Vel

Meaning

Vel is the spear of Murugan (Kartikeya, Subrahmanya), the Tamil god of war and victory, given to him by his mother Parvati. In dance it appears mainly two ways: as a subject in the repertoire — many Tamil compositions praise Murugan and his vel — and as iconography, where a dancer portraying Murugan holds the spear or suggests it through hand gesture. You will hear the phrase "Vetrivel" (victorious vel) used as an exclamation of praise. It is a devotional and iconographic term rather than a technical one, so it names what a piece is about, not a step.

Also written: vael, vetrivel, vēl