Skanda Sashti – 23rd October
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All glories to the most merciful Shree Shree Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva.
All glories to Lord Muruga and his consorts Devayanai and Valli.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, and the other wonderful and inspiring gurus.
All glories to the wonderful servants of the Supreme Lord.
Skanda Sashti, the sixth day in the bright half of the Tamil month of Aippasi (18 October - November 16, 2009), is celebrated with an extra measure of grandeur in temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya. Skanda Sashti commemorates the destruction of evil by the Supreme General Kartikeya, son of Lord Shiva.
The Skanda Sashti festival ((from the 18th October - 23rd October) like most other Hindu festivals celebrates the victory of good over evil. According to Skanda Purana, the longest of the 18 Maha Puranas, the demons under the leadership of Surapadma, Simhamukha and Tarakasura defeated the Devas and took over the material creation. They found immense pleasure in torturing the Devas and other beings including humans. They went on a massive rampage and destroyed anything that belonged to Devas.
The Devas took refuge at the feet of Lord Shiva but Lord Shiva was in deep meditation. On the advice of Lord Brahma, all the devas took the help of Kamadeva to incite sexual desire in Lord Shiva. Kamadeva succeeded in his mission but the angry Lord Shiva reduced him into ashes. The semen that was emanated from Lord Shiva got divided into six parts and was deposited in the Ganga River. Mother Ganga then deposited the six parts in a forest and it assumed the form of six children. The children were looked after by the six Karthikai stars. Later, Mother Parvati combined the six babies into one. Therefore Lord Muruga is depicted differently sometimes with one face and two arms, sometimes with six faces and twelve arms and in some places with single face and four arms.
The demons continued their rampage and Soorapadman held many beings, sages and devas as captives. Lord Subramanya soon adorned the role of general of Devas and decided to annihilate the demons. He soon defeated the demons. In the final battle, Lord Muruga killed Soorapadman with his ‘Vel’ (spear) and this act of the Lord is known as Soorasamharam. The main Skanda Shasti festival is held on this day (23rd October).
Corresponding to the six days of the war over the evil forces, devotees undertake fasts, prayers and devotional singing to Lord Muruga. Many devotees stay in temples during these six days. Offering of Kavady on Skanda Sashti is a form of popular worship. Perhaps the most potent propitiatory rite that a devotee of Lord Muruga undertakes to perform is what is known as the Kavady. The benefits that the devotee gains from offering a Kavady to the Lord are a million fold greater than the little pain that he inflicts upon himself. Generally, people take a vow to offer the Lord a Kavady for the sake of tiding over a great calamity. Though this might, on the face of it, appear a little mercenary, a moment’s reflection will reveal that it contains in it the seed of love. After the ceremony he gets so God-intoxicated that his inner spiritual being gets awakened. This is also a method that ultimately leads to the supreme state of devotion. The Kavady-bearer enjoys a high state of religious fervour. He dances in ecstasy. His very appearance is awe-inspiring; there is divine radiance on his face. Devotees often experience the state of feeling union with the Lord.
The different names of Lord Muruga: -
Shanmugan: - He descended to destroy adharma.
Kartikeyan: - the Karttika maidens nursed him
Guhan: - He resides in the cavern of one's heart
Saravanabhavan: - He belonged to Lake Saravanai where he was born
Arumugan: - He who has six faces.
Murugan: - The beautiful one
Karttikeya: - meaning 'son of Krittika'
Kumara: - meaning 'child or son'
Skanda: - meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit
Senthil: - the red or formidable one
The six-syllabled mantra chanted for Lord Muruga: -
OM SARA-VANA-BAVA NAMAHA/POTRI (please note in north India namah (I offer my obeisance’s) is used and in South India Potri is used. Both have the same meaning. How to perform a simple Skanda Sashti puja at your home: You can do this Puja on all six days of the Skanda Sashti Vrata or on the Soorasamharam day (23rd October). The devotee should have a bath and wear clean clothes before proceeding to the puja place. Have all the requirements for the Puja and the havan arranged on a tray. Before beginning any puja try to create a calm and pleasant atmosphere. Try to keep all the puja items near you. Sit facing East or North. Take a betel leaf, betel nut, rice and flowers and pray to Shree Ganeshji “Om ganapataye aavaahayaamee sthapayamee” and keep on the bedi (prayer place). Offer Lord Ganesha incense, lamp and flowers. Then offer him 4 drops of water, panchamrit, chandan dot, sprinkle rice and then flower petals, Tulsi leaf, incense, lamp and some sweet rice and then betel leaf and then finally lamp. Then offer Lord Ganesha his favourite food viz. kheer (sweet rice), sugar candy and laddus. Then meditate on Lord Muruga – You can do this silently or by chanting “Om vali devasena samedha Shree Subrahmanya Swaamine namaha dhyaayaamee”
Now invoke Lord Muruga. Take a betel leaf, betel nut, rice and flowers and pray to silently pray to Lord Muruga or chant “Om Vali devasena swaamine namaha aavaahayaamee sthapayamee” and keep on the bedi. Then offer Lord Muruga 4 drops of water, panchamrit, chandan dot, sprinkle rice and then flower petals, Tulsi leaf, incense, lamp and some sweet rice and then betel leaf and then finally lamp. Now you can chant Skanda Sashti kavacham, Subramanya Bhujangam or read Skanda Purana or any katha (story) related to Lord Muruga. If you have prepared any food (navediyam) you can offer it to Lord Muruga now. At the end of the Puja you can thank Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga for helping in successfully conducting your pooja. For a free download of the Skanda Sashti kavacham mantras plz visit this website For the free MP3 download of the Skanda Sashti kavacham plz visit this website For a free download of the Subramanya Bhujangam mantras plz visit these websites http://www.kanchiforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1313 For the free MP3 download of the Skanda Sashti kavacham plz visit this website Please remember that prayers to Lord Muruga are not only for the Tamil-speaking people but also for all Hindu’s. PLEASE lets not segregate rather congregate. Thank you for taking time to read this article. We are trying to reach out not only to Hindus but to others of other faiths as well. By compiling and publishing these articles we hope that others will understand what a beautiful and diversified way of life Hinduism (Sanathan Dharma) really is. Please alert your friends and family of this website. You may pass these articles to friends and family who do not have access to the Internet or even print them and keep them in a file. These articles are published so that it will be a reference to you and your family when you need clarification of certain topics. Jai Shree Muruga.