Lord Subramanya is the son of divine couple Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati and took birth to destroy the demon Tarakasura. He is stated to have been born in a forest of grass ( hence the name Saravana) and reared by the six divine mothers of the constellation Krttika (known as Pleiades), hence the name Karthikeya.
Karthikeya has six heads and is an embodiment of perfection. It seems he assumed six faces to suckle the milk of the six mothers. He was appointed the commander-in-chief of the gods and thus became Deva-Senapati. Being very young and virile he is known as Kumara. A forceful attacker in war and Lord of the Devas, he is known as Skanda.
He is a God of War and brave leader of God’s forces, created to destroy the demons which represent the negative tendencies in all of us. Fire and Mars relate to Karthikeya.
Those having Sarpa Shaap (curse of the snake) should worship Karthikey and is the second son of Lord Shiva and Mata Parvathi and the younger brother of Ganesha. He has two consorts: Valli and Devasena.
Karthikeya is known by many names:
Subramaniam,
Shanmukha
Shadanana,
Svaminatha,
Skanda
Gangeya
Guha
Murugan
Perumal
Aarumukha
Kumara
Kumaraswamy
The six abodes of Lord Subramanya are very famous and they are:
Palani, Tiruchendur, Thiruparakundram, Swamimalai, Thiruthani and Pazhamudircholai.
