Kartikeya
Hindu · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Six-faced war-god, son of Shiva and Parvati, commander of the gods' army
Parentage
Recorded default; alternative parentage accounts are listed separately below.
Parentage accounts
Each account is a separate source claim. The parentage and children listed outside these accounts use the recorded default. Selecting an account in the interactive app updates its lineage, descent classification and inherited-power candidates. Linked pedigree accounts are selected together; other records retain their recorded parentage. Claims of ancestry are not proof of biological descent or attested powers.
- Epic narrative: Agni and SvāhāRudra and Uma are also identified as entering Agni and Svāhā; this does not replace the distinct named narrative parents.
deity by descent in this account.
- father: AgniW. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
- mother: SvāhāW. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
- Rāmāyaṇa account in Wilkins: Agni and GaṅgāSeparate account; not added to the epic or Śiva Purāṇa parental pair.
deity by descent in this account.
- father: AgniW. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
- mother: GaṅgāW. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
Names and tradition associations
- Murugan W. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
Variant accounts
- partnersShiva Purana 2.4.20 describes Kartikeya as remaining a bachelor at Krauncha. This account is not combined with regional marriage traditions.Shiva Purana 2.4.20.1–8, 23–37 and editorial note 3 (primary)
- originThe account traces Shiva’s emitted semen through Agni, six sages’ wives other than Arundhati, Himavat, Ganga and reeds before the boy appears. It distinguishes these carriers from Parvati, whose milk flows at his birth; it does not require treating every carrier as a biological mother.Shiva Purana 2.4.2.9–11, 55–70, transmission and birth of Kartikeya (primary)
Domains
- war
- victory
Powers
- Command the army of the gods as supreme general
- Slay the demon invulnerable to all but Shiva's son
Epithets
- स्कन्द The attacker/leaper; war-god son of ShivaMahābhārata, Vana Parva (Skanda's birth); Skanda Purāṇa (primary)
- सुब्रह्मण्य Dear to brahmins; the auspicious oneSkanda Purāṇa; South Indian Subrahmaṇya temple tradition (primary)
- षण्मुख The six-faced oneMahābhārata, Śalya Parva 43-46; Skanda Purāṇa (primary)
- कुमार The (eternal) youth/princeKumārasambhava of Kālidāsa; Mahābhārata (primary)
Relations
- sibling: GaneshaFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Shiva & Parvati) per the figures' cited genealogy.
- regional cult form: MuruganTamil Murugan is identified with Karttikeya while keeping his locally narrated family accounts.Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai (Sangam corpus); Paripāṭal hymns to Cevvēḷ (primary); Kamil Zvelebil, Tiru Murugan (1981); Fred Clothey, The Many Faces of Murukan (1978) (secondary); W. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
- origin carried through: AgniShiva Purana 2.4.2.9–11, 55–70, transmission and birth of Kartikeya (primary)
- origin carried through: HimavatShiva Purana 2.4.2.9–11, 55–70, transmission and birth of Kartikeya (primary)
- origin carried through: GaṅgāShiva Purana 2.4.2.9–11, 55–70, transmission and birth of Kartikeya (primary)
- child of: SvāhāW. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
- spouse: Devasenā (epic account)W. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (1900), pp.335–341, Karttikeya: separate birth traditions (secondary)
Sources
- existence: Mahabharata, Vana Parva (primary); Skanda Purana (primary)