Vahana Of Lord Kartikeya: Why He Chose Peacock To Be His Vehicle

Add as a preferred source on Google

Subramanya's ( Also called Kartikeya) vehicle which is peacock has drawn several curious questions from devotees who wonder why he chose Peacock as his vehicle. Is there a mysterious reason behind it? Let us know why it is so.

Subramanya ( Kartikeya) is also known as Devasenapathi, which means "the commander of the devas." He was the invincible celestial commander who led the faction of devas to victory always.

With him, Devas need not have to worry about defeat especially from the Asuras. Subramanya is also known for his velayudha which he always is seen holding. This has a mysterious background.

The velayudha was actually a gift to him from his mother Parvati who had created it out of the power of will and had strengthened it by her blessings. Subramanya also came to called Velayudhan which means " the one who has the divine spear as his weapon.

Subramanya killed several demons using this same velayudha. There is a belief that prevails about Subramanya. Anyone who finds him as his last resort and worships him sincerely, cannot be defeated by even gods.

Anyone getting into the bad books of Subramanya can never escape out of the consequence of his misdeeds. When he gets angry with you, no one can save you.

Scores of yugas ago, there was a demoness called Varaangi who delivered a son whom she named as Surapadma. This story is very famous amongst people of TamilNadu as Murugan, as they call him is the kuldevatha of numerous Tamilians in Tamil Nadu.

Kashyapa Rishi had fathered Surapadma and hence Surapadma was partly a brahmin/ rishiputra and the demoness Varangi. Kashyapa Rishi used to be away from the mother son duo and perform strict tapashcharya or austerities in the slopes of Himalayas.

Kashyapa rishi did not evince even a grain of interest in the worldly affairs and lacked the worldly attachments as well. That is why he was regarded as a rishi. For him the world was his family and he was the personified concept of Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.

Surapadma, unable to understand the stony silence of his father to the demands of the world and his family, asked his father. "Why do you neglect us to this extent my dear father? You are always engrossed in tapas.
You do not play with me, or even talk to me. You do not spend time with me nor teach me anything that you know. Why is this?

At that time, his demoness mother assured him that she would teach him the mysterious vidyas of the world, and taught him promptly the asura vidya which actually forebode harm to everyone around Surapadma.

He Grew Up To Be A Menace: He grew up to be much more of a demon than Varaangi expected him to be. He was a huge and monstrous youth who had perfect the art of being a demon.

Kashyapa Rishi, although he was aware of what was happening around him, ignored this development due to being busy with his ascetic obligations. A little hindsight will lead to huge disasters.

Surapadma began his Tapasya dedicated to Lord Shiva and pleased Lord Shiva with his penance. He obviously knew that Lord Shiva was very merciful and did not discriminate between his asura and sura bhakthas.

Lord Shiva's Boon To Surapadma:When he asked Surapadma what he wanted as a boon from him. Surapadma arrogantly answered that he wanted death only in the hands of Lord Shiva's son.

At that time, he firmly believed that Shiva is not interested in having a son and hence he would not show any interest in this direction which actually made surapadma an immortal. .

Shiva warned him against asking this boon as he knew that his son would definitely kill Surapadma one fine day. Surapadma laughted at shiva but Shiva disappeared in an instant.

Devas Resort To Lord Vishnu: Devas, petrified by this occurrence, thought it was the end of their happiness and peace. They prayed to Lord Vishnu to which Vishnu assured them that all is well and Shiva would beget a son who would kill Surapadma.

Then The devas rushed to Goddess Parvathi and prayed to her explaining their condition. In a few days, Kartikeya or Subramanya was born to them as their first son.

Subramanya never used his velayudha against the righteous but he used it only against the wicked people who harmed the society. Surapadma started his expeditions against the Suraloka or the land of the Devas and ravaged their land and people.

Devas Pray To Subramanya: Devas cried at the feet of Lord Subramanya, unable to withstand Surapadmas behaviour. One day, Surapadma met his match in Subramanya on the way to Kailash and enquired him who he was.

Subramanya answered that he was the personified death as far as Surapadma was concerned, Soon a fight started between the two. Both used the best tricks of unarmed combat but none gave up.

When Subramanya Throws His Velayudha: At this juncture, Subramanya draws out his velayudha and darts it at him. Surapadma somehow escapes this attempt and transforms into a mango tree. Subramanya's velayudha hit the tree so hard that the tree collapsed and Surapadma had to come out from his hideout.

One part of the tree transformed into a peacock and the other part became a rooster. Surapadma who was disguised as the Peacock, prayed for mercy from Subramanya who was known for his liking for peacocks.

So Subramanya chose peacock to be his vehicle. The Asura surapadma became Subramanyas earnest devotee thereafter. This proves the statement that Subramanya is always merciful to those who seek shelter in him, whether they are his enemies or daityas.

He gave his deadiest enemy Surapadma a place in his life permanently and uplifted him from the depths of misery and punishment.

Disclaimer: The information is based on assumptions and information available on the internet and the accuracy or reliability is not guaranteed. Boldsky does not confirm any inputs or information related to the article and our only purpose is to deliver information. Kindly consult the concerned expert before practising or implementing any information and assumption.