Bhagavad Gita · Mahabharata Codex

Skanda

स्कन्द · skanda

General of the army of the gods; son of Shiva

He was born to lead an army, and took command as a child.

Skanda, also called Karttikeya, Kumara and, in the south, Murugan, is the young war god. He was born when the gods needed a commander to defeat a demon no one else could kill, and was nursed by the six stars of the Pleiades. He rides a peacock and carries a spear. Speaking on a battlefield to a general, Krishna says that among commanders he is Skanda.