Kṛṣṇa Ṣaṣṭhī is the Ṣaṣṭhī of the dark half, about two weeks after the bright one. The Saura Purāṇa counts Ṣaṣṭhī among the regular fasting tithis without tying each one to Skanda. Households keep this day as a quieter monthly vrata, for Murugan in the South, for Kārtikeya in Gujarat and Maharashtra and for Mā Ṣaṣṭhī in Bengal and Odisha. The best-known named Ṣaṣṭhīs fall in the bright half, so this day is usually the plain monthly fast. How the day is fixed: The vrata is kept on the day the Ṣaṣṭhī of the waning fortnight prevails at local sunrise. Because sunrise differs by place, two cities can keep it a day apart. Keep in mind: Amānta and pūrṇimānta calendars give this waning Ṣaṣṭhī different month names, because the pūrṇimānta month has already turned at the full moon. The tithi and the day are the same in both. 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: Those keeping the vrata take a single meal or fast until evening and visit a Subrahmaṇya shrine, while in Bengal and Odisha mothers worship Mā Ṣaṣṭhī for their children. The fast is broken as family or temple custom directs, often when Ṣaṣṭhī ends or the next morning. Worth remembering: Kṛṣṇa Ṣaṣṭhī is kept in the same way as Śukla Ṣaṣṭhī, and only the fortnight differs. Skanda Ṣaṣṭhī, Subrahmaṇya Ṣaṣṭhī and Bengal's Jamai Ṣaṣṭhī fall in the bright half and are separate observances. Whether a house keeps this waning Ṣaṣṭhī as well as the waxing one is a matter of family custom. The surest guide is the practice the elders of one's own house have kept.
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