Festival · Murugan

Skanda Sashti

The end of the six-day fast for Lord Murugan, Lord Shiva’s son, who on this Shashthi destroyed the demon Surapadman. Soorasamharam, the battle, is re-enacted on the shore at Tiruchendur, and his wedding is celebrated the next day.

Skanda Sashti 2026
Sunday 15 November 2026
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Sunday 15 November 2026

Shukla Shashthi tithi

Begins
11:24 pm, 14 Nov
Ends
2:02 am, 16 Nov
Sunrise
6:44 am
Sunset
5:28 pm
Moonrise
11:45 am
Moonset
10:14 pm

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Keep the six-day fast, or fast today
  • Recite the Kanda Sashti Kavasam
  • Worship at a Murugan temple in the evening
Murugan, his six abodes →

What it remembers

Skanda Sashti, Kanda Sashti in Tamil, is the six-day festival of Lord Murugan, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, kept in the bright half of Kartika, in the Tamil month of Aippasi. Devotees fast from the first day after the Diwali new moon, and on the sixth, Shashthi, comes Soorasamharam, the day Murugan destroyed the asura Surapadman. At Tiruchendur the battle is played out on the seashore before vast crowds, and the next day he is married to Deivanai. In the North the same Shashthi is Chhath Puja.

The six-faced child

The Puranas tell that when the asuras drove the gods from heaven, six sparks of fire came from Lord Shiva’s third eye. They were carried to the Saravana pond, by Agni in some tellings and by Ganga or Vayu in others, and became six baby boys, nursed by the Krittikas, the mothers of the Pleiades. Goddess Parvati took them in her arms and they became one child with six faces: Shanmukha, or Arumugam in Tamil.

Surapadman and his brothers

The asura Surapadman and his brothers Simhamukha and Tarakasura had won boons through long penance that made them all but undying: only a son of Lord Shiva could defeat them. With them they tormented the gods. Lord Murugan, the commander of the gods’ army, went to war against them, as the Tamil Kanda Puranam tells it, and over six days he overcame the brothers one by one.

The Vel from his mother

Before the battle, Goddess Parvati gave her son the Vel, his shining spear. It is the weapon he holds in every temple and picture, and devotees take it as the sharp, clear knowledge that cuts through ignorance.

The mango tree, the peacock and the rooster

On the sixth day, at Tiruchendur, Surapadman fled into the sea and took the form of a vast mango tree. Lord Murugan split it in two with his Vel. One half became a peacock, which he took as his mount, and the other a rooster, which he set on his banner, so even his enemy was taken into his service. Then, in thanks, Indra gave him his daughter Deivanai in marriage.

Keeping the six-day fast

The fast runs from Pratipada, the day after the Diwali new moon, to Soorasamharam on the sixth day. People keep it in many ways, from one simple meal a day to fruit and milk alone; follow your own tradition where it differs, and keep it lighter if your health needs it.

  1. On the first morning, bathe and take the vow (sankalpa) to fast for the six days.
  2. Eat one simple vegetarian meal a day, or live on fruit and milk; some keep a full fast on the sixth day.
  3. Each day, light a lamp before a picture of Lord Murugan with his Vel and peacock, and offer flowers and a simple naivedyam.
  4. Recite the Kanda Sashti Kavasam each day, or read the Thiruppugazh or the story of Skanda.
  5. Visit a Murugan temple when you can, above all on the sixth day, to see the Soorasamharam.
  6. Break the fast after the Soorasamharam that evening, or the next day after the Thirukalyanam, as your family does.

What you need

  • A picture or image of Lord Murugan with his Vel
  • A lamp, flowers and incense
  • Fruit and milk for the fast and the naivedyam
  • The Kanda Sashti Kavasam, in Tamil or in transliteration

Across India

Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu

The temple on the seashore, one of Lord Murugan’s six abodes, is where the battle is said to have been fought. On the sixth day the processional image is carried to the shore, and before huge crowds Surapadman is struck down by the Vel again and again as he changes form. Thirukalyanam, the wedding, follows the next day.

Across Tamil Nadu

Murugan temples, the other five abodes among them, keep the six days with daily worship and readings, and stage their own Soorasamharam: effigies of the asuras are carried through the temple streets and struck down with the Vel, and the wedding is held the next evening.

Sri Lanka

Tamil temples keep the Skanda Sashti fast, sing Lord Murugan’s praises through the six days and enact the Soorasamharam, called Sooranpor, on the sixth.

Malaysia

At the Sri Kandaswamy Kovil in Kuala Lumpur, among the first temples in Malaysia to hold the festival, devotees watch the mock battle on the sixth day and end their fast with the Thirukalyanam on the seventh.

When it falls

Shukla Shashthi of Kartika. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Skanda Sashti in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2026Sunday 15 November 2026
  2. 2027Thursday 4 November 2027
  3. 2028Monday 23 October 2028

Questions

When is Skanda Sashti in 2026?

Sunday 15 November 2026, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Skanda Sashti fall?

Shukla Shashthi of Kartika. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Skanda Sashti kept?

Families keep the six-day fast, or fast today, recite the Kanda Sashti Kavasam and worship at a Murugan temple in the evening. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Skanda Sashti?

Murugan. The end of the six-day fast for Lord Murugan, Lord Shiva’s son, who on this Shashthi destroyed the demon Surapadman. Soorasamharam, the battle, is re-enacted on the shore at Tiruchendur, and his wedding is celebrated the next day.

What is Soorasamharam?

Soorasamharam, the destruction of Sura, is the last day of the six-day Skanda Sashti, when Lord Murugan destroyed the asura Surapadman with his Vel. Temples act out the battle in the evening, most famously on the shore at Tiruchendur, and many devotees end their fast after it.

Are Skanda Sashti and Kanda Sashti the same?

Yes. Kanda is the Tamil form of Skanda, one of Lord Murugan’s names. Every bright Shashthi of the year is a Sashti day sacred to him, but this one, in Kartika, is the great Skanda Sashti. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka keep Subrahmanya Shashti for him a month later, in Margashirsha.

Why is Skanda Sashti on the same day as Chhath Puja?

Both fall on Shashthi, the sixth day of the bright half of Kartika. Chhath, kept mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, honours Surya, the Sun, and Chhathi Maiya; Skanda Sashti, kept mainly by Tamil Hindus, honours Lord Murugan. In 2026, for example, both are on Sunday 15 November.

What is the Kanda Sashti Kavasam?

A Tamil hymn to Lord Murugan composed by Devaraya Swamigal in the nineteenth century. Kavasam means armour: it asks him to guard every part of the body and all of life. Many Tamil families play or recite it every day, and above all through the six days of Skanda Sashti.

Why do some calendars show Soorasamharam a day earlier?

When Shashthi begins during Panchami, the fifth day, many temples keep Soorasamharam on that day rather than the next, and Tamil panchangs can differ from others by a day. Outside India the date can also move with the time zone, so follow your local temple.

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