Subrahmaṇya Ṣaṣṭī is the Śukla Ṣaṣṭī of Mārgaśīrṣa, kept for Murugan, also called Skanda or Subrahmaṇya. In Tamil homes it is the most careful of the monthly Ṣaṣṭī fasts, while in Andhra and Karnataka it is the Lord's principal day of the year, when he is worshipped also in his serpent form. Devotees keep the fast for children, for the removal of nāga doṣa and for the Lord's protection. The day has no battle narrative of its own, and its worth lies in worship offered with greater care than on any other Ṣaṣṭī. How the day is fixed: The day is the one on which Mārgaśīrṣa Śukla Ṣaṣṭhī prevails at local sunrise. Keep in mind: Because the day follows local sunrise, the civil date can differ by a day between places. Confirm it against a local pañcāṅga before planning the fast or a temple visit. 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. Fasting and abhiṣeka at home: Households that keep the monthly Ṣaṣṭhī fast more fully on this day, bathe the Vel or the Subrahmaṇya image with milk and recite longer stotras than usual. In Andhra and Karnataka the morning begins with milk, turmeric and kuṅkuma offered at an anthill and the nāga stone. Temples and pilgrimage: Kukke Subrahmaṇya in Karnataka holds its great chariot festival, and Mopidevi in Andhra draws large crowds of devotees seeking children and relief from nāga doṣa. Subrahmaṇya temples elsewhere hold special abhiṣeka and utsavam without the multi-day enactment of Tiruchendur's Aippasi festival. Stotras for the day: Subrahmaṇya Bhujaṅgam and the Subrahmaṇya Aṣṭottara suit the day, and Tamil households also recite the Kanda Ṣaṣṭi Kavacam. Worth remembering: Skanda Ṣaṣṭhī is the separate six-day festival of Aippasi that ends in Sūra Saṁhāram, while Subrahmaṇya Ṣaṣṭhī is a single day. In Maharashtra and parts of north Karnataka the same tithi is Khaṇḍobā's Campā Ṣaṣṭhī, which honours a different deity. How the day is kept depends heavily on region and family custom. Tamil and Kerala homes treat it as the year's most careful monthly Ṣaṣṭhī, Telugu and Kannada homes centre it on the anthill and the serpent form of the Lord, and some families add the feeding of a brahmacārī. It is best to follow the way the elders of one's own house have kept it.
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