Lord Kartikeya, also popularly known as Murugan and Skanda, is a Hindu god of war. He is the eldest son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and the brother of Lord Ganesha. Lord Murugan is the knight of the gods and is one of the greatest warriors among the gods. His worship is popular in South India compared to North India. Skanda Purana is an important Hindu text that is dedicated to him.
Meaning of Kartikeya:
The word Kartikeya means “(born) of the Krittikas”.
Meaning of Murugan:
The word Murugan means “the one who is youthful and handsome”.
Some Popular Names of Kartikeya:
1. Murugan.
2, Kumara.
3. Subramanya.
4. Skanda.
5. Guha.
6. Shadanana.
7. Shanmukha.
8. Saravana.
Iconography of Lord Murugan:
Lord Murugan is often depicted as an ever-youthful man carrying a Vel in his right hand. Some images show him with six faces with his two wives sitting on his two laps. Sometimes he is riding a peacock and sometimes is standing. He wears some golden ornaments and a yellow pitambara (a cloth).
Origin of Lord Kartikeya:
Verse 5.2.1 in the Rig Veda talks about Kumara, whose characteristics match that of Lord Kartikeya. Therefore, some scholars believe that this verse is the origin of Lord Murugan’s worship.
In the Atharva Veda, he is mentioned as the son of Agni. Other religious texts, like Aranyakas and Brahmanas, also mention him.
The Skanda Purana is one of the major puranas that describes him as the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, who was born to kill Tarakasura.
The Story of the Birth of Lord Kartikeya:
The birth story of Lord Kartikeya is quite interesting because it resembles surrogacy births (Skanda Purana, Ch. 27).
Background:
Tarakasura was a demon who practiced severe penance and propitiated Lord Brahma. When Lord Brahma expressed his inability to grant him a wish for immortality, he wished that only a son of Lord Shiva could kill him. Lord Brahma granted him the wish.
After receiving the boon, Tarakasura thought that he had become immortal because Lord Shiva had denounced the world and engaged in deep meditation after the death of his first wife, Goddess Sati. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that he would marry and produce a son. Hence, he started torturing gods and common people.
Lord Shiva Gets Married:
The gods needed to get Lord Shiva married and have a son to defeat Tarakasura. Therefore, they sent Kamadeva to Lord Shiva, who tried to invoke lust in his mind. This act of gods made Lord Shiva angry, and he burnt Kamadeva.
After some time, Goddess Sati was reborn as Goddess Parvati and did severe penance to have Lord Shiva as her husband. Propitiated by her devotion, Lord Shiva married her.
Gods Get Pregnant:
But their sexual intercourse caused Pralaya – the destruction of the world. Therefore, the gods sent Agni (Fire-god) to interrupt them. Agni secretly entered their palace and loudly asked for alms. Lord Shiva was infuriated because of the disturbance and rushed to kill Agni. But Goddess Parvati intervened and gave his semen as alms to Agni. When Agni drank the semen in front of her, she cursed him to be omnivorous.
Agni became pregnant, and so did all other gods, because they receive food through the medium of Agni. They started to have unbearable stomach pain. Therefore, they went to Lord Vishnu, who advised them to praise Lord Shiva. Propitiated, Lord Shiva advised gods to vomit the semen except for Agni.
Agni Impregnates Six Women:
He advised Agni to transmit it to women. The next morning, the wives of Saptarishi went for a bath in the river. After the bath, they started feeling cold and went to warm themselves near a fire, except for Arundhati, the wife of Vashishtha. Agni secretly transferred Lord Shiva’s semen to them, and those six women became pregnant.
The Birth of Lord Kartikeya:
When their husbands came to know about it, they drove them out of their homes and cursed them. They became the constellations of Krittikas, moving in the sky. At that time, all of them became distressed due to their deviation from chastity and aborted Lord Shiva’s semen on top of the Himalayas, which flowed into the river Ganges. It finally developed into a child with six faces on the bank of the Ganges.
The Killing of Tarakasura:
All the gods rejoiced at the birth of Lord Shiva’s son, made him the chief of their army, and prepared to attack Tarakasura. Tarakasura and his army came out of Patala Loka and the war began.
Initially, a fierce battle between Tarakasura and Virbhadra began. When Virbhadra was about to pierce Tarakasura with his trident, Lord Kartikeya stopped him. Then the battle between Kartikeya and Tarakasura began. Tarakasura hurled a divine weapon toward Kartikeya that made him unconscious for some time, but he regained the consciousness and started fighting again. After a long fierce battle, Kartikeya cut off the head of Tarakasura. All the gods and sages hailed Kartikeya.
