Kṛttikā Pūjā in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa
The Kṛttikās are six stars, known in the West as the Pleiades, and they form one of the nakshatras (lunar mansions) of the Indian sky. The Kṛttikā Pūjā is the festival in honour of these six stars and of Bhagavān Skanda, whom they nursed as an infant. Skanda came into being when Śiva’s divine seed passed through Agni into the Gaṅgā, who then placed it on the Śveta mountain.
The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa records that Skanda himself gave the Kṛttikās a boon. When the moon is in their nakshatra, in the month of Kārttika, those who worship them together with Agni, Candra (the Moon) and Varuṇa, with offerings of food, flowers, incense and lamps, will gain everything they wish for in this life and the next. The festival is kept with the nakta-vrata, fasting through the day and eating only at night, and its merit is said to be very great.
Skanda’s Birth
The Kṛttikā Pūjā has its origin in the birth of Skanda (also called Kārttikeya). Pārvatī and Śiva were together in intimate union for a hundred years, and a divine seed of enormous tejas (radiant power) was formed. The devas feared the power of this embryo, which could have shaken all creation, so they sent Agni to interrupt the union. Agni entered, and Śiva’s divine seed fell on Agni’s face.
The seed was so intense that even Agni, the deva of fire, could not bear it. He carried it to the Gaṅgā, and the Gaṅgā carried it to the Śveta mountain and placed it there. There the six Kṛttikā stars found the divine infant. Filled with tender affection, all six nursed him at once, and the infant took six faces so that he could drink from all six of them together. This is the origin of Skanda’s name Shaṇmukha, “the six-faced one”.
Skanda’s Boon to the Kṛttikās
Fed by the Kṛttikās’ milk, Skanda grew into his full power and granted them a boon:
“O auspicious ones! When you are joined with the moon, not only you but also Agni, Candra and Varuṇa will receive worship from human beings with fragrance, flowers, garlands, incense, lamps, puffed rice, honey, apūpa (sweet cakes), pāyasa (milk-rice), cow’s curd, kulmāsha (cooked pulses), fruits and bhakshya (sweets). The person who worships you keeping the nakta-vrata will attain all desires in this world and the next. Whoever keeps nakta on that day and worships with devotion will, after enjoying svarga for a long time, be born again in the human world in a good family, with beauty and devotion, firm in dharma and blessed with many servants, and will gain prosperity. His wife will be supremely beautiful, auspicious and endowed with all the marks of good fortune.”
“Joined with the moon” means the time when the moon is in the Kṛttikā nakshatra, during the month of Kārttika.
How the Pūjā Is Kept
The pūjā is done on the day of the Kṛttikā nakshatra in the month of Kārttika, with:
- Nakta-vrata: fasting all day and eating only at night
- Offerings: fragrance (gandha), flowers (pushpa), garlands, incense (dhūpa), lamps (dīpa), puffed grain (lāja), honey (madhu), apūpa (sweet cakes), pāyasa (rice cooked in milk), cow’s curd (dadhi), kulmāsha (cooked pulses), fruits (phala) and bhakshya (sweets)
- Those worshipped: the Kṛttikās, Agni, Candra and Varuṇa
Reading or hearing the account of Skanda’s birth brings every wished-for result.
Sources
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 228