Subrahmanya is one among the numerous names of Lord Muruga or Lord Karthikeya or Kartik. An important god in Hindu pantheon, he is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati and is the army general of the Devas (gods). What does the term ‘Subrahmanya’ mean?
In Sanskrit, ‘su’ means anything good natured or beautiful or good. ‘Brahmanya’ means a person who has had realized Brahman.Thus ‘Subrahmanya’ symbolically represents a good natured person who has had Brahman realization.
Lord Subrahmanya is a deity who is worshipped and adored with intense devotion and faith not only throughout South India and Sri Lanka but also in places such as Mauritius and Malaysia where there is a high population of Tamil people. The Lord has many powerful names, which convey great meaning and deep esoteric knowledge. Swamiji is especially fond of giving Subrahmanya ‘s names to the young boys who join Premananda Youth. He said, "I am blessing them with these glorious names of the perfect deity, Lord Subrahmanya . I hope that the youngsters will live up to these names. Subrahmanya is the embodiment of brilliant light, courage, fearlessness and pure shakti. According to the Hindu legends, He was born because the Gods had been defeated by powerful demons and they pleaded with Lord Shiva to rescue them. He created Lord Subrahmanya from His third eye. Even from this we can understand that Subrahmanya is the embodiment of the purest and highest knowledge and power."