The study of the Karttikeya icon throws new light on the history of the deity.The Kushanas were worshipers of Karttikeya. Karttikeya images are found in Mathura dating back to the 1st CE belonging to the Kushana period.  The Kushanas, to quote Asim Kumar Chatterjee, “were a martial race, and found in him their ideal god”1.

In the early Kushana art of Mathura, Karttikeya is represented with simple iconographic features. He stands with two-arms holding a spear in his left hand, the right hand raised in the abhaya pose with the cushion decoration between the back of the right hand and the shoulder. The hair is arranged in long strands, combed back and falling on the nape and shoulder. The head is usually crowned but in some cases, the hair is arranged in a topknot. Various types of headgear are found on Karttikeya, typical of the period.  They are:

– an elaborate turban

– an ornamental disc work in front of jata or knot of hair

– the fillets or bands tied on the forehand

– the Scythian pointed cap was frequently used.

The urna is sometimes indicated by a raised dot between the eyes wide open.

The expression on the face hints at a smile, while some stiffness is suggested by the posture.  The chest is prominent and the navel deep. Along with the crown, other ornaments – earrings, torque, armlet, flat triangular necklace, bracelet, all typical of Kushana art – adorn the image.  The upper part of the body is bare. The thick twisted   uttariya  (scarf) is worn at an angle,  from around  the upper part of the right leg  to the left hip  with a thick knot at the hip. The lower garment reaches below the knee and a waistband fastening it terminates in a double knot to the right or left side, with two fillets from the knot hanging down on the thigh. The model has been derived from the early standing Kushana Bodhisattva types, with the exception of the spear. 

There are some important sculptures, which are worth consideration:

No. 2949 of the Mathura museum is the earliest image of Karttikeya belonging to early Kushana period.  It bears on the pedestal an inscription saying that it was installed in the 11th year of Kanishka’s reign (89 CE) (Plate 1). It is a very impressive piece of sculpture and one of the finest specimens of Kushana art. This is the earliest two-armed image of Karttikeya with inscription , which makes it unique.