Murugan or Kartikeya (also called Subramanya, Subramani, Muruga, Karthikeyan, Shanmughan and Shanmukha) is the Hindu god of war, victory, wisdom and love. He is Commander of the gods. Son of the lord Shiva and Parvati, his brother is Ganesha and his wives are Valli and Deivayanai. Murugan is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island.

Lord Muruga is heralded in Hinduism in several names including Skanda, Karthikeya, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha, Shaktidhara, Kumara and many others. The iconography of Lord Muruga is represented with six faces and twelve hands with the five faces depicting the five elements of nature and he sixth face referring to the spirit that activates all of them.