What is the vehicle (vahana) of the god Kartikeya?

What is the vehicle (vahana) of the god Kartikeya? Kartikeya’s traditional vahana is the peacock, often identified as Paravani.

Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan, Subrahmanya and Kumara, is a Hindu god associated with war, victory and divine leadership. He is generally described as the son of Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha. In art, he is commonly shown as a youthful warrior riding or standing beside a peacock and carrying the spear called the vel.

In a prominent Tamil tradition, the peacock’s origin is linked to Kartikeya’s battle with the asura Surapadma. When Kartikeya split the demon’s transformed mango-tree form with his vel, one half became the peacock and the other became the rooster on his banner.

The peacock is therefore more than decorative imagery: it is a defining emblem of Kartikeya’s iconography. Ganesha is the family member most often mixed up with him, but Ganesha’s familiar mount is a mouse or rat. Kartikeya’s mount is also distinct from his weapon, the vel.