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Navratri Day 5: Skandamata - Mother of Skanda

The tender mother who cradles the war-god in her lap and shelters every child under her grace.

Thursday, 15 October 2026·Ashwin Shukla Panchami (Navratri Day 5)·Mumbai, Maharashtra

Wear todayYellow
Navratri Day 5SkandamataMother of Skanda
ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नमः
Bhog BananaVahana Lion
Main Muhurta★★★★★
Durga Puja - Abhijit Muhurat
12:00 pm – 12:47 pm(47 min)
Time to muhurta…
On the Day
  • Wear the day's colour
  • Offer banana as bhog and share it as prasad
  • Chant the seed mantra japa "ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नमः" with a rosary, ideally 108 times
  • Focus worship on motherhood, nurture and the protection of children, praying for their wellbeing

Muhurtas

Durga Puja - Abhijit Muhurat★★★★★
12:00 pm – 12:47 pm · 47 min

Perform the main Skandamata puja, offer banana and pray for maternal grace and the protection of children.

Why this rank: The Abhijit Muhurat at midday is the day's most auspicious and self-purifying window, apt for invoking the mother who blesses without stint.
Deity: Durga as SkandamataDo: Complete the shodashopachara puja and aarti within this window, Offer banana as bhog and chant the seed mantraAvoid: Avoid rushing the worship or letting the window lapse
Auspicious Choghadiya★★★☆☆
  • Shubh 6:32 am – 8:00 am
  • Labh 12:24 pm – 1:52 pm
  • Amrit 1:52 pm – 3:19 pm
  • Shubh 4:47 pm – 6:15 pm

An alternative time for japa, offerings and prayers for family harmony and the welfare of the young.

Why this rank: An auspicious Choghadiya block such as Amrit, Shubh or Labh provides a favourable secondary window when the Abhijit Muhurat cannot be observed.

This day's panchang

TithiShukla Panchami
NakshatraJyeshtha
YogaSaubhagya
KaranaBava
MasaAshwin
SamvatVikram 2082

Significance

Importance

The fifth night of Navratri honours Skandamata, the Goddess in her most maternal aspect, holding the infant war-god Skanda upon her lap. Worshipping her is believed to awaken the tenderness, patience and protective strength of motherhood, and to guard the welfare of one's children. She unites the fierce power of the Goddess with the softness of a mother's embrace. Devotees turn to her for nurture, family harmony and the safekeeping of the young.

Religious significance

Skandamata embodies the nurturing, protective power of the Goddess, the love that both cherishes and defends. She teaches that true strength is inseparable from tenderness, and that the divine mother shields her devotees as fiercely as any child. Her worship brings peace to the home and safety to its children.

Why it is celebrated

Devotees honour Skandamata to receive maternal grace, the protection of their children and harmony within the family.

The story

Skandamata takes her name from Skanda, the war-god Kartikeya, whom she bore and whom she holds as an infant seated in her lap. She is four-armed, cradling the child Skanda with one hand while holding lotus blossoms in two others and keeping one hand raised in the gesture of blessing, abhaya mudra. She is seated upon a lotus, from which she is also called Padmasana, radiant and serene amid the petals, and she rides a lion that carries both mother and child. Her complexion is luminous, and in her form the fierce Shakti who slays demons appears gentled into a protecting mother. To worship her is to worship the divine mother and her son together, for the one who reaches Skandamata also gains the grace of Skanda.

Who celebratesDevotees of Durga throughout the Shakta and wider Hindu tradition, and especially parents, observe this fifth day of Navratri.
Where observedObserved wherever Sharad Navratri is kept, with particular devotion across North, West and East India and among Hindu communities worldwide.

Associated deities

Durga as Skandamata

What to do

Recommended

  • Wear the day's colour
  • Offer banana as bhog and share it as prasad
  • Chant the seed mantra japa "ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नमः" with a rosary, ideally 108 times
  • Focus worship on motherhood, nurture and the protection of children, praying for their wellbeing
  • Offer lotus or other flowers and light a lamp before the mother-and-child form
  • Recite the Durga Saptashati and keep an attitude of calm, loving devotion

Avoid

  • Avoid anger and quarrels within the household on this day of maternal peace
  • Avoid neglecting the fast or offering bhog carelessly
  • Avoid an unclean or noisy puja space that disturbs the mood of nurture
  • Avoid harshness toward children and the vulnerable

Regional variations

Special notes

Frequently asked questions

Who is Skandamata?

She is the Goddess as the mother of Skanda, the war-god Kartikeya, whom she holds as an infant in her lap, embodying the tender and protecting maternal aspect of Durga.

What bhog is offered to Skandamata?

Banana is the traditional bhog offered on her day, presented with devotion and shared as prasad.

What blessing does worshipping Skandamata bring?

She grants maternal grace, family harmony and the protection of children, and it is said that one who worships her also receives the grace of her son Skanda.

What is Skandamata's mount and iconography?

She rides a lion and is four-armed, seated on a lotus, cradling the infant Skanda while holding lotus blossoms and offering the gesture of blessing.

All timings are computed for Mumbai, Maharashtra and follow Drik-style rules (sunrise/sunset, Pradosh-vyapini placement, sthir-lagna muhurtas). Times shift with your location - change your city on the calendar to recompute.