Kiruthigai Dates 2021 கிருத்திகை
Krittika Nakshatra day — Deity: Lord Murugan (Skanda), Lord Shiva
All Kiruthigai Dates in 2021
No Kiruthigai dates found for 2021. Please try another year.
Month-by-Month Kiruthigai – 2021
About Kiruthigai in the Tamil Calendar
Kiruthigai (கிருத்திகை), also known as monthly Karthigai or Krithigai, is observed each month when the Moon passes through the Krittika (Pleiades) nakshatra. In Tamil tradition this day is deeply sacred to Lord Murugan — legend holds that he was raised by the six Krittika maidens, making Krittika his birth star.
The most important practice on Kiruthigai is the lighting of oil lamps (vilakku). Homes, courtyards, and temples are illuminated to welcome divine grace and dispel darkness. Devotees visit Murugan temples, perform abhishekam, and recite Thiruppugazh hymns in praise of Lord Murugan.
The grandest Kiruthigai of the year falls in the Tamil month of Karthigai (November), when it coincides with Pournami to become Karthigai Deepam — one of the most celebrated festivals in Tamil Nadu, marked by the lighting of a beacon fire atop the sacred hill at Thiruvannamalai. On all monthly Kiruthigai days, fasting until moonrise and lighting rows of clay lamps are the central observances.
Rituals & Practices on Kiruthigai
- Lamp lighting (vilakku)
- Murugan temple visit
- Thiruppugazh recitation
- Fasting
- Abhishekam
- Fire rituals (homam)