Skanda Sashti: What, Why, When, How

What it is

Skanda Sashti, or Kanda Sashti in Tamil, is the great vow to Murugan, also called Skanda, Kartikeya, Subrahmanya and Kumara. It falls in the six days after Deepavali, in the bright half of the lunar month of Kartika, and ends on the sixth day, Shashthi.

Many devotees fast for all six days, read or sing Murugan's praise, and visit his temples. On the evening of the sixth day, Murugan temples act out Soorasamharam, Murugan's victory over the asura Surapadman. The largest is on the seashore at Tiruchendur, in southern Tamil Nadu, where tens of thousands gather. On the next day many temples celebrate Murugan's wedding to Devasena (Deivanai). Tamil families keep the vow in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa and wherever they live.

Why it is kept

The leader the gods needed. In the Mahabharata (Vana Parva), Indra searches for a leader for the army of the gods, who keep losing to the asuras. Skanda is born of fire, with six faces, and the six mothers, the Krittikas, take him as their son. He is made commander of the gods and is married to Devasena, whose name means "the army of the gods". When the asura Mahisha seizes Shiva's chariot and the gods flee, Skanda rides out in red and gold and throws his shining spear (shakti), which strikes Mahisha down and returns to his hand.

Surapadman. In the South the same victory is told as the war with Surapadman. W. J. Wilkins (1882) notes that Kartikeya "is better known in South India under the name of Subramanya" and that the Skanda Purana gives "a full account of his war with Sura". Tamil devotees know it from the Kanda Puranam: Surapadman and his brothers ruled the worlds by force from an island fortress in the sea, and the gods turned to Shiva. From Shiva's eyes came six sparks that became the six babies of the lake Saravana, nursed by the Krittikas and made one by Parvati. Parvati gave her son the vel, his spear. Murugan fought for six days. On the last day Surapadman took the form of a great mango tree in the sea. Murugan split it with his vel, and its two halves became a peacock and a rooster: the peacock became his mount and the rooster the emblem on his flag. Even his enemy was given a place beside him.

Tiruchendur. The Tinnevelly District Gazetteer (1917) records the local telling that Murugan landed at Tiruchendur when he came back from his hard victory over Surapadman in the island fortress far out in the sea, and that his famous temple stands there on the sea front. That is why the Soorasamharam on the beach at Tiruchendur is the heart of the festival.

The texts behind the story

• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose (K. M. Ganguli), published by Protap Chandra Roy: Sabha Parva and Vana Parva (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1884) (Sections CCXXIII–CCXXXII (Markandeya-Samasya Parva), the birth of Skanda, pp. 679–710, leaves n924–n955; Section CCXXX, the six mothers, pp. 695–696, leaves n940–n941; Section CCXXXI, Mahisha struck down by Skanda's shakti, pp. 705–707, leaves n950–n952)
• Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic, by W. J. Wilkins (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink; London: W. Thacker, 1882) ("Kartikeya", pp. 276–282, leaves n295–n301; p. 282, leaf n301 (Saravana, the Krittikas, Subramanya and the war with Sura))
• H. R. Pate, Madras District Gazetteers: Tinnevelly, vol. I (Madras: Government Press, 1917), "Tiruchendur", p. 505: Subramanya landed there on his return from the conquest over Surapadman. Read on the page image; summarised in our own words. (p. 505, leaf n521)
• The six-day war with Surapadman, the vel given by Parvati, and the mango tree that became the peacock and the rooster: the Kanda Puranam of Kachiyappa Sivachariyar and Tamil temple tradition. Summarised in our own words.

When it is kept

Skanda Sashti is the Shashthi, the sixth tithi, of the bright half after Deepavali (the lunar month of Kartika; in most years the Tamil month of Aippasi). The main day is the one on which Panchami ends, or Shashthi begins, between sunrise and sunset at your location, so that the evening of Soorasamharam falls in Shashthi. If no day fits, it is the day on which Shashthi is present at sunrise. The vow begins on Pratipada, the first day of the bright half after the Deepavali new moon, and runs to this day: usually six days, sometimes five or seven, as the tithis fall.

The date, from the calendar engine

• Skanda Sashti 2027: Skanda Sashti falls on Wednesday, November 3, 2027 in Washington DC (Tamil rule, computed for this city). In New Delhi it falls on Thursday, November 4, 2027.

The date depends on your city. Every city we cover is on the year page.

