(Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls ( Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai( circa 400-450 A.D.) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, ' the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent,' as ' the favoured god of the Tamils.' Lord Murugan is also associated with Ahmuvan, an Indus Valley Deity.ДЄccording to noted epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, the ideographs signify a brave warrior capable of killing evil beings to save the devoted. ДЄ coin, around 200 BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of KarttikeyaДЄrchaeological findings of pottery and relics in several places in Tamil Nadu, particularly in Adichanallur had ideographic inscriptions of this name and show signs that Murugan worship was prevalent at least as early as 10th century B.C, if not earlier.

In Durga Puja in Bengal, Murugan is considered to be a son of Parvati along with his brother Ganesha and his sisters Saraswati and Lakshmi. In Indonesia, the name Kartika is more commonly a girl's name. Like most Hindu deities, He is known by many other names, including Senthil (Smart), Saravaб№‡a, KДЃrtikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika' ), Arumugam, Sanmuga(from Sanskrit б№ўaб№‡mukha), Shadanana (meaning 'one with six faces'), KumДЃra (meaning 'child or son'), Guhan or Guruhuha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit), Subrahmaб№‡ya, VД“laб№‡ and Swaminatha. He is the patron deity of the Tamil land ( Tamil Nadu).

Lord Murugan is more popular in South India especially among Tamil people famously referred as Thamizh Kaduvul (God of Tamils) compared to other parts of India. Chinese in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, of Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan during Thaipusam. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and the sacred Buddhist and Hindu shrine or Kataragama temple (also in Sinhala 'Katharagama Devalaya') dedicated to him, situated deep south in the country. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. Murugan ( Tamil: а®®аЇЃа®°аЇЃа®•а®©аЇЌ, Sanskrit:а¤ёаҐЃа¤¬аҐЌа¤°а¤№аҐЌа¤®а¤ЈаҐЌа¤Ї, Hindi: а¤•а¤ѕа¤°аҐЌа¤¤а¤їа¤•аҐ‡а¤Ї, Kannada: аІёаіЃаІ¬аіЌаІ°аІ№аіЌаІ®аІЈаіЌаІЇ, Telugu: а°ёа±Ѓа°¬а±Ќа°°а°№а±Ќа°®а°Ја±Ќа°Їа±‡а°¶а±Ќа°µа°° а°ёа±Ќа°µа°ѕа°®а°ї, Malayalam: аґ¶аµЌаґ°аµЂ аґёаµЃаґ¬аµЌаґ°аґ№аµЌаґ®аґЈаµЌаґЇаґёаµЌаґµаґѕаґ®аґї ) also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influence, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island.

Murugan names