Aadi Krithigai is the day of Kṛttikā nakṣatra in the Tamil solar month of Āḍi, which opens Dakṣiṇāyana Puṇyakālam. Kṛttikā comes every month and is always dear to Lord Murugan, but the Kṛttikā of Āḍi is held to be the most potent of them all. The Skanda Purāṇa tells how six sparks from Śiva's third eye became six infants, how the six Kṛttikā maidens nursed them, and how Pārvatī joined them into the six-faced Ṣaṇmukha. Śiva then blessed the foster mothers that earnest prayer to Murugan on a Kṛttikā day would never go unanswered. Keeping this vrata is believed to bring wisdom, the removal of obstacles, relief from debt and the easing of Sevvāy (Maṅgala) doṣa. How the day is fixed: The pañcāṅga takes the day in the solar month of Āḍi, while the Sun is in Karkaṭa, on which Kṛttikā nakṣatra is present at local sunrise. The day is set by the solar month and the star, not by a lunar tithi. Keep in mind: Nakṣatra timings change with the sunrise of each place, so the day can move by one depending on where you are. Check a local pañcāṅga before fixing the fast. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. The fast: Vegetarian discipline begins the evening before. Devotees rise in Brahma Muhūrta, bathe, wear red, yellow or orange, and keep either a Nirjala fast with no food or water from sunrise until the evening pūjā, or a Phalāhāra fast of milk, tender coconut and fruit. The fast is broken after the evening pūjā with prasādam or light sāttvika food. Home pūjā: Murugan with Vaḷḷi and Deivayānai, or a Vel, is set on a raised seat facing east or north, a ghee lamp is lit and a short Gaṇeśa prayer opens the worship. A metal Vel may be bathed with milk, rose water and sandal while chanting Om Saravanabhava, then adorned with sandal, kumkum and red flowers. Sweet Pongal, Pañcāmṛta, bananas, betel and coconut are offered, and camphor ārati closes the pūjā. Japa and stotras: Through the day devotees chant Om Saravanabhava 108 or 1008 times. They also recite Kanda Ṣaṣṭi Kavacham, Kandar Anubhūti, Subrahmaṇya Bhujangam, Kanda Guru Kavacham and the Subrahmaṇya Aṣṭottara, and even those who cannot fast may keep the japa. Worth remembering: Aadi Krithigai is not the same as the monthly Kṛttikā fast, nor as Kārttigai Deepam in the month of Kārttikai. On this day the hill shrines of Tiruttani, Palani and Swamimalai fill with kāvaḍi bearers, and Tiruttani holds its float festival on the Saravaṇa tank. How strictly the fast is kept, which stotras are read and whether the family goes to a hill shrine all follow kulācāra and deśācāra. Tamil households keep the day most widely, while Murugan devotees elsewhere often keep only the japa or a simple fast. Whatever the practice, it is best to follow the way the elders of one's own house have kept it.
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