Kartikeya in the context of "Nakkīraṉãr"

Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṛkā, lit. "mothers"), also called Mataras or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers). However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s). They are associated with these gods as their energies (Shaktis). Brahmani emerged from Brahma, Vaishnavi from Vishnu, Maheshvari from Shiva, Indrani from Indra, Kaumari from Kartikeya, Varahi from Varaha and Chamunda from Chandi. And additionals are Narasimhi from Narasimha and Vinayaki from Ganesha.

Originally the seven goddesses of the seven stars of the star cluster of the Pleiades, they became quite popular by the seventh century CE and a standard feature of the Hindu goddesses's temples from the ninth century CE onwards. In South India, Saptamatrikas worship is prevalent whereas the Ashtamatrikas are venerated in Nepal, among other places.

Panchayatana puja (IAST Pañcāyatana pūjā) also known as Pancha Devi Deva Puja is a system of puja (worship) in the Smarta sampradaya, which is one of four major sampradayas of Hinduism. It consists of the worship of five deities set in a quincunx pattern, the five deities being Ganesha, Mahadevi, Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. Sometimes an Ishta Devata (any personal god of devotee's preference) or Indra or Kartikeya is the sixth deity in the mandala (see Shanmata).

Panchayatana puja has been attributed to Adi Shankara, the 8th century CE Hindu philosopher. It is a practice that became popular in medieval India. However, archaeological evidence suggests that this practice long predates the birth of Adi Shankara. Many Panchayatana mandalas and temples have been uncovered that are from the Gupta Empire period, and one Panchayatana set from the village of Nand (about 24 kilometers from Ajmer) has been dated to belong to the Kushan Empire era (pre-300 CE). The Kushan period set includes Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Shakti and one deity whose identity is unclear. According to James Harle, major Hindu temples from 1st millennium CE embed the pancayatana architecture very commonly, from Odisha to Karnataka to Kashmir; and the temples containing fusion deities such as Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu) are set in Panchayatana worship style.

Parvati (Sanskrit: पार्वती, IAST: Pārvatī), also known as Uma (Sanskrit: उमा, IAST: Umā) and Gauri (Sanskrit: गौरी, IAST: Gaurī), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. Along with Lakshmi and Sarasvati, she forms the trinity, known as the Tridevi.

From her first appearance as a goddess during the epic period (400 BCE – 400 CE), Parvati is primarily depicted as the consort of the god Shiva. According to various Puranas, Parvati is the reincarnation of Sati, Shiva's first wife, who relinquished her body to sever familial ties with her father, Daksha, after he had insulted Shiva. Parvati is often equated with the other goddesses such as Sati, Uma, Kali and Durga and due to this close connection, they are often treated as one and the same, with their stories frequently overlapping. In Hindu mythology, the birth of Parvati to the mountain lord Himavan and his wife Mena is primarily understood as a cosmic event meant to lure Shiva out of his ascetic withdrawal and into the realm of marriage and household life. As Shiva's wife, Parvati represents the life-affirming, creative force that complements Shiva's austere, world-denying nature, thus balancing the two poles of asceticism and householder life in Hindu philosophy. Parvati's role as wife and mother is central to her mythological persona, where she embodies the ideal of the devoted spouse who both supports and expands her husband's realm of influence. Parvati is also noted for her motherhood, being the mother of the prominent Hindu deities Ganesha and Kartikeya.

Shanmata (Sanskrit: षण्मत, romanized: Ṣaṇmata) meaning "Six Sects" in Sanskrit, is a system of worship, believed in Hinduism to have been established by the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara, whose lifetime was during circa 8th century CE. It centers around the worship of six primary deities of Hinduism: Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya, and Skanda. It is based on the belief in the essential oneness of all deities, the unity of Godhead, and their conceptualization of the myriad deities of India as various manifestations of the one divine power, Para Brahman.

Kumārasambhavam (Sanskrit: कुमारसम्भवम् ) (transl. - "The Birth of Kumāra") is an epic poem by Kālidāsa. It is widely regarded as the finest work of Kalidasa as well as the greatest kāvya poem in Classical Sanskrit. The style of description of spring set the standard for nature metaphors pervading many centuries of Indian literary tradition. Kumārasaṃbhavam basically talks about the birth of Kumāra (Kārtikeya), the son of Shiva (Śiva) and Pārvatī (Umā). The period of composition is uncertain, although Kalidasa is thought to have lived in the 5th century.

A fierce debate has raged over the question as to whether the whole of the seventeen cantos came was penned by Kalidasa. Vitthala Śastrin, who in 1866, published Cantos VIII to XVII in The Paņdit, took them as genuine work of Kalidasa while scholars like Hermann Jacobi took Cantos IX to XVII as a later interpolation. Stylistic inferiority of these cantos, rarity of manuscripts, silence on the part of early commentators and lack of citation in Alaṃkārasutra are often presented as reasons for rejecting this latter cantos of the poem.

Kailasha or Kailasa (IAST: Kailāsa) is the celestial abode of the Hindu god Shiva. It is traditionally recognized as a mountain where Shiva resides along with his consort Parvati, and their children, Ganesha and Kartikeya. Mount Kailash, located in the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau, is considered as a geographic manifestation of Kailasha.