Skanda · Subramanya · The lord of the six abodes
Murugan
Lord Murugan, also Lord Kartikeya, Skanda and Subramanya, is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and the commander of the gods’ army, who carries the vel. Chant his mantra, keep his Tuesdays and the six days of Skanda Sashti, and see when his days fall in your city.
- His day
- Tuesday
- Next: Tue 3 Nov
- Next Murugan day
- Skanda Sashti
- In 14 days · Sun 15 Nov
Abode 3 of 6 · Where he stands alone, as Dandayudhapani
Palani
A hill in Dindigul district where he stands as Dandayudhapani, a young ascetic holding only a staff, after he left home over the fruit of wisdom. By tradition his image was made by the siddhar Bogar from nine minerals, the navapashanam. Pilgrims climb the steps or ride the winch, and many carry a kavadi up the hill at Thaipusam.
About Murugan →Abode 1 of 6 · Where he married Deivanai
Thiruparankundram
The first of the six, a rock hill on the edge of Madurai. By tradition, after his victory over Surapadman, Indra gave him his daughter Deivanai, also called Devasena, in marriage here. The shrine is cut into the rock, and it is said that the abhishekam here is poured over his vel.
Abode 2 of 6 · Where he overcame Surapadman
Thiruchendur
The only one of the six by the sea, on the shore of the Gulf of Mannar. It is told that he camped here with the gods’ army and overcame the demon Surapadman, and at Skanda Sashti the battle, Soorasamharam, is enacted on the beach before lakhs of devotees. Here he is worshipped as Senthil Andavar.
Abode 4 of 6 · Where he taught his father
Swamimalai
A shrine on a raised hill near Kumbakonam. By tradition the boy explained the meaning of the sacred syllable Om to Lord Shiva himself, who listened as his pupil; so he is Swaminatha, the teacher of the lord. Its sixty steps are said to be named after the sixty years of the Tamil cycle.
Abode 5 of 6 · Where his anger was calmed, and he married Valli
Thiruthani
A hill in the north of Tamil Nadu. It is told that he came here when the war was over and his anger cooled, and that here he married Valli, the daughter of a hill chief. Its steps are said to number 365, one for each day of the year, and on the last night of the year pilgrims climb them singing.
Abode 6 of 6 · Where he tested Avvaiyar
Pazhamudircholai
In the forest of the Alagar hills north of Madurai. Here, the story goes, the boy Lord Murugan sat in a jamun tree and asked the poet Avvaiyar whether she wanted her fruit roasted or not, then laughed as she blew the dust off the fruit he shook down. He is worshipped here with Valli and Deivanai beside him.
Tap an abode, or its name, to read its story. They stand round his vel, and Thiruchendur is the one on the shore. They follow the order of the Thirumurugatruppadai, the Sangam poem by Nakkeerar that names them. For the fifth the poem names every hill where he dances, and tradition gives it to Thiruthani. The stories are traditions, and the tellings differ.
His days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
The sixth day of the bright half of Kartika, in October or November, ending a six-day fast: Soorasamharam, his victory over Surapadman, enacted on the shore at Thiruchendur and in his temples everywhere.
- Every Tuesday
- Tue 3 NovHis day of the week
- Purnima
- Tue 24 Nov
Call on Swaminatha
हे स्वामिनाथ करुणाकर दीनबन्धो
श्रीपार्वतीशमुखपङ्कजपद्मबन्धो।
He Swaminatha karunakara dinabandho,
Shri Parvatisha mukha pankaja padmabandho.
O Swaminatha, merciful one, friend of the humble; you who make the lotus of Shiva’s face bloom, as the sun opens the lotus.
हे स्वामिनाथ, करुणा करने वाले, दीनों के बन्धु; जैसे सूर्य कमल को खिलाता है, वैसे ही आप पार्वती के स्वामी शिव के मुख-कमल को आनन्द से खिला देते हैं।
The Subrahmanya Ashtakam, also called the Karavalamba Stotram, is eight verses in Sanskrit, each ending with a plea to the lord of Valli to hold out his hand to the one who prays. It is traditionally credited to Adi Shankaracharya, and many recite it on Tuesdays and through Skanda Sashti.
His prayers
- Kanda Sashti KavasamThe Tamil armour of prayer by Devaraya Swamigal, read every day and through the six days of Skanda SashtiSoon
- Subrahmanya Karavalamba StotramEight verses in Sanskrit, asking him to hold out his handSoon
- ThiruppugazhThe songs of Arunagirinathar, the poet of the 15th centurySoon
- 108 names of MuruganFor japa with a malaSoon
A simple Tuesday or Shashthi puja
Lord Murugan is worshipped on Tuesdays and on the Shashthi of the bright half, many keeping a fast until evening. At home a short and calm puja is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.
- Bathe early and clean the place of worship.
- Place his image or picture, or his vel, and light a ghee lamp before it.
