Festival · 2026
Skanda Sashti 2026 — Sunday, 15 November 2026
Skanda Sashti is the sixth day of the bright half after Deepavali, when Tamil devotees end a six-day fast for Murugan with the re-enactment of his victory over Surapadman.
In 2026
Sunday, 15 November 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Shashthi: 14 Nov, 11:24 PM – 16 Nov, 2:01 AM
- Lunar month
- Kartika
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:43 AM / 5:27 PM
- Sunset
- 5:27 PM
Rule: Kartika Shukla Shashthi (the Tamil month Aippasi), the Soorasamharam day: the first day Shashthi prevails at sunset.
In 2027
Thursday, 4 November 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Shashthi: 3 Nov, 7:32 PM – 4 Nov, 9:38 PM
- Lunar month
- Kartika
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:34 AM / 5:34 PM
- Sunset
- 5:34 PM
Rule: Kartika Shukla Shashthi (the Tamil month Aippasi), the Soorasamharam day: the first day Shashthi prevails at sunset.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Skanda Sashti?
Skanda Sashti, or Kanda Sashti in Tamil, is the most important of the monthly Sashti days sacred to Murugan, also called Skanda, Kartikeya, Subrahmanya and Kumara. It falls on the Shashthi of the bright fortnight in the Tamil month of Aippasi, the lunar month of Kartika, and closes a six-day period of fasting and prayer that begins on the day after the new moon of Deepavali.
The festival remembers the war of Murugan against the asura Surapadman and his brothers, as told in the Kanda Puranam, the Tamil retelling of the Skanda Purana by Kachiappa Sivachariar. Born from the sparks of Shiva’s third eye and raised by the six Krittika mothers, the young Murugan leads the army of the gods and receives the vel, the spear, from his mother Parvati. On the sixth day he meets Surapadman on the shore of the sea. The asura takes many forms and finally hides as a mango tree; Murugan splits it with the vel, and the two halves become the peacock that carries him and the rooster on his banner. The story is read as the ending of pride and the taking-in of what was opposed.
Tiruchendur, on the coast of Thoothukudi district, is the centre of the festival, since it is held to be the place of the battle and is one of the six abodes of Murugan, the Arupadai Veedu. On the evening of Sashti the Soorasamharam is enacted on the beach before a huge crowd, and on the following day Murugan’s wedding to Deivanai, the Thirukalyanam, is celebrated. The other abodes, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruttani, Pazhamudircholai and Thiruparankundram, and Murugan temples everywhere hold their own observance.
For the six days many devotees eat once a day or live on fruit, milk and water, spend time in the temple and recite the Kanda Sashti Kavasam, a Tamil hymn of protection written by Devaraya Swamigal. The fast is closed after the Soorasamharam or on the following morning.
How it is observed
- The six-day fast begins on the day after the Deepavali new moon; devotees eat once a day, or only fruit and milk.
- Many recite the Kanda Sashti Kavasam each morning and evening, and some the Skanda Guru Kavasam as well.
- Devotees stay at or visit Tiruchendur and other Murugan temples through the six days.
- On Sashti evening the Soorasamharam, Murugan’s victory over Surapadman, is enacted on the Tiruchendur shore and in many temples.
- The fast is broken after the Soorasamharam or on the next morning, often with a simple temple meal.
- The next day Murugan’s wedding to Deivanai, the Thirukalyanam, is celebrated in the temples.
How the date is fixed
Skanda Sashti is the Shashthi of the bright half of Kartika, which falls in the Tamil solar month of Aippasi, and it is the Soorasamharam day. Tradition prefers the Shashthi that is joined with Panchami, the tithi before it, over the one joined with Saptami. In practice this means the day is the first day on which Shashthi is present at sunset, the hour of the Soorasamharam. If Shashthi is present at sunset on two days, the first is taken. The six days of fasting end on this day, so they are counted back from it.
Where practice differs
Skanda Sashti is above all a Tamil festival, kept across Tamil Nadu, in Puducherry, among Tamils in Sri Lanka, and in Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and South Africa, where Murugan temples draw large crowds. Tamil almanacs name the month Aippasi, a solar month, and occasionally the lunar and solar reckonings shift the festival relative to other calendars. In Karnataka Subrahmanya is honoured chiefly on Subrahmanya Shashthi, the Shashthi of the following lunar month, Margashirsha, at Kukke Subramanya and Ghati Subramanya. In Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh the same Kartika Shukla Shashthi is the main day of Chhath, the worship of the Sun, a separate festival that happens to share the tithi.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
When does the Skanda Sashti fast start?
On the day after the new moon of Deepavali, the Pratipada of the bright half, and it runs for six days to Sashti. The Sashti day shown above is the last day of the fast.
What is Soorasamharam?
It is the enactment of Murugan’s victory over the asura Surapadman, held on the evening of Skanda Sashti, most famously on the shore at Tiruchendur.
Can the Skanda Sashti fast be kept at home?
Yes. Many devotees keep it at home, eating once a day or only fruit and milk, reciting the Kanda Sashti Kavasam and visiting a nearby Murugan temple when they can. Those with health needs keep a lighter fast.
Is Skanda Sashti the same as the monthly Sashti?
Murugan is worshipped on the Shashthi of every bright fortnight, but the one in Aippasi, with the six-day fast and the Soorasamharam, is the great annual festival.