Traditions and regional customs

• Tamil Murugan temples (Tiruchendur and others): Shashthi in force in the daytime, so the evening is Shashthi (engine id skanda-sashti)
• Some temple calendars: Shashthi at sunrise (engine alternative udaya)
• The vow from Pratipada to Shashthi, usually six days; Thirukalyanam, the wedding, on the next day

Why the day can differ

Temple calendars differ on whether the sixth day is the day Shashthi holds the evening or the day it holds the sunrise, and in some years these are a day apart. The app shows both when they differ. Because Shashthi begins at the same moment everywhere, a city abroad can keep the day a day before or after India; the app shows your city's day, and India's when it differs.

Each temple holds its Soorasamharam on its own day, and temples abroad often hold it in the evening of the day itself or on the nearest weekend. The monthly Shashthi of the bright half is also a day for Murugan through the year, and some devotees fast on it.

How to keep it at home

1. On the first morning of the vow, Pratipada, which is usually the day after the Deepavali new moon, bathe, light a lamp before Murugan's picture or vel, and make a sankalpa for the vow: how you will fast and what you will read each day. Some devotees tie a thread on the wrist (kappu) at the temple.
2. Each day for six days, worship Murugan morning and evening with a lamp, flowers, incense and a simple offering such as fruit, milk or sundal. Many families read or sing the Kanda Sashti Kavasam, the Thiruppugazh or other songs to Murugan, and say "Om Saravanabhava", his six-syllable mantra. The Subrahmanya Bhujangam, a Sanskrit hymn of 33 verses to Murugan that tradition credits to Adi Shankaracharya, is in our library with its meaning.
3. On the sixth evening, go to a Murugan temple for the Soorasamharam if you can, or watch the Tiruchendur Soorasamharam on a live broadcast. At home, offer a special naivedyam and wave the aarti when the Soorasamharam is over.
4. Break the fast after the evening worship on the sixth day, or, by your family's custom, the next morning after the Thirukalyanam, the wedding of Murugan and Devasena.

Fasting

Devotees keep the six-day fast in different ways: some take one simple meal a day without grains, some only fruit and milk, and a few only water on the sixth day. Many keep it more lightly, by giving up one food or one meal. The fast is a personal vow, kept by choice. Anyone who is pregnant, unwell, diabetic, elderly or on regular medicine should keep a light fast, or none, and talk to a doctor first. Six days is long: drink water and stop if you feel unwell.

Food

During the fast, fruit, milk, panchamritam and simple dishes without grains are common. The fast is broken with sweet pongal, payasam, sundal and a festive meal. Murugan's temples often give panchamritam as prasad, a mix of banana, jaggery, honey, ghee and dates or raisins.

For children

Long ago, a proud king called Surapadman would not let the gods live in peace. So Shiva sent out six bright sparks. They fell into a lotus lake and became six baby boys, and six star sisters took care of them. When their mother Parvati hugged them, the six became one boy with six faces: Murugan. Parvati gave him a shining spear, the vel. Murugan was brave and kind. When he won, he did not throw Surapadman away. He turned him into a peacock to ride and a rooster to sit on his flag, so that even his old enemy could stay close to him.

Something to do together

Draw Murugan's peacock with all its tail feathers, and count six stars above it for the six Krittika sisters. Each evening of the six days, add one more colour to the feathers.

Sources

• Panchang engine rule skanda-sashti (packages/panchang/data/festivals.json), with the sources it lists, and the engine's alternative udaya (packages/panchang/src/festivals/extras.ts).
• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose (K. M. Ganguli), published by Protap Chandra Roy: Sabha Parva and Vana Parva (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1884) (Vana Parva, Sections CCXXIII–CCXXXII, pp. 679–710)
• Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic, by W. J. Wilkins (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink; London: W. Thacker, 1882) (pp. 276–282, leaves n295–n301)
• H. R. Pate, Madras District Gazetteers: Tinnevelly, vol. I (Madras: Government Press, 1917), pp. 505–506 (Tiruchendur: Subramanya and Surapadman; the temple on the sea front; pilgrims with kavadis).
• The Travancore State Manual, by V. Nagam Aiya, vol. II (Trivandrum: Travancore Government Press, 1906) (Subrahmanya, "the second son of Siva", who "destroyed Tarakasura and his army", p. 52, leaf n73)

Related guides

• Thaipusam
• Karthigai Deepam
• Diwali (Deepavali)