- Offer red flowers, and apply vibhuti, sandal paste or kumkum.
- Chant Om Saravanabhavaya Namah 108 times, or read the Kanda Sashti Kavasam.
- Offer panchamirtham, milk or fruit as naivedyam.
- Wave camphor in aarti, bow, and share the prasadam.
What you need
- His image or picture, or a small vel
- A ghee lamp and camphor
- Red flowers
- Vibhuti, sandal paste or kumkum
- Panchamirtham, milk or fruit
Who is Murugan
Lord Murugan, also called Lord Kartikeya, Skanda and Subramanya, is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and the commander of the gods’ army. He carries the vel, the spear his mother gave him, rides the peacock and has the rooster on his flag. In Tamil Nadu he is the god of the Tamil hills, worshipped since the Sangam poems, and the six abodes of the Arupadai Veedu are his greatest shrines.
By tradition he was born to defeat a demon whom only a son of Lord Shiva could overcome: Tarakasura in the Sanskrit Puranas, Surapadman in the Tamil Kanda Puranam. Six sparks of fire from Shiva were carried to the Saravana, a pond of reeds, and became six babies, nursed by the six Krittikas. When Goddess Parvati took them in her arms they became one child with six faces, Shanmukha.
The tellings of the north and the south differ. In much of North India he is the elder brother of Lord Ganesha and is often worshipped as a lifelong celibate; in the south he is the younger brother, married to Valli, the daughter of a hill chief, and to Deivanai, the daughter of Indra. His greatest days are Skanda Sashti, Thaipusam and Vaikasi Visakam, and his temples stand wherever Tamil families have settled, from Malaysia and Singapore to Sri Lanka, Australia and Britain.
- Kartikeya raised by the six Krittikas, the stars of the Pleiades
- Skanda Kanda in Tamil, the name of the Skanda Purana
- Subramanya also Subrahmanya, dear to the wise
- Shanmukha the six-faced, Arumugam in Tamil
- Saravanabhava born in the Saravana, the reed pond
- Kumara the ever-young prince
- Velan the bearer of the vel
- Swaminatha the teacher of the lord, at Swamimalai
- Senthil as Thiruchendur calls him
ॐ शरवणभवाय नमः
Om Saravanabhavaya Namah
I bow to the one born in the Saravana, the pond of reeds. It is his six-syllable mantra, the shadakshara, sa-ra-va-na-bha-va, and many chant it 108 times on Tuesdays and on Shashthi.
सरकंडों के ताल शरवण में जन्म लेने वाले प्रभु को मेरा प्रणाम। यह उनका छह अक्षरों वाला षडक्षर मंत्र है, और कई भक्त मंगलवार और षष्ठी को इसे 108 बार जपते हैं।
तत्पुरुषाय विद्महे महासेनाय धीमहि।
तन्नः षण्मुखः प्रचोदयात्॥
Tatpurushaya vidmahe, Mahasenaya dhimahi,
Tanno Shanmukhah prachodayat.
May we know the Supreme Person, and fix our minds on Mahasena, the great commander; may the six-faced one move and guide our understanding.
हम उस परम पुरुष को जानें और देवताओं की सेना के महान सेनापति पर अपना मन लगाएँ; छह मुखों वाले प्रभु हमारी समझ को जगाएँ और राह दिखाएँ।
Skanda Sashti, Thaipusam and his great days
By the moon and the stars
Skanda Sashti
Six days of fasting and prayer from the first day of the bright half of Kartika, the Tamil month of Aippasi, in October or November. On the sixth, Soorasamharam, his victory over Surapadman is enacted, above all on the beach at Thiruchendur, and the next day his wedding to Deivanai is celebrated.
Thaipusam
The day the moon is in the Pusam nakshatra, the star Pushya, in the Tamil month of Thai, in January or February, usually at the full moon. It is told that on this day Goddess Parvati gave him the vel. Devotees carry the kavadi to Palani, to Batu Caves in Malaysia and through the streets of Singapore and Mauritius.
Vaikasi Visakam
His birthday, kept on the day of the Visakam nakshatra, the star Vishakha, in the Tamil month of Vaikasi, in May or June, near the full moon. Milk and flowers are offered in his temples, and processions are taken out at the six abodes.
Panguni Uthiram
The day of the Uthiram nakshatra in Panguni, in March or April, held by tradition as a day of divine weddings, among them his marriage to Deivanai. Many pilgrims walk to Palani for it.
Shashthi and Krittika, each month
The sixth day of the bright half every month is his vrat, kept with a fast and the Kanda Sashti Kavasam. Every month too, the day of the Krittika nakshatra, Kiruthigai, is his, after the six Krittikas who raised him; in Karthigai it brings Karthigai Deepam, the festival of lamps.
