Karthikeya Ashtakam
कार्तिकेय अष्टकम्
Also known as: karthikeya ashtakam · kartikeya ashtakam · namostu vrindaraka vrinda vandya · sri karthikeyashtakam · karthikeya ashtakam skanda purana
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✦ Meaning
The Karthikeya Ashtakam is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn to Lord Kartikeya (Murugan / Skanda) from the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana, every line beginning or sealed with 'namo'stu' — 'salutation be.' It heaps upon him his great names and paradoxes: six-faced son of Gauri, slayer of Taraka and Krauncha, formless yet of a thousand forms, golden, ever-youthful, born in the reeds, son of Shiva, Svaha and the Krittikas. It is recited for Murugan's grace, the removal of suffering and the fulfilment of every wish.
Origin & Story
Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda (श्रीस्कान्दे काशीखण्डे) · Traditional (Skanda Purana) · Puranic
The Karthikeya Ashtakam appears in the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana, the great Purana named after Skanda himself. In Kashi (Varanasi), Lord Kartikeya is worshipped as a guardian of the sacred city, and this hymn of eight salutations celebrates him as the six-faced son of Shiva and Gauri, born of fire and the Ganga and nursed by the Krittikas, the commander who slew the demons Taraka and Krauncha. Built entirely on the word 'namo'stu', it is a hymn of pure surrender, recited to remove suffering and to gain the Lord's all-fulfilling grace.
✦ As told in scripture
The second verse hails Kartikeya as 'the destroyer of the suffering of all who bow to him' and 'the fulfiller of every heart's wish'; devotees of Kashi hold that sincere recitation of these eight salutations turns away grief and danger and brings the Lord's protecting grace.
Complete Text with Meaning
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नमोऽस्तु वृन्दारकवृन्दवन्द्यपादारविन्दाय सुधाकराय। षडाननायामितविक्रमाय गौरीहृदानन्दसमुद्भवाय॥ १॥
namo'stu vṛndārakavṛndavandyapādāravindāya sudhākarāya। ṣaḍānanāyāmitavikramāya gaurīhṛdānandasamudbhavāya॥ 1॥
Meaning:Salutation to him whose lotus-feet are worshipped by the host of the gods, who is gracious as the moon, the six-faced one of boundless valour, who arose as the very joy of Gauri's heart.
नमोऽस्तु तुभ्यं प्रणतार्तिहन्त्रे कर्त्रे समस्तस्य मनोरथानाम्। दात्रे रथानां परतारकस्य हन्त्रे प्रचण्डासुरतारकस्य॥ २॥
namo'stu tubhyaṃ praṇatārtihantre kartre samastasya manorathānām। dātre rathānāṃ paratārakasya hantre pracaṇḍāsuratārakasya॥ 2॥
Meaning:Salutation to you, destroyer of the suffering of those who bow, fulfiller of every wish of all, giver of (victory in) chariot-battle, slayer of the great Taraka, the fierce demon.
अमूर्तमूर्ताय सहस्रमूर्तये गुणाय गण्याय परात्पराय। अपारपाराय परापराय नमोऽस्तु तुभ्यं शिखिवाहनाय॥ ३॥
amūrtamūrtāya sahasramūrtaye guṇāya gaṇyāya parātparāya। apārapārāya parāparāya namo'stu tubhyaṃ śikhivāhanāya॥ 3॥
Meaning:To him who is formless yet with form and of a thousand forms, the (one) quality beyond counting, higher than the highest, the further shore of the shoreless, beyond near and far — salutation to you, rider of the peacock.
नमोऽस्तु ते ब्रह्मविदां वराय दिगम्बरायाम्बरसंस्थिताय। हिरण्यवर्णाय हिरण्यबाहवे नमो हिरण्याय हिरण्यरेतसे॥ ४॥
namo'stu te brahmavidāṃ varāya digambarāyāmbarasaṃsthitāya। hiraṇyavarṇāya hiraṇyabāhave namo hiraṇyāya hiraṇyaretase॥ 4॥
Meaning:Salutation to you, foremost of the knowers of Brahman, sky-clad yet dwelling in the heavens, of golden hue and golden arms; salutation to the golden one, born of the golden seed.
