{
  "id": 20191798,
  "title": "Matunga Temples Mark Skanda Sashti With Special Rituals, Prayers And Abhishekam; Devotees Celebrate Lord Murugan's Victory Over Evil",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/matunga-temples-mark-skanda-sashti-with-special-rituals-prayers-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T14:31:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/matunga-temples-mark-skanda-sashti-with-special-rituals-prayers-and-abhishekam-devotees-celebrate-lord-murugans-victory-over-evil"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai's Matunga witnessed special rituals and prayers at temples to mark the final day of the six-day Skanda Sashti festival on Sunday. The festival, dedicated to Lord Murugan who defeated the demon Surapadman, began on Tuesday and concludes with Thirukalyanam on November 16, commemorating his divine marriage to Valli and Devasena.\n\nDevotees fasted for six days, offering milk and Kavadis at Murugan temples, where the milk is used in abhishekam, a ritual bath for the deity. At Sree Sankara Mattham, the temple's idol was bathed and adorned with a golden kavach and flowers, followed by deeparadhana.\n\nS Sivasubramanian, a Murugan devotee and secretary of Sankara Mattham, explained that Lord Karthik's victory over Soorapadman symbolizes good triumphing over evil and conquering six negative human traits: lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, and jealousy. Observing the festival is believed to bring courage, family harmony, relief from illness, and protection from planetary afflictions.",
  "summary": "Mumbai: Temples in Matunga performed religious rituals on Sunday to mark the concluding day of the six-day Skanda Sashti festival. Skanda Sashti Celebrates Lord Murugan's Victory Over Demon Surapadman The festival, which began on Tuesday, is dedicated to Lord Muruga (also known as Skanda, Kartikeya or Subramanya), the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It commemorates Lord Murugan's battle…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}