya while similarly Murugan was regarded as the teacher of Tamil literature and poetry. In the late Chola period from sixth to thirteenth centuries CE, Murugan was firmly established in the role of a teacher and philosopher while his militaristic depictions receded.^[56] Despite the changes, his potrayal was multi-faceted with significant differences between Skanda and Murugan till the late Vijayanagara period, when he was accepted as a single deity diverse facets.^[56]

Other religions

In Mahayana Buddhism, he is described as a manifestation of Mahābrahmārāja with five hair coils, a handsome face emanating purple-golden light that surpasses the light of the other devas. In Chinese Buddhism, Skanda (also sometimes known as Kumāra) is known as Weituo, a young heavenly general, the guardian deity of local monasteries and the protector of Buddhist dhamma.^[73][74] According to Henrik Sørensen, this representation became common after the Tang period, and became well established in the late Song period.^[75] He is also regarded as one of the twenty-four celestial guardian deities, who are a grouping of originally Hindu and Taoist deities adopted into Chinese Buddhism as dharmapalas.^[76] Skanda was also adopted by Korean Buddhism, and he appears in its woodblock prints and paintings.^[75]

According to Richard Gombrich, Skanda has been an important deity in Theravada Buddhism 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 Vibhisana.^[44] In Sri Lanka, Skanda as Kataragama deviyo, is a popular among both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists. While many 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 power to grant emotional gratification, which is in stark contrast to sensual restraint that characterizes Buddhist practice in Sri Lanka.^[77]

According to Asko Parpola, the Jain deity Naigamesa, 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 symbols of Kartikeya.^[78]

India

South India

Murugan being known as the God of the Tamils, has many temples dedicated to him across Tamil Nadu. Most renowned of them are the Six Abodes of Murugan, a set of six temples at Thiruparankundram Murugan temple, Tiruchendur Murugan Temple, Palani Murugan Temple, Swamimalai Swaminathaswamy Temple, Tiruttani Subramaniya Swamy Temple, and Pazhamudircholai which are mentioned in Sangam literature.^[79] Other major temples dedicated to Murugan include Kuzhanthai Velappar Temple, Sikkal Singaravelan Temple, Marudamalai Subramanya Swamy Temple, Kumarakkottam Subramanya Swamy Temple, Valliyur Subramanya Swamy Temple, Vallakottai Subramaniyaswami temple, Thiruporur Kandaswamy temple, Vayalur Murugan Temple, Viralimalai Murugan temple, Vadapalani Andavar Temple, Thindal Murugan Temple, Pachaimalai Subramanya Swamy Temple, Balasubramaniyaswamy Temple, Kolanjiappar temple, Uthanda Velayudhaswamy temple and Siruvapuri Sri Balasubrahmanyam temple.

Places of worship dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala include temples at Haripad, Neendoor, Kidangoor and Kodumbu.^[80][81] In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he is worshipped as Subrahmanya, Kumara Swamy or Skanda with major temples at Mopidevi,^[82] Biccavolu,^[83] Skandagiri,^[84][85] Mallam,^[86][87] and Indrakeeladri, Vijayawada.^[88] In Karnataka, the deity that is worshipped as Subrahmanya where he is regarded as the lord of the serpents in Kukke Subramanya Temple and Ghati Subramanya.^[89][90]

Other parts of India

In West Bengal, Kartikeya is associated with the birth of children and is worshiped on the last day of the month of Kartik wherein a clay model of the deity is kept at night before the day of worship (usually by friends) for the newly married couple before the door of their house. The deity is worshipped the next day in the evening and is offered toys.^[91] The deity is also worshipped during the Durga Puja festival wherein Kartikeya is visualized as a young man, riding a peacock and wielding a bow and arrows. He is stated to be Kumara, that is, a bachelor as he is unmarried.^[91] Temples also exist in the rest of India in Pehowa in Haryana, in Manali and Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.^[92] and Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand.^[93][94][95]

Outside India

Kartikeya is worshiped as Kumar in Nepal. Sithi Nakha (Kumar Shashthi) is celebrated on the sixth day of the waxing moon, according to the lunar calendar, in the Lunar month of Jestha. The festival is celebrated by cleaning water sources and offering a feast.^[96]

In Sri Lanka, Murugan is predominantly worshiped by Tamil people as Murugan and by the Sinhalese as Kataragama deviyo , a guardian deity. Numerous Murugan temples exist throughout the island including Kataragama temple, Nallur Kandaswamy temple and Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple.^[97][98]

Murugan is revered in countries with significant population of Tamil people and people of Tamil origin including South East Asia notably in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar, other countries with significant people of Tamil origin like Fiji, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, South Africa and Canada, Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, countries with significant Indian migrants including the United States and Australia.^[99] Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Murugan, which has a 42.7-m-high statue of Murugan at the entrance, one of the largest Murugan statues in the world.^[100][101] There are some other temples in Malaysia such as Balathandayuthapani Temple and Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Marathandavar Temple and Kandaswamy Kovil.^{[102][103][104][105]} Sri Thendayuthapani Temple is a major Hindu temple in Singapore.^[106] Murugan temples also exist in several western countries like United States of America,^[107][108] Canada,^[109] United Kingdom,^{[110][111][112][113][114]} Australia,^{[115][116][117]} New Zealand,^[118][119] Germany^[120][121] and Switzerland.^[122]

Festivals

Festivals pertaining to Murugan are:

• Thaipusam is celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Thai on the confluence of star Pusam.^[123] The festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Murugan over the asuras and includes ritualistic practices of Kavadi Aattam, a ceremonial act of sacrifice carrying a physical burden as a means of balancing a spiritual debt. Worshipers often carry a pot of cow milk as an offering and also do mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers.^[99]
• Panguni Uthiram occurs on the purnima of the month of Panguni on the confluence of the star Uttiram.^[124] The festival marks the celebration of Murugan's marriage to Devasena.^[125]
• Karthika Deepam, a festival of lights celebrated on the full moon day of the Kartika.^[126]
• Vaikasi Visakam, celebrates the birth anniversary of Murugan and occurs during the confluence of star Visakam in the month of Vaisakha.^[127]
• Kanda Sashti falls in the month of either Aippasi or Kartikai of the Tamil calendar and commemorates the victory of Murugan over the demon Surapadman.^[128]

Citations

General bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Murugan.

• Muruga in Sangam literature