तपःस्वरूपाय तपोधनाय तपःफलानां प्रतिपादकाय। सदा कुमाराय हि मारमारिणे तृणीकृतैश्वर्यविरागिणे नमः॥ ५॥
tapaḥsvarūpāya tapodhanāya tapaḥphalānāṃ pratipādakāya। sadā kumārāya hi māramāriṇe tṛṇīkṛtaiśvaryavirāgiṇe namaḥ॥ 5॥
Meaning:To him who is the very form of austerity, whose treasure is austerity, who bestows the fruits of all austerities, the eternal Kumara, the slayer of (the pride of) Mara, who counts lordship as a mere blade of grass in his dispassion — salutation.
नमोऽस्तु तुभ्यं शरजन्मने विभो प्रभातसूर्यारुणदन्तपङ्क्तये। बालाय चाबालपराक्रमाय षाण्मातुरायालमनातुराय॥ ६॥
namo'stu tubhyaṃ śarajanmane vibho prabhātasūryāruṇadantapaṅktaye। bālāya cābālaparākramāya ṣāṇmāturāyālamanāturāya॥ 6॥
Meaning:Salutation to you, O all-pervading one born in the reeds, whose rows of teeth glow like the red of the dawning sun; the child of more-than-childlike prowess, the son of the six mothers, who is wholly free of distress.
मीढुष्टमायोत्तरमीढुषे नमो नमो गणानां पतये गणाय। नमोऽस्तु ते जन्मजरातिगाय नमो विशाखाय सुशक्तिपाणये॥ ७॥
mīḍhuṣṭamāyottaramīḍhuṣe namo namo gaṇānāṃ pataye gaṇāya। namo'stu te janmajarātigāya namo viśākhāya suśaktipāṇaye॥ 7॥
Meaning:Salutation to the most bountiful, more giving than the giving; salutation to the lord of the ganas, the gana himself; salutation to you who have passed beyond birth and old age; salutation to Vishakha who bears the mighty Shakti in his hand.
सर्वस्य नाथस्य कुमारकाय क्रौञ्चारये तारकमारकाय। स्वाहेय गाङ्गेय च कार्तिकेय शैवेय तुभ्यं सततं नमोऽस्तु॥ ८॥
sarvasya nāthasya kumārakāya krauñcāraye tārakamārakāya। svāheya gāṅgeya ca kārtikeya śaiveya tubhyaṃ satataṃ namo'stu॥ 8॥
Meaning:To the prince of the Lord of all, the foe of Krauncha, the destroyer of Taraka — O son of Svaha, son of Ganga, O Kartikeya, son of Shiva — to you be salutation for ever.
इति स्कान्दे काशीखण्डतः श्रीकार्तिकेयाष्टकं सम्पूर्णम्॥
iti skānde kāśīkhaṇḍataḥ śrīkārtikeyāṣṭakaṃ sampūrṇam॥
Meaning:Thus ends the Sri Karthikeya Ashtakam from the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana.
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting Karthikeya Ashtakam
An eight-verse hymn (ashtakam) from the Skanda Purana (Kashi Khanda) gathering the great names of Lord Kartikeya
Each verse is built on 'namo'stu' (salutation), making it a powerful prayer of surrender and adoration
Praised as the destroyer of the suffering of those who bow (pranata-arti-hantr) — recited to remove distress
Invokes the slayer of Taraka and Krauncha — a prayer for victory over obstacles and inner enemies
Held to fulfil every wish (kartre samastasya manorathanam) by Murugan's grace
Suited to recitation on Tuesdays, Krittika nakshatra, Skanda Shashthi and at Kashi and Murugan shrines
How to Chant Karthikeya Ashtakam
Bathe and sit before an image of Lord Kartikeya with his peacock and Vel. Recite all eight verses with devotion, feeling each 'namo'stu' as a bow at his feet, and close with the colophon naming its source in the Skanda Purana. It may be chanted daily; many recite it for relief from suffering and for the fulfilment of cherished wishes.