Observance Murugan, Agni, Krittikas
Karthigai · Krittika
Krittika nakshatra, which comes round once in the twenty-seven day turn of the wheel, kept for Murugan: the six Krittika mothers nursed the six sparks that became him.
Karthigai · Krittika 2027 falls on Monday, 18 January, computed for Chennai.
Latitude, longitude and time zone 13.08, 80.27
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place.
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A tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Tamil Nadu calendar, computed for Chennai
- Monday, 18 January 2027
- Saturday, 5 February 2028
- Thursday, 25 January 2029
Where Karthigai · Krittika falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 18 Jan
- 2028: 5 Feb, 18 days later
- 2029: 25 Jan, 11 days earlier
The dates, year by year
Tamil Nadu calendar, computed for Chennai
What the day is
Krittika nakshatra, which comes round once in the twenty-seven day turn of the wheel, kept for Murugan: the six Krittika mothers nursed the six sparks that became him. Lamps are lit at dusk, the Murugan temples keep a special abhishekam, and many keep the Karthigai day of every month as a small vratam.
- Deity
- Murugan, Agni, Krittikas
- Kind
- Observance Days marked, watched or begun, without a fast or a feast of their own.
Significance
The presiding deity of Krittika is Agni, the fire, which is why the day is kept with lamps and why its god is Murugan, the child whom Agni carried as sparks from the eye of Siva. Karthikeya, the name the north and the Deccan use for him, simply means the son of the Krittikas, and the star is his in every region that knows him. Families under a vow to Murugan keep the Kiruthigai of every month, above all at Tiruttani, where the monthly star draws its own crowd. The row of lamps at the door that evening is the monthly echo of Karthigai Deepam, and many homes light it every month, not only in Karthigai.
How it is kept
The puja as a household does it, in order. Tick each step as it is done.
Karthigai · Krittika: how it is kept
Keep ready
- agal lamps, cleaned and filled
- cotton wicks
- sesame or ghee for the lamps
- pori urundai or adhirasam
- flowers for the Murugan shrine
The steps
0 of 7 done
What is cooked
Pori urundai of puffed rice and jaggery, adhirasam or payasam are offered, and those keeping the vow eat one vegetarian meal.
The hour
Clock times for Monday, 18 January 2027 at Chennai
The nakshatra running at sunrise; the lamps are lit at dusk.
The main rite. The Krittika nakshatra at sunrise fixes the day; the lamps are lit at dusk and the Murugan temple visit is in the evening.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 06:35 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
| Sunset | 18:03 | the moment the sun goes down |
| Pradosha kala | 18:03 to 20:27 | the 2 h 24 min after sunset, the evening worship hour |
Sunrise 06:35, sunset 18:03, UTC+5.5. These are the instants the rule is read at, not the temple's own puja times, which every temple prints for itself.
The day itself
| What | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | Shukla Dasami from previous day 12:27 until 10:28 | then Shukla Ekadasi until next day 07:50 |
| Nakshatra | Krittika until 21:06 | then Rohini until next day 18:55 |
| Rahu kaal | 08:01 to 09:27 (1 h 26 min) | the eighth of the daylight left alone for a beginning |
| Yamaganda | 10:53 to 12:19 (1 h 26 min) | the eighth ruled by Yama, also avoided |
| Gulika | 13:45 to 15:11 (1 h 26 min) | the eighth of Saturn’s son; what is done in it is said to repeat |
| Abhijit | 11:56 to 12:42 (0 h 46 min) | the midday muhurta, good for most things |
| Moonrise | 13:40 | moonset next day 03:03 |
For Monday, 18 January 2027 at Chennai. A time marked "previous day" or "next day" is on the clock of that day.
The fast
Those who keep it eat one meal and avoid non-vegetarian food. Pori urundai and payasam are the offering.
What is avoided
Those keeping it take no non-vegetarian food and eat once. A lamp lit at dusk is not blown out but left to burn down.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
Where the regions differ
Tamil Nadu and Kerala keep Karthigai monthly for Murugan; the Telugu and Kannada lists mark Krittika for Subrahmanya. The Karthigai in the month of Karthigai is Karthigai Deepam, the festival of lamps.
In other regions
- Tamil Nadu (the dates above)
- Tamil Nadu calls it Kiruthigai or Karthigai; Tiruttani, Tiruchendur and Palani hold a monthly Kiruthigai abhishekam, and Aadi Kiruthigai is a festival in its own right.
- Kerala
- Kerala calls the star Karthika and marks it at the Subrahmanya temples; Thrikkarthika in Vrischikam is its festival of lamps.
- Telugu
- The Telugu calendars mark Krittika for Subrahmanya, and devotees visit Mopidevi or the local Subrahmanya temple.
- Kannada
- Karnataka marks Krittika for Subrahmanya, most of all at Kukke Subrahmanya, and the deepotsava of the Karthika month is its festival of lamps.
The dates above are the Tamil Nadu reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Where this day is kept
Nearest first from Chennai, with what is recorded about each.
Temples of Murugan near you
Not recorded for this day in particular: the nearest temples of the day's own gods, for a reader whose own temple is not listed above.
- Vadapalani Andavar Temple 7.3 kmChennai, Tamil Nadu · Murugan as Vadapalani Andavar
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Shanmuganathar (Murugan) on the hill
- Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu · Kandaswamy (Murugan) of the battlefield
- Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu · Subramanya Swamy with Valli and Deivanai
Your family's own temple comes first, and its calendar is the one that decides.
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A temple is listed here only where the gazetteer's own line names this day, or where this day's own entry names the town, or where the day belongs to the ancestors or the nagas and the temple is recorded for that rite. Where neither table says anything, nothing is listed as kept for the day; where fewer than three are, the nearest temples of the day's own gods are added under a heading of their own.
Mantras
The prayers said with the day. Each opens with its words and meaning.
Fixing a day for it
The muhurtham rules for a puja held alongside, whose day the family chooses
Karthigai · Krittika's own date is set by the rule in "The hour" above, and no muhurtham moves it. For a temple visit around it, whose day the family does choose, the finder below applies these rules.
A temple visit, or the first darshan at a new temple. No weekday is ruled out: Tuesday belongs to Murugan and the Amman, Saturday to Perumal and Sani, so the day usually follows the deity rather than the almanac. Ashtami and Chaturdasi are the two tithis held back for darshan, with the standing exceptions of Sivaratri on Krishna Chaturdasi and Kala Bhairava Ashtami, which are kept on those very days. Rahu kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika kaal are not scored here; the panchangam page prints them for the day you pick, and most families simply wait them out.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it.
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A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.