Karthika masam is the eighth lunar month of Indian Astrology. It comes
around November of Gregorian calender. Karthika masam is considered very sacred
and there are many reasons for it.
Importance of Karthika masam
- Lord Vishnu goes to sleep on Ashadha suddha ekadashi and wakes-up on Karthika suddha ekadashi
- Lord Shiva kílled Tripurasuras on Karthika pournami and protected the world
- In this month Ganga (Godess of river Ganges) enters in to all rivers, canals, ponds and wells and makes them as pious as Ganga.
- Ayyappa deeksha is also taken in Karthika masam and is continued up to Makara Sankranthi (Jan 15th)
Significance of each day in Karthika Masam:
Padyami:1st day of Karthika Masam.Should go to Lord Siva or Lord Vishnu temple to pray them to give strength to do
the puja for the whole month. This is the Day we start lighting Akasa
Deepam. The Lamp you light either at the entrance of your house or at
Siva or Vishnu temple
Vidiya: 2nd day of karthika masam. Brother should go to his sister's house on this auspicious day and eat the food cooked by her and bestow her with blessings and gifts
Thadiya: 3rd day of the month. Good Day to do Thrilochana Guri Vratham.. Those who are unable to do the
Vrath can do Kumkuma archana or Puja to Maa Parvathi on this day
Chavithi: 4th Day is Chavithi. It is said to be Nagula Chavithi in Andhra. On this day its good to worship Lord Subramanya swamy (Murugan)
Panchami: 5th day is Panchami, also known as Jnana Panchami. Need to do archana for Lord Subramanya swamy.
Shasti: 6th Day is Shasti. Should not eat your favorite items today
Saptami: 7th Day is Sapthami:
Pray to Lord Surya (Sun God) and donate tie wheat in a red color cloth and donate
Ashtami: 8th Day is Ashtami, also known as Gopala ashtami, Need to do puja to Go matha (Holy Cow)
Navami: 9th Day is Navami, good to start Vishnu Thri rathra vratham, which need to be
done for 3 days. Its good to do puja for Lord Vishnu in the evening and
Night time.
Dasami: 10th Day is Dasami, pray to Lord Vishnu today
Ekadasi: 11th Day is Ekadasi, Do fasting (Upavasam) and break the fast on Dwadasi.
Dwadasi: 12th Day is Dwadasi, known as Khseerabdi Dwadasi . Lord Vishnu will
wake up from his yoga nidra on this day. Do Puja to Lord vishnu. Good to do Puja under Gooseberry tree or Tulsi plant.
Trayodasi: 13th Day is Trayodasi, Good day to skip dinner. Auspicious to donate Saligrama Sila
Chathurdasi: 14th Day is Chathurdasi, good to donate Iron and Sesame today, Not to eat your favorite food
Pournami: 15th Day is Pournami. Need to do Nadi Snanam (Taking Bath in River). Do puja to Lord Varuna. Auspicious to light diya at Lord Siva or Vishnu temple. It brings a lot of good even if you see the deepa at the temple
Bahula Padyami: 16th Day is Bahula Padyami. Not to eat stocked food and curd
Vidiya: 17th Day is Vidiya. Good day to do Vana Bhojanam. It is said that offering prayers to Lord Vishnu under Gooseberry tree and then having food there with relatives and friends will bring great benefits.
Thadiya: 18th Day is Thadiya. Good to donate Thulasi Mala to Bramhin
Chavithi: 19th Day is Chavithi. Need to do pooja to Lord Vinayaka with Garika ( a type of grass, favorite for Ganapathi)
Panchami: 20th day is Panchami. Need to feed the animals, ants, birds etc
Shasti: 21st day is Shasti. Need to do Puja to Grama Devatha. Good to donate what ever you can depending on
your status.
Saptami: 22nd Day is Sapthami. Need to do puja to Lord shiva with white Calotropis Gigantea (Jilledu in telugu, Erukku in tamil)
Ashtami: 23rd Day is Ashtami. Need to do puja for Kala bhirava with Vada ( Garelu in telugu)
Navami: 24th day is Navami. Good to donate water, red color saree, blouse piece, bangles etc
Dasami: 25th day is Dasami: Good to donate food , need to do upavasam (fasting)
Ekadasi: 26th day is Ekadasi: Doing Deeparadhana (lighting the Lamp), Listening to Puranas will give great benefits today
Dwadasi: 27th Day is Dwadasi: Good to donate food for the needy
Thrayodasi: 28th Day is Thrayodasi. Need to do puja to Navagraha. Good to do Fasting on the name of Navagraha
Chaturdasi: 29th Day is Chathurdasi. Today is known as Masa Siva rathri, Need to pray lord siva and doing fasting in day time is good.
