This sculpture of Subrahmanya or Kartikeya is regarded as the commander of the Gods. Here he is standing with a vel (spear) in his right hand. The vel is a weapon of great power that devotees worship even today as the representation of the deity himself. In his left hand, he is carrying a vajra or thunderbolt. His other two hands hold the gesture of abhaya and katisama, a gesture regularly used to depict iconic representation of deities in south India. Popularly, Kartikeya is the son of Shiva and Parvati.
