He is known by many other names, including Kārttikeya, Subrahmanya, Arumugan or Shanmukha (one with six faces), Kumāra, Skanda, Vēlan, Saravanabhava and Swaminathan.
According to Skanda Purana, Sati, the consort of Lord Shiva immolated herself at the Daksha Yagna, which was later destroyed by Shiva. Sati was reborn as Uma, or Parvati.
Lord Shiva withdrew himself from the universe and engaged himself in yogic meditation in the Himalayas.
Meanwhile, the demon Surapadman ravaged the earth and tormented all beings. It was realized by the Gods that only the son born of Shiva could lead the gods to victory over Tarakasuran, Surapadman and their demon companions. They plotted with Kamadeva, to shoot a flower arrow at Shiva, as he sat in meditation, so as to make him fall in love with Parvati. When Kamadeva aimed his arrow, Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kama to ashes instantly.
The sparks of the fiery seed of Shiva were unbearable, and were transported by the river Ganga through the Saravana forest into a pond called the Saravana Poigai (located at the mouths of river Ganga), where the sparks became six children.They were raised by the six Krittika or Kartika girls – the stars that make up the Pleiades, earning the name Karthikeya. Parvati combined these six babies into one with six faces (hence the names Arumugham or Shanmukha).
Sri Murugan became the supreme general and led the army of the devas to victory against the demons. T
The six sites at which Karthikeya rested while leading his armies against Surapadman are Tiruttanikai, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudirsolai, Tirupparamkunram and Tiruchendur- all located in Tamil Nadu with famous temples.
The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon given to him by his mother Parvathi embodying her energy and power. In the war, using the Vel, deman Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Sri Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster (the flag of his army).
Sri Murugan is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief, and Devasena, daughter of Indra. However, Sri Murugan also is worshiped as ‘Bala Murugan’. In addition to Tamil Nadu, Sri Murugan is also worshiped in Kerala and Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, North America, Europe and Australia.