Skanda Shashti

This homage to Muruga, also known as Skanda, is a six-day fast from the time of ammavasai to the sixth tithi. The festival commemorates the victory of the supreme general Kartikeya, son of Shiva, over powerful enemies of the devas on the sixth tithi, Shashti. It is predominantly a Tamizh celebration. Skanda went through a grueling six-day battle against the asura Shoorapadman. In empathy with his trials, devotees fast and chant the Skanda Shashti kavacham.

Read the benefits of observing Skanda sashti 

Lunar day

Month : Ashvija or Aipassi/October – November

Paksha : Krishna Paksha

Tithi : Chaturdashi, the day before Ammavasal

Preferred fruits

Yellow bananas and all other acceptable fruits.

Preferred flowers and leaves

Oleander,Roses, Any other acceptable flowers or fragrant leaves.

Special prayers Read or chat the Skandar Shashti Kavacham – some read it up to thirty-six times a day.

Daanam Donate a veshti, angavastram with betel leaves, betel nuts, fruits and dakshina to a Brahmachari or at a temple.

Neivedya

A salver with betel leaves, betel nuts, yellow bananas and an unbroken coconut Panchamirtham neivedya is very auspicious. Payasam may be offered as neivedya.
Some people make six kinds of neivedya.
Thattai
Vadai
Kesari

Menu

Usually one fasts — some people refrain from eating; others subsist on fruits and water.

Food norms

Abstinence or a partial fast (food made without salt, or a meal without cooked rice). People also consume a drink called panakam.

Check skanda sashti recipes

Auspicious things to do

Recite the Skanda Shashti Kavacham. Invite a Brahmachari boy over to eat, and donate a set of clothes (veshti and angavastram) to him.

Associated legends

Soora Samharam: vanquishing the asura, Soora

The legend of Mahabali and Vishnu as Vamana the dwarf.

Associated events

The Shoorasamharam, a play enacting the war that ends with Skanda’s triumph over Soorapadman, often on a grand scale on the beaches of Thiruchendur, Tamil Nadu.

Literal meaning

This is a six-day observance from Deepavali Ammavasai up to Shashti, the sixth tithi, honouring Skanda.

Occurs

Aipassi Shukla Paksha Prathamai to Shashti: the first to the sixth days of the waxing moon in the month Aipassi (Kartik). This happens Sometime in October-November according to the Gregorian calendar.

Celebration rationale

Skanda Shashti is primarily a fast in empathy for the struggle Skanda had to go through for six days as he battled Shoorapadman during the famous war between the devas and asuras. Devotees fast and pray, chanting the Skanda Shashti Kavacham and Sing praises of Muruga.  Observing this vratam or vrata is extremely auspicious and is supposed to be as potent as observing all the other festivals associated with Muruga. Many ardent devotees visit the various temples important to Muruga, especially Thiruchendur. There is a belief that this fast helps conception, especially if one drinks the abishegam milk. The fast could also be an antidote to the overindulgent eating during Deepavali.

Associated events

Six-day festival climaxes with the dramatic public play ending with the Soorasamharam, the death of Soora, enacted with elaborate preparation. It attracts millions to the beaches of Thiruchendur, while the deity in the temple is accorded the highest and most special honors.

Prepare, get organised and set up the house

Observance: auspicious things to do

1. Rise and wash your hair during your ablutions.

2 For those living by a river: face Upstream, draw a six-point star in the water, write ‘saravana bhava’ in your language and perform your cleansings, Otherwise, face north, draw the star and write ‘saravana bhava’ in the air before your ablutions.

3. Prepare lunch with vadai and payasam as neivedya. If you are observing a special fast, cook your own food following the necessary restrictions of a palaharam.

·         For this particular fast many people refrain from eating completely. Others eat food cooked without salt.

·         Some eat milk, fruits, kesari, sweets, chappati and the like, but avoid biscuits and cookies, and cooked rice.

4. Chant the Skanda Shashti Kavacham whenever possible, even as you cook. This of course will not be possible unless you know it by heart. Reading and cooking simultaneously is better avoided!

·         There are those who chant it thirty-six times a day.·         Read each of the six kavachams once.

5. Perform a small pooja for Muruga offering the vadai payasam neivedya.

6. Visit a shrine of Muruga if possible.

On the sixth lunar tithi: Shashti

It is considered auspicious to invite a Brahmachari to come and eat and offer him daanam and dakshina. Follow the pattern above incorporating the following changes.

Wash your hair and prepare a full festival lunch (for a Brahmachari) with vadai and payasam as a neivedya. In case you are not able to serve lunch to a Brahmachari, you could do one of the following:

1. You could make a mental promise to make this donation and cook the meal and serve the Brahmachari whenever the opportunity arises. The beauty of such flexibility is that we need not fret if we are unable to perform this daanam on this particular day. All one needs to do is demonstrate serious intent and when the time comes, an opportunity will arise.

2. You could donate the daanam along with an uncooked meal:

·         Assemble a bundle of a half to one kilogram of rice, lentils like red gram toor dal, a few dried red chillies, a small packet of salt, some tamarind and some vegetables, especially green raw bananas: essentially the main ingredients of a meal.  Donate this along with the daanam of a veshti and angavastram with betel leaf, betel nut, fruits and dakshina to a brahmachari.

Devotees take bath and complete the vrat by consuming food after they witness the Soorasamhara at some temple.