Amavasya: 30th Day is Amavasya. Need to donate food on the name of pithru devathalu (the deceased). Good to do fasting. Last day of lighting Akasa Deepam. Need to light the lamp at temple and offer coconut to Lord.
Karthika
puranam
The most important aspect of Karthika masam is hearing Karthika puranam. It is
called as Karthika vratham. It normally includes the following rules:
- Waking up early in Brahmi muhartham (4.00A.M)
- Taking bath in rivers or ponds remembering Ganga
- Shiva puja / Damodara (Vishnu) puja
- Lighting Akasha deepam on sun-set
- Understanding Karthika puranam
Link for Karthika puranam in Telugu:
Link for Karthika puranam in English:
Dos and Don'ts in Karthika Masam:
- Must take shower (including hair) daily.
- Must light deepam every evening and do pooja.
- Read one chapter in karthika puranam book everyday.It is even good to hear the story if someone is reading it loud.
- Prepare prasadam on Mondays, karthika poornima, koti somavaram and remaining days you can even keep some fruit as prasadam
- One should not eat Onion, garlic and non-veg food for the whole month.
- Should not use seasame oil for anything except for lighting diyas
- Should not eat urad dal
- Must take meal only once per day for the 30 days. We can eat breakfast at nights or at least, we must follow this on auspicious days like Mondays,karthika poornima, koti somavaram etc.
| Tithi | Tithi devta and Puja | Phalam (Benefit) |
| Karthika suddha Padyami | Lord Shiva | Tejas (Glory) |
| Karthika suddha Vidiya | Lord Vishnu | Santhi (Peace of mind) |
| Karthika suddha Tadiya | Shakti | Aishwarya prapthi (Wealth) |
| Karthika suddha Chavithi | Naga devathas / Lord Subrahmanyeswara | Ayush and Arogya prapthi (Longevity and Health) |
| Karthika suddha Panchami | Lord Subrahmanyeswara | Karya siddhi (Success in work) |
| Karthika suddha Shasthi | Lord Subrahmanyeswara | Santhana prapthi (Children) |
| Karthika suddha Sapthami | Lord Surya (Sun) | Tejas and Arogya (Glory and Health) |
| Karthika suddha Ashtami | Godess Durga | Sankata nivarana (Relief from Miseries) |
| Karthika suddha Navami | Pithru devathas | Kutumba soukhyam (Happy family) |
| Karthika suddha Dasami | Lord Ganesh / Gajendra moksha parayana for Lord Vishnu | Relief from Obstacles |
| Karthika suddha Ekadashi | Lord Shiva | Karya siddhi (Success in work) |
| Karthika suddha Dwadashi | Lord Vishnu | Dhana dhanya vriddhi (Wealth and Good life) |
| Karthika suddha Trayodashi | Lord Vishnu | Tejas (Glory) |
| Karthika suddha Chaturdashi | Lord Kala Bhairava | Akala mruthyu haranam (Relief from sudden Deaths) |
| Karthika suddha Pournami | Lord Shiva / Lord Krishna | Moksha |
| Karthika bahula Pdyami | Lord Agni (Fire) | Tejas (Glory) |
| Karthika bahula Vidiya | Ashwani devathas (Two Doctors of Gods) | Arogya (Health) |
| Karthika bahula Tadiya | Gauri (Parvathi) | Soubhagya (Good for Husband and Children) |
| Karthika bahula Chavithi | Lord Ganesh | Kutumba saukhyam (Gives happy family life) |
| Karthika bahula Panchami | Lord Subrahmanyeswara | Vijaya (Victory) |
| Karthika bahula Shasthi | Lord Subrahmanyeswara | Santhana vriddhi (Children) |
| Karthika bahula Sapthami | Lord Surya | Ayush and Arogya (Longevity and Health) |
| Karthika bahula Ashtami | Ashta Lakshmi | Santhi (Peace) |
| Karthika bahula Navami | Godess Durga | Karya siddhi (Success everywhere) |
| Karthika bahula Dasami | Ashta dikpalakas (Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirruthi, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, Eeshana[Shiva]) | Keerthi (Fame) |
| Karthika bahula Ekadashi | Kubera | Dhana prapthi (Money) |
| Karthika bahula Dwadashi | Lord Vishnu | Yoga prapthi (Eternal unity) |
| Karthika bahula Trayodashi | Lord Yama | Vyadhi nivarana (Relief from severe diseases) |
| Karthika bahula Chaturdashi | Mruthyunjaya (A form of Lord Shiva) | Arogya (Relief from diseases and Healthy body and mind) |
| Karthika bahula Amavasya | Pithru devathas | Mano dhairyam (Mental stability) |