What his symbols mean
The vel
The spear Goddess Parvati gave him to overcome Surapadman. In one common reading its broad, long and sharp blade is knowledge, which cuts through ignorance.
The peacock
His mount. By tradition one half of the defeated Surapadman became the peacock, its pride tamed to carry him.
The rooster flag
The other half became the rooster on his banner, the Seval Kodi, which calls in the dawn.
Six faces
Shanmukha: the six babies of the Saravana made one, and in one reading the six directions he watches over.
Valli and Deivanai
His two consorts in the south, read by some as desire and action, the wish to do good and the doing of it.
The kavadi
The arched burden carried on the shoulders to his hills, after Idumban, who by tradition carried two hills to Palani on a pole.
His stories
Across India
Tamil Nadu
The god of the Tamil hills, with the six abodes and a temple on almost every hill. At Thaipusam and Panguni Uthiram pilgrims walk to Palani carrying the kavadi, and the six days of Skanda Sashti end on the beach at Thiruchendur.
Kerala
Worshipped as Subrahmanya, at Haripad and in many family shrines. At Thaipooyam devotees dance with the kavadi in his temples.
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Worshipped as Subramanya, often as a serpent, at Kukke Subramanya and Mopidevi. Subrahmanya Shashthi, in Margashirsha, is his great day, and many pray to him to lift the naga dosha.
North India and Bengal
Known as Lord Kartikeya, often as the elder brother of Lord Ganesha and a celibate. At Kartik Swami in the hills of Uttarakhand he is worshipped on a ridge, and in Bengal Kartik Puja is kept at the end of the month of Kartik, by many couples praying for a child.
Abroad
Wherever Tamil families have settled: Batu Caves in Malaysia, the Thendayuthapani temple in Singapore, Nallur and Kataragama in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and temples in Sydney, London and near Washington, where Thaipusam and Skanda Sashti draw great crowds.
His temples
- Thiruparankundram Murugan TempleThiruparankundram, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
- Thiruchendur Murugan TempleThiruchendur, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu
- Palani Dandayudhapani Swamy TemplePalani, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu
- Swamimalai Swaminatha Swamy TempleSwamimalai, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
- Thiruthani Murugan TempleThiruthani, Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu
- Pazhamudircholai Murugan TempleAlagar Hills, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
- Haripad Sree Subrahmanya Swamy TempleHaripad, Alappuzha, Kerala
- Kukke Subramanya TempleSubramanya, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka
- Kartik Swami TempleRudraprayag, Uttarakhand
- Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar TempleBatu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia
- Sri Thendayuthapani TempleTank Road, Singapore
- Nallur Kandaswamy TempleNallur, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- Kataragama TempleKataragama, Uva, Sri Lanka
- Sydney Murugan TempleMays Hill, New South Wales, Australia
- London Sri Murugan TempleManor Park, London, United Kingdom
- Murugan Temple of North AmericaLanham, Maryland, United States
Questions
When is Skanda Sashti in 2026?
Skanda Sashti, the day of Soorasamharam, is on Sunday 15 November 2026 in New Delhi. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Is Lord Murugan the same as Lord Kartikeya?
Yes. Lord Murugan is his Tamil name; Lord Kartikeya, Skanda and Subramanya are his names in Sanskrit and across India. The tellings differ by region: in much of the north he is the elder brother of Lord Ganesha and a celibate, and in the south the younger, married to Valli and Deivanai.
Which day is Lord Murugan’s?
Tuesday, Chevvai in Tamil, when many keep a fast for him. Each month the Shashthi of the bright half and the day of the Krittika nakshatra are his too.
What are the six abodes of Lord Murugan?
The Arupadai Veedu: Thiruparankundram, Thiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Thiruthani and Pazhamudircholai, all in Tamil Nadu, named in the Sangam poem Thirumurugatruppadai. All but Thiruchendur, which is by the sea, stand on hills.
What is Skanda Sashti?
A six-day fast that ends on the sixth day of the bright half of Kartika, the Tamil month of Aippasi, in October or November. On the last day, Soorasamharam, his victory over Surapadman is enacted, above all on the beach at Thiruchendur.
What is Thaipusam?
His festival on the Pusam nakshatra in the Tamil month of Thai, in January or February, usually at the full moon, when it is told that Goddess Parvati gave him the vel. Devotees carry the kavadi to his hills, to Palani in India and to Batu Caves in Malaysia.
What is the vel?
His spear, given to him by his mother Parvati to overcome Surapadman. It is worshipped on its own in his temples, and in one common reading stands for knowledge that cuts through ignorance.
Why does Lord Murugan ride a peacock?
By the Tamil telling, when his vel split Surapadman in two, one half became the peacock he rides and the other the rooster on his flag.
What is a kavadi?
An arched frame carried on the shoulders, often with pots of milk, to his temple as a vow, above all at Thaipusam. By tradition it recalls Idumban, who carried two hills to Palani on a pole.