Popular Stories of Lord Kartikeya:
The Race Between Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya:
Lord Kartikeya and Lord Ganesha both wanted to get married and expressed their desire to their parents. As both the sons were dearer to them, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati decided to arrange a competition.
Therefore, they called both of them and told them that whoever would go around the world three times and return to Kailasa first would get married first.
Lord Kartikeya sat on his peacock and took off immediately. Lord Ganesha was very slow because his vahana was a mouse. He knew that he would never win the race on a mouse. So, he came up with an idea. He made Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati sit together at a place and went around them three times in a clockwise direction. When asked about this, Lord Ganesha explained that parents are like a world to a child. Hence, going around them is like going around the world.
Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were impressed by Lord Ganesha’s intelligence and devotion and got him married to Riddhi and Siddhi.
Why did Kartikeya leave Kailasa?
When Lord Kartikeya returned to Mount Kailash, he got the news about Lord Ganesha’s marriage and felt tricked. He got upset and went to Mount Krauncha for ascetic practice against his parents’ advice. His distressed parents went there to convince him, but he went further out of disregard for their love.
Why is a Peacock the Carrier of Lord Kartikeya?
Once there was a despotic demon named Soorpadaman. Lord Kartikeya decided to teach him a lesson and went to fight with him. Soorpadaman took the form of a mango tree. Lord Kartikeya threw his divine spear at it. The Vel split Soorpadman’s body in two; one half becoming a rooster and the other half a peacock. Lord Kartikeya made the peacock to be his vahana and the rooster to be the emblem on his battle flag.
Family of Lord Murugan:
There are different stories about Lord Murugan’s marital status. Per some stories, he became an ascetic and never married, but the other stories tell us about his marriages.
Per these stories, Lord Kartikeya has two wives; Devasena and Valli.
Devasena:
Per the Mahabharata, Devasena was the daughter of Prajapati Daksha and was abducted by a demon named Keshi. Indra rescued her and treated her as his daughter. She asked Indra to find a husband for her who can protect her and defeat the gods, the demons, and the yakshas. Impressed by the valor of Kartikeya, he was made commander-in-chief of gods and was married to Devasena.
Valli:
Valli is the second wife of Lord Kartikeya, per Tamil tradition, but she is not mentioned in any major Hindu text. She was a daughter of a tribal king. She was a devotee of Lord Kartikeya and prayed to him devoutly.
Once Lord Kartikeya appeared before her disguised as a hunter and tried to woo her, but she spurned his romantic advances. Therefore, he took the help of his brother, Lord Ganesha, who appeared there in the form of a wild elephant and scared her. She ran to an old man asking for help, but the old man agreed to help her only if she promised to marry him. When she agreed to marry him, Lord Kartikeya and Lord Ganesha revealed their true forms before her. The old man was none other than Lord Kartikeya himself. Then they got married at a place in Vallimalli in Tamil Nadu.
Shaka and Vishakha, the Sons of Kartikeya:
According to Kathasaritasagara, once there was a fight between Indra and Lord Murugan. When Indra struck him with this Vajra, there sprang two sons of Lord Kartikeya, Shaka and Vishakha, who were as brave as their father.
Then Lord Shiva intervened and ordered Lord Kartikeya to protect the realm of Indra. Indra was pleased by the intervention and made Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of his army.
What is the Preferred Day of Worship of Lord Kartikeya?
In Hinduism, the days of a week are dedicated to one or many Hindu gods. Hindus believe that worshiping the deity on a particular day is more beneficial than worshiping on other days of the week.
Tuesday is dedicated to Lord Kartikeya because he controls Mars (Mangal). Many people fast on this day and visit Lord Murugan’s temple to seek his blessing.
Weapon:
Vel is the special weapon of Lord Murugan. It is a divine spear. Goddess Parvati gifted it to him when he went to fight a demon, Soorapadman. The Thaipusam festival is celebrated annually to celebrate the occasion when Lord Kartikeya received the weapon. It is an object of worship in his temples.
Temples:
Most of the famous temples of Lord Murugan are in South India because his worship is more popular there.
1. Palani Murugan Temple in Tamil Nadu.
2. Swami Malai Murugan Temple in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.
3. Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
4. Arulmigu Balathandayuthpani Temple in Penang, Malaysia.
5. Selva Sannidhi Murugan Temple in Sri Lanka.
Mantra:
1. Om Tatpurushaay Vidhmahe Maha Sainya Dheemahi Tanno Skanda Prachodayaat.
2. Om Sharavana-Bhavaya Namah.
Conclusion:
Lord Kartikeya is one of the greatest warriors among the gods. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna indirectly praises him by saying, “Among commanders, I am Skanda”. Lord Krishna compares himself to Lord Kartikeya and indirectly states that he is the greatest among warriors. It is sufficient to prove the greatness of Lord Murugan.