Shukla Shashthiషష్ఠి
Tithis 1, 6 and 11. Celebration and beginnings.
- Deity
- Kartikeya (Skanda / Subrahmanya)
- Paksha
- Shukla Paksha
- Group
- Nanda — joyful
- Sanskrit
- Shashthi
- Telugu
- షష్ఠి
- Number
- 6 / 15
About Shukla Shashthi
The sixth tithi belongs to Kartikeya, commander of the divine armies, and it carries a martial, protective energy that is especially associated with the wellbeing of children. Skanda Sashti in shukla paksha is observed monthly, and Subrahmanya Shashti in Margashira is a major observance in the Telugu country.
The paksha
In shukla paksha the moon is waxing, gaining light each night. The tradition treats the waxing half as favourable to growth, expansion and outward undertakings, and most auspicious ceremonies are placed in it.
Nanda — joyful
Nanda means 'delight'. These tithis favour festivity, auspicious openings, art and anything undertaken in good spirits. They are ruled in the muhurta scheme by Friday, and work begun on a Nanda tithi that falls on a Friday is held to be doubly favoured.
What it traditionally favours
Worship of Subrahmanya, matters concerning children, coronations and installations, and acts requiring courage.
How this tithi is reckoned
The tithi shown on any date page is the one running at sunrise in the city you have selected, which is the convention used by published panchangams. Because a tithi can begin or end at any hour, the same calendar date can carry a different tithi in two cities several time zones apart — this is a real difference, not an error, and it is why every timing on this site is computed for a specific place rather than for a country.