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Home , Brahma, Indra, Kartikeya, Parvati, Tarakasura

Orissa Review * November - 2004

Kartikeya

Gitarani Praharaj

Unlike Ganesh Cult, cult was Kartikeya's birth took place under unusual confined to South only. In Hindu calender circumstances. was sitting deep in thought the sixth day of a lunar month (Sasthi) is on the mountain, pondering on the problem who considered sacred to him. Tradition has it that should be the commander of his armed forces. he married '' a forest maid and '', He suddenly heard the crying of a beautiful daughter of Indra. According young girl on the verge of to he was born as the being kidnapped by a demon. son of Siva and Indra resqued the girl and she to kill the demon said that if she had a husband . He is also famous to protect her, she shall be free in different names such as :- from the dangerous demons. Sanmatura, Sadanana or The girl wanted a husband Sanmukha, Devasenapati, who was invincible, famous Saktidhara, Tarakari, and a devotee of . One Kumara, , who could conquer the Subrahmanya etc. According and the . For to Sastras his mount is her Kartikeya was produced peacock. In an age where who grew up very fast and he wars were frequent, whether had 6 heads, 12 eyes, 12 ears to subdue an enemy or to of 12 arms. So go on stories conquer new lands, the about the birth of Kartikeya emergence of a of war legends constantly merge with was inevitable. The God full of youth and imagination to pour forth hundreds of stories. vigour, outstanding the luminosity of the sun In the pleiades or the was Kartikeya, the son of Siva. seven chaste women were the wives of the It is difficult to trace the origin and the seven divine sages. Six of them were raised to birth of Kartikeya, but in this paper an attempt the sky and became the Kritikas or the pleiades has been made only to highlight the importance and seventh one also chaste as well as pious of Kartikeya images preserved in the Orissa and devoted to her husband was separately State Museum. According to the story, raised to the sky and became the .

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P.K. Agrawala writes is credited On the western portion of Parsurameswar in the with many . If they are temple at Bhubaneswar we find Karttikeya seven in number, as his seven sisters are and with his hair flying in the wind is shown sitting as can be guessed on the basis of the tradition on his peacock mount. The angle at which the in the '', recording seven wombs for peacock has been carved gives the impression producing Agni, similarly it is with Kartikeya's that it is a boat and the in the hands of seven mothers, as Kritikas or as Rishipatnis Karttikeya looks as if he is steering a boat. from which one was dropped in subsequent Actually the spear is aimed at figures development owing to facts observed in depicted below the panel. Another Karttikeya constellar happenings, if the Kritikas and image is found in the east side of Kartikeya myth was at all based on that or it Parsuramesvara temple belongs to 9th century was due to the contamination of a six faced A.D. Karttikeya in the east side in God of separate origin with Kartikeya that one pose is shown sitting on a throne and holding a had to be indifferent in the origin spear in his left hand and a fruit in his right. Kartikeya for only six heads were to be The peacock has been carved sideways below produced. the throne. Erotic carvings are depicted in the The six heads of Kartikeya also represent niches on either side of the main . six attributes of the duty. They are Jnana In Muktesvara temple we find Karttikeya (wisdom), (detachment), Bala sitting on a while his peacock (strength), Kirtti (fame), (wealth) and stands on his right side and a cock on his left Aiswarya (Divine power). side, both looking up at him. The deity carries Scholars have divided the images of a spear in his left hand and the right hand is in Karttikeya into two types such as, type-1 varada pose. without cock and type-2 - with cock, his Karttikeya has a very composite characteristic attribute. Various texts regarding character, comprising diverse aspects. On one the iconography of Karttikeya are studied by hand he is depicted as the God of wisdom as famous scholar T.A. Gopinath Rao. He well as the God of war. But from the time when describes the iconography features of acquired supremacy over Karttikeya Karttikeya in his monograph titled "Elements and the former has been considered as the God of ". As regards hands of wisdom. Karttikeya possessed two, four and more than four hands. Among these the two handed images During the Kushana period i.e. the early are considered as satvika, four handed images part of Christian era the popularity of are considered as rajasika and that of more Karttikeya grew substantially. This may have than four hands regarded as tamasika in nature. been because the Kushanas were basically a According to the agamas the attributes of martial race, so for them a God of war as a Karttikeya should consist of the Sakti, Khadga, patron deity would obviously have been the Akshamala, Abhaya, Kukkuta and the Khetaka right choice. This belief is corroborated by the etc. Interestingly the agamas mentioned that, discovery of a large number of images of the images of Subrahmanya or Karttikeya Karttikeya from and the great cities should be set up in village or in a palace. of North India during the early part of 1st

32 Orissa Review * November - 2004 century B.C. This is further corroborated by like devotees of the five puranic viz, the discovery of a large number of coins of , Siva, Sakti, and Ganapati. this period belonging to the Kushana king So Karttikeya was worshipped under 'Huviska' bearing the image of the God of war different names or aspects, such as Skanda, Karttikeya. Kumara and Subrahmanya in South. Temples dedicated to Karttikeya are first The State Museum has collected a series mentioned in Kautilya's Arthasastra composed of Kartikeya images from various places of the before the beginning of the Christian era. The State. Among them the six headed Kartikeya is discovery of a large number of Gupta seals a rare specimen. Six headed image of shows how popular the cult of Karttikeya was Kartikeya was brought from the hill fort of at that time. Some rulers of the Gupta dynasty Junagarh by the Superintendent of Orissa State was at that time were even named after him Museum, Dr. C.B. Patel. The peacock as an such as Kumara Gupta, I, his successor Skanda essential element in the iconography of Gupta and Kumara Gupta II. The Guptas were Kartikeya prominently appears in the back of devotees of Vishnu but as generally other the image. It is made of red sandstone of the of are also revered by them. Kalachuri time. It measures 19" x 13" x 5". Kumara Gupta I was the first Gupta emperor The upper right hand holds trident and the palm to hold Karttikeya as the main deity as he issued of the peacock. The lower left hand holds an the peacock type of Karttikeya coins in gold. indistinct object. The upper right hand is Discoveries of Gupta images of Karttikeya partially damaged. The figure is ornamented have been made from many places in North with heavy anklets in the half damaged foot. A India such as , Kanauj in big Rudrakshyamala () is encircled and Orissa also. round the neck of the image which touches the After the Gupta age the popularity of belly of the image. Karttikeya as a God declined in North India References : and he is mentioned more in association with Siva rather than by himself. R.G. Bhandarkar 1. Rao, T.A.G. Element of Hindu Iconography, has observed that in the later medieval period Vol.II Part-II, Second Reprint, p.425-429, Delhi-1985. it was seldom that separate shrines were dedicated to him, he having become a part of 2. Harshananda , Hindu Gods & , Fifth impression, p.143-148 Madras. Siva's family. His image has since been always enshrined in temples dedicated to Siva. 3. Panigrahi K.C. Archaeological Remains at Bhubaneswar, Second Edition, p.127-131, Karttikeya's role as commander-in-chief of the , 1981. celestial armies is emphasized more not his qualities as a God of wisdom and learning. Professor Banarjee observes that Karttikeya was worshipped especially in North India from early times. But since his worshippers did not get a separate status, it is Gitarani Praharaj is presently working as the Curator presumed that they did not form a separate sect, (Arch) in Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar.

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