Sashti Viratham 2011 - Muruga Sasthi Fast

By Priyanka Mahajan

The Sashti Viratham date is 6 July 2011. Sashti Viratham is kept during the bright half of the Hindu month. The viratham or fast is kept mainly on the sixth day of Shukla Paksha. According to the Hindu Calendar Shukla Paksha is the bright phase of moon. This viratham is kept for god Muraga, also known as Lord Kartik and Lord Kumara.

The followers and believers of Lord Muragan or Kartikeya observe fast on this auspicious day. Many pujas are organized on this day in the Lord Muraga temples. Every month the Shashti Vrata is kept for 2 days. One each at the time of the waxing phase of moon and another at the time of the waning phase of moon. Many people observe Shashti fast falling during waxing phase of moon.

Keeping fast on Sashti is very productive and brings a lot of prosperity. Some people even keep fast for full 24 hours in the day. There are large numbers of followers of Lord Murga not only in India but also outside India. In South India as well as in countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka, Lord Muruga is highly worshipped particularly by Tamilions. In South India, Lord Muraga is also known as Lord Shanmukha and Lord Subramanian. In North India, Lord Muruga is also known as Kartik or Kartikeya. Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva.