Skanda is derived from skand-, which means 'to leap or to attack'. In ancient statues, he appears as Mahasena, Skanda, and Vishakha.

On some ancient Indo-Scythian coins, his names appear in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara, and Vishaka. On ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images, his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya, or Brahmanyadeva. Others include Aaiyyan, Cheyyon, Senthil, VД“laб№‡, Swaminatha ('ruler of the gods', from -natha king), Е›aravaб№‡abhava ('born amongst the reeds'), Arumugam or б№Јaб№‡mukha ('six-faced'), Dandapani ('wielder of the mace', from -pani hand), Guha (cave, secret) or Guruguha (cave-teacher), Kadhirvelan, Kathiresan, Kandhan, Vishakha, and Mahasena. Most common amongst these are Murugan, Kumara, Skanda, and Subrahmanya. Kartikeya is known by many names in ancient and medieval texts. Sculpture of the god Skanda, from Kannauj, North India, circa 8th century. He is also found in other parts of India, sometimes as Skanda, but in a secondary role along with Ganesha, Parvati and Shiva. The Kataragama temple dedicated to him in Sri Lanka attracts Tamils, Sinhalese people and the Vedda people. Three of the six busiest temples in Tamil Nadu are dedicated to him. Kartikeya is found as a primary deity in temples wherever communities of the Tamil people live worldwide, particularly in Tamil Nadu state of India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, and RГ©union. He has inspired many poet-saints, such as Arunagirinathar. He grew up quickly becoming a philosopher-warrior, destroyed the demon Tarakasura, Simhamukha, and Surapadma taught the pursuit of an ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta. Most icons show him with only one head but some show him with six heads which reflect the legend surrounding his birth. The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly he is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near an Indian peafowl, called Paravani, adorned with weapons and sometimes with an emblem of a rooster in the flag he holds. He is found in many medieval temples all over India, such as the Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves. Archaeological evidence from the 1st-century CE and earlier, where he is found with the Hindu god Agni (fire), suggests that he was a significant deity in early Hinduism.

Kartikeya is an ancient god, traceable to the Vedic era. An important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, Kartikeya is particularly popular and predominantly worshipped in South India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia as Murugan. He is a son of Parvati and Shiva, brother of Ganesha, and a god whose life story has many versions in Hinduism. Kartikeya ( Sanskrit: а¤•а¤ѕа¤°аҐЌа¤¤аҐЌа¤¤а¤їа¤•аҐ‡а¤Ї, IAST: KДЃrttikeya), also known as Skanda, Kumara, Murugan, Shanmugha and Subrahmanya, is the Hindu god of war.

Tamil god song