Kartikeya (Subramanyaswami) - 07

Oleograph of 'Kartikeya' or Murugan or Subramanya by Raja Ravi Varma from the early 1900s. Kartikeya is the Hindu God of War, son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, and brother of Ganesha. Kartikeya is predominantly worshipped in South India. His life story has many different versions in Hinduism. He is typically represented as a youthful man, with a peacock near him. Some depictions, such as this one, show him with six heads (Shanmukha), reflecting the legend around his birth, where six mothers supposedly took care of him as a new born baby. On either side of him are his consorts Devayani (Devasena) and Valli. Kartikeya sits on his peacock vahana and around them fans out the stunning feathers of the displaying peacock tail. In his twelve hands, Kartikeya carries various objects, mainly weapons. In his upper left hand he holds his emblem the cockerel, while the spear, which is his characteristic weapon Vel, rests on his right shoulder. He also wears a crown, numerous necklaces, bracelets, anklets and is adorned with a flower garland. The peacock stands with its talons on a cobra, which some say symbolises the ego.