Somvar Vrat — Monday Fast to Shiva – Vidhi, Katha and Rules

Monday and Shiva

Monday, Somvar, is named after Soma, the Moon, whom Shiva wears as a crescent in his hair — and Monday is Shiva's own day. Of all the weekday fasts it is perhaps the most widely kept: by unmarried girls hoping for a husband like Shiva, by married women for the family's welfare, and by anyone seeking peace of mind, since the Moon rules the mind. In Sawan (Shravan) every Monday becomes a festival.

Three kinds of Monday vrat

• Somvar vrat (this page): kept on ordinary Mondays, for a chosen number of weeks or for life, with the katha of the merchant described below.
• Solah Somvar vrat: a fixed vow of sixteen Mondays with its own katha and an udyapan on the seventeenth.
• Som Pradosh: when the Pradosh vrat (Trayodashi) falls on a Monday, considered especially powerful.

When to begin, and how many Mondays

• The most popular time to begin is the first Monday of Shravan; Kartik, Chaitra and Margashirsha are also favoured. Otherwise, begin on the first Monday of a Shukla Paksha.
• Keep it for all Mondays of Sawan, for a set number (5, 14, 16 or more), or as a lifelong weekly practice.

The vidhi

1. Morning: bathe early, wear clean (preferably white) clothes, and take the sankalp before Shiva.
2. Abhishek: at home or at a temple, offer water, milk, curd, honey and Ganga jal to the Shivling (see Shivling Jalabhishek), then bel patra, white flowers, akshat, chandan, bhasma and dhatura. Worship Parvati with sindoor and suhag items.
3. Chant Om Namah Shivaya — a mala of 108 — and recite the Shiva Chalisa.
4. Katha: hear or read the Somvar vrat katha.
5. Aarti: close with Om Jai Shiv Omkara.
6. The meal: many keep a fruit-and-milk fast through the day and eat one simple meal in the evening after puja; others eat once in the afternoon. Salt is often avoided, or only rock salt is used.

The katha, briefly

A rich merchant had everything but a son, and to be blessed with one he fasted every Monday and lit a ghee lamp before Shiva in the evening. Parvati, moved by his devotion, asked Shiva to grant his wish. Shiva said that everyone receives the fruit of their own karma, but at Parvati's insistence he granted the boon — warning that the son would live only to a fixed age (sixteen in most tellings, twelve in some). The merchant learned this in a dream, and kept his Monday fasts as before.

A son was born. When he was old enough, the merchant sent him to Kashi to study with his maternal uncle, telling them to perform yajnas and feed brahmins all along the way. In one city they found a princess's wedding about to take place — but the bridegroom was blind in one eye, and his father, afraid of being found out, persuaded the uncle (for money) to let the merchant's son stand in as the groom. The boy was married to the princess, but, too honest to deceive her, he wrote on her veil the truth: that she had been married to him, that he was going to Kashi to study, and that the man she was being sent with was one-eyed. The princess refused to go with the impostor, and her father kept her at home.

In Kashi, on the day his life was to end, the boy performed a yajna, fed brahmins, and died in his sleep. As his uncle wept, Shiva and Parvati passed by; Parvati, hearing the cries, begged Shiva to give the boy more life, and Shiva restored him. Uncle and nephew returned through the princess's city, where her father recognised the boy, and sent her home with him with great honour. The merchant and his wife, who had vowed to give up their lives if their son had died, rejoiced. That night Shiva told the merchant in a dream: "Pleased by your Monday fasts and the hearing of the katha, I have given your son a long life. Whoever keeps the Monday fast and hears this katha will have every sorrow removed."

Rules and cautions

• Do not offer turmeric, kumkum, ketaki flowers or tulsi to the Shivling; offer bel patra smooth side down, without the stem.
• Do not do a full parikrama of the Shivling — go round to the water outlet (jalahari) and return.
• Avoid grains, onion and garlic on the vrat day, and anger and harsh speech.
• The sick, pregnant women and the elderly can take fruit and milk freely; the puja is what matters.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Somvar vrat and Solah Somvar?

Solah Somvar is a fixed vow of sixteen Mondays with its own katha and udyapan; the ordinary Somvar vrat can be kept for any number of Mondays, or lifelong, with the merchant's katha.

Can unmarried girls keep the Monday fast?

Yes — it is especially popular with unmarried girls praying for a good husband, following Parvati's own devotion to Shiva.

What can be eaten in the Somvar vrat?

Fruit, milk, sabudana, makhana and one simple sattvic meal after the evening puja; avoid grains, onion and garlic.

When should the Somvar vrat begin?

Ideally on the first Monday of Shravan; otherwise on the first Monday of any Shukla Paksha.

Why does the katha give different ages for the merchant's son?

Tellings differ — most say sixteen years, some twelve. The point of the story is the same: Shiva's grace, won by devotion, can change even a fixed fate.

Can the Somvar vrat be kept without going to a temple?

Yes. A small Shivling or picture at home, water and bel patra, the mantra and the katha are enough.