Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c7.100

v1.c7.100

The worship of Kārtikēya or Viśākha is common in South India, where the god is known generally by the name of Subrahmanya. It may well be said that there is not a village in South India but does not possess a shrine for this favorite deity. To the Hindus of Northern India this god is known only in name. Nowhere in the north is he worshipped by decent people, and no Hindu *sumangali* (married woman) goes to a temple of Kārtikēya in Central India. Because Kārtikēya is not worshipped in North India at the present day, we cannot argue that his worship was always unknown in those regions. In fact we come across the figures of this deity in the rock temples at Elephanta and Ellora, in Orissa and certain other parts of the country. Probably