Sashti, Krittikai and Tuesday: the rhythm between festivals.
AT A GLANCE
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Sashti, the sixth lunar day, twice a month; the one in the waxing fortnight, after the new moon, is the most widely kept.
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Krittikai, the day the moon is in the Krittikai star, once a month, remembering the star-maidens who nursed him.
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Tuesday, Sevvai, the weekday most associated with Murugan.
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Vaikasi Visakam, his birth star, the Visakam of the month of Vaikasi, once a year.
Between the great festivals, devotion to Murugan keeps a steady rhythm through the month.
Sashti, the sixth day of the lunar fortnight, is his day, which is why the great six-day festival ends on one. Many people keep a light fast or visit the temple on the Sashti after the new moon.
Krittikai is the day the moon passes through the Krittikai star, the Pleiades, the six star-maidens of the birth story. Murugan temples are among their busiest on monthly Krittikai.
Tuesday, Sevvai, is the weekday most associated with him. Once a year, Vaikasi Visakam marks the star under which he is said to have been born.
The app's calendar shows each of these, with reminders if you want them.
The number is not an accident. Sashti is the sixth day, the six-faced one's day, and the six days of the great autumn festival end on one. Many devotees recite the Kanda Sashti Kavasam on each monthly Sashti as well as through that festival, so the prayer the app carries in full is kept in use all year rather than once. None of these days is an obligation, and the calendar marks them only so you can choose.
WHAT THIS RESTS ON
Living practice
These observances are living practice. The connection of Krittikai with Murugan follows from the birth story, in which the Krittikas nurse him.
What people actually do, at temples and at home. Customs vary between families, regions and temples, and no single form is the correct one.