देव-रक्षा

  • बाल्ये कुमारानुग्रहेण रक्षितः। पश्चाद् दरेष्व् (अभिचारेष्व् अपि?) इन्द्रेण देवेनैव।
स्रोतोऽन्तरलब्धम्

Coming to the family deities, yes Kumara is indeed one of them. Following are our tutelary deities, considering both our maternal & paternal side:

  1. Palani’s Dandayudhapani Temple: When MT was barely few days old, due to some accident his tiny head was bruised & he got a cut :(. My maternal Tatha immediately took MT to Palani and placed him at the feet of Karttikeya. My mother used to often narrate the story. I believe MT may have developed a special fondness for Kumara for saving him right at that stage 🙏

  2. Kathayee Amman: Katyayani is the tutelage deity on my father’s side. He still regularly tries to support this temple. Before I was born, my father used to worship Katyayani with the 75th śloka of the Soundarya Lahari (Twa stanyam manye dharanidhara kanye hridhayatha…)

  3. The form of Vishnu known as Sundararaja Perumal is also a tutelage deity on my maternal side.