Somvar Vrat Vidhi 2026: How to Keep the 16-Monday Fast, What to Eat, Udyapan and Katha
The Somvar vrat can start on any Monday, runs for 16 consecutive Mondays and closes with udyapan on the 17th. Here is the full method, food rules, a short katha and every Monday from September to November 2026.
The Somvar vrat is a Monday fast kept for Shiva and Parvati. You can begin on any Monday; tradition prefers a Monday in Shravan, or one in the bright half of Chaitra or Kartik. It is kept for 16 Mondays in a row, and on the 17th Monday you do udyapan, the closing puja. You eat once a day, after the evening puja, or stay on phalahar (a fruit-and-milk diet). The next Mondays are 7, 14, 21 and 28 September 2026; the full list is below.
What is the 16-Monday fast, and when should you start?
Monday is held to be Shiva's day. "Solah Somvar" simply means sixteen Mondays, kept without breaking the sequence. Once sixteen are done, the 17th Monday is for udyapan.
There is no fixed starting date. By tradition the Mondays of Shravan (Sawan) are considered the most loved by Shiva, so most people begin then. A Monday in the Shukla Paksha (the fortnight of the waxing moon, from new moon to full moon) of Chaitra or Kartik is also considered good. But if your mind is made up, the coming Monday is fine.
How the Sawan Mondays fell this year, and why north and south India count them differently, is covered in our Sawan 2026 Somvar vrat calendar.
How do you keep the Somvar vrat, step by step?
The method is simple and needs only what you have at home. Keep this order:
- Morning bath and sankalp. Bathe, then wear clean clothes, white or light-coloured if you can. Sankalp means stating your intention, silently or aloud: "I will keep the Shiva-Parvati vrat for 16 Mondays." Do this on the first Monday without fail.
- Jal-abhishek. Abhishek is pouring water over the Shivling in a steady stream. Use a copper lota (small pot) or any clean vessel. If there is no Shivling at home, go to a nearby temple or do the puja before a picture of Shiva and Parvati.
- Bel patra and white offerings. Bel patra is the three-leaved sprig of the bael tree, the central offering in Shiva puja. Add white things: white flowers, milk, rice or kheer (rice pudding). Whatever is available is enough.
- Lamp, incense and mantra. Light a diya (oil lamp), offer incense and chant the Shiva mantra "Om Namah Shivaya." There is no required count; as much as you can do calmly is enough.
- Katha. Read or listen to the Somvar vrat katha, the traditional story of the fast. A short version is below.
- Evening puja and aarti. In the evening, light the lamp again and do the Shiva aarti. Only then take your meal.
Through the day, keep the mind quiet and stay away from quarrels; tradition treats this as part of the puja.
What can you eat during the Somvar vrat?
Two patterns are followed. The first is one meal a day, taken after the evening puja. The second is phalahar all day: fruit, milk and the foods accepted on fast days. Choose whichever suits your body and your working day.
| Take | Set aside |
|---|---|
| Fruit, milk, curd, kheer | Grains (wheat, rice), if you are on phalahar |
| Sabudana (tapioca pearls), kuttu or singhara flour, makhana (fox nuts) | Onion, garlic, meat and alcohol |
| Rock salt (sendha namak), in homes that allow salt | Ordinary salt; many families skip it on vrat days |
| Water, coconut water, lemon water | Heavy or deep-fried food |
Two things to settle early. First, the rules on salt and water vary from home to home; follow your own family's way. Second, if you have a health condition, are on medication or are pregnant, keep the rules light: take phalahar and drink water. The devotion is in the discipline, not in going hungry.
The Somvar vrat katha, in brief
According to the katha, Shiva and Parvati once stopped at a Shiva temple in the city of Amaravati and sat down to a game of chausar (an old dice-and-board game). Parvati asked the temple priest who would win. He named Shiva without thinking, but Parvati won. For that careless answer the priest had to bear hardship.
Some time later, celestial maidens visiting the temple told the priest about the sixteen-Monday vrat. He kept it with devotion for 16 Mondays and his hardship lifted. Seeing this, Parvati kept the same vrat herself, and, as the katha tells it, her son Kartikeya, who had gone away in anger, returned.
The story goes on to a young Brahmin and then a queen, both of whom completed the 16 Mondays and, according to the katha, had their wishes fulfilled. In many regions the same story is told with a Brahmin woman as its central figure. The characters change; the message is the same: discipline and faith. Read the full version from your family's vrat-katha booklet.
When and how is the udyapan of the 16 Mondays done?
Udyapan means the formal completion of a vrat. It is done on the 17th Monday, after the sixteen are complete. The puja is the same as on other Mondays, only a little fuller.
- Bathe in the morning and, in your sankalp, state that the 16 Mondays are complete and today is the closing.
- Jal-abhishek on the Shivling, bel patra, white flowers, and milk or kheer as the offering.
- Read the katha and do the aarti.
- Share the prasad with family and neighbours. Homes that have the custom give a meal or an item as daan (a gift), according to their means. This is for the feeling of it, not a bargain for results.
- On udyapan day too, take one meal after the puja.
If the 17th Monday does not work out for some reason, ask your family elders or your purohit (family priest) and do it on the following Monday.
Monday dates for the vrat: September to November 2026
Every Monday from September to November 2026 is listed below. If you start on 7 September, the number on the left is your vrat count. If you start later, count from your own first Monday.
| No. (from 7 Sep) | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September 2026 | First Monday; day of sankalp |
| 2 | 14 September | — |
| 3 | 21 September | — |
| 4 | 28 September | — |
| 5 | 5 October | — |
| 6 | 12 October | — |
| 7 | 19 October | — |
| 8 | 26 October | — |
| 9 | 2 November | — |
| 10 | 9 November | Somvati Amavasya: a new-moon day that falls on a Monday, held to be especially good for Shiva puja |
| 11 | 16 November | Chhath usha arghya (the final morning offering to the sun in Chhath). Those keeping Chhath finish those rites first, then the Monday puja |
| 12 | 23 November | — |
| 13 | 30 November | — |
Starting on 7 September, 13 of your 16 Mondays are in this list; the remaining three fall in December, with udyapan on the Monday after that. Mark the dates in your calendar now.
The tithi, sunrise and sunset, and the auspicious choghadiya for each Monday are updated daily in our panchang.
Common questions about the Somvar vrat
If I miss a Monday, is the vrat broken?
No. Tradition allows you to continue the count from the next Monday, picking up the number where you left off, and to do udyapan once sixteen are complete. Keep no fear about it; rejoining with faith is enough.
Is the Somvar vrat only for unmarried girls?
No. In tradition women and men, married and unmarried, all keep it. Anyone may keep it for peace of mind and devotion to Shiva and Parvati.
Can I keep a Tuesday or Thursday vrat alongside the Monday one?
Many people do, but do not overload the body. Tuesday belongs to Hanuman, and reciting the Hanuman Chalisa that day is the common practice. Thursday belongs to Brihaspati (Jupiter, the Guru); its puja is covered separately in Jupiter, Thursday worship and remedies. Each day has its own rules; do not mix them.
Can I continue the Monday vrat after the sixteen?
Yes. Udyapan closes the sixteen; it does not stop you. Many people go on fasting every Monday, or only in Sawan.
When does the vrat give results?
No one can promise that, and no one should. The belief is that a vrat kept with faith and discipline steadies the mind, and that is its most direct experience. Leave the rest to Shiva.
One last thing: this method follows the common tradition. If your home, lineage or guru does something differently, that comes first.