Solah Somvar Vrat — 16 Mondays Fast
सोलह सोमवार व्रत
Solah Somvar Vrat (सोलह सोमवार व्रत) is a fast kept on 16 consecutive Mondays in honour of Lord Shiva. It is the most popular vrat for unmarried girls seeking a good husband, for an early and happy marriage, and for marital harmony. Shiva, the ideal husband, and Parvati, who herself won Shiva through this very penance, bless those who keep it with faith.
Fasting Rules & Vidhi
Begin on an auspicious Monday, ideally in the month of Shravan, Chaitra, Vaishakh or Kartik, and keep the fast for 16 consecutive Mondays.
Wake early, bathe, and wear clean clothes (white is auspicious). Take a sankalp (vow) to complete all 16 Mondays.
Eat one sattvic meal in the day or keep a phalahar (fruit) fast — no salt in some traditions; consume the gangajal-mixed prasad.
Perform Shiva puja: bathe the Shivling with water, milk and gangajal, offer bel-patra, white flowers, dhatura, chandan and akshata.
Chant "Om Namah Shivaya" 108 times, recite the Shiv Chalisa, and read the Solah Somvar Vrat Katha each Monday.
Prepare the prasad of equal parts roasted gram flour (atta), ghee and gur (churma), divide into three, offer to Shiva and distribute.
On the 17th week (Udyapan), do the concluding puja and feed Brahmins or the needy to complete the vrat.
Significance & Story
Monday (Somvar) is the day of Lord Shiva, and the Solah Somvar Vrat is rooted in the penance Goddess Parvati performed to win Shiva as her husband. Keeping the fast for 16 Mondays with devotion is believed to remove obstacles in marriage, grant a worthy life partner, and bless the home with a harmonious, long married life. It is also kept for the fulfilment of cherished wishes and the well-being of the family.
Solah Somvar Vrat — 16 Mondays Fast Katha (Vrat Story)
Once Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati, wandering the earth, came to rest at a beautiful temple in the city of Amravati. To pass the time, Parvati suggested they play a game of chaupar (dice). As the game went on, she turned to the temple priest standing nearby and asked, "Tell us — who will win this game?" Eager to please the Lord, the priest answered at once, "Shiva will win." But when the game ended, it was Parvati who had won.
Angered that the priest had spoken falsely, Parvati cursed him to be stricken with leprosy, and the poor man suffered for many years. Then one day a group of celestial apsaras came to worship at the temple and saw his misery. With compassion they told him, "Keep the vrat of sixteen Mondays — the Solah Somvar vrat — dedicated to Lord Shiva, with full faith and the proper vidhi, and Mahadeva will surely be pleased."
The priest kept the Solah Somvar vrat faithfully: each Monday he bathed, worshipped the Shivalinga with bel leaves, water and a ghee lamp, ate a single meal of the consecrated prasad, and read the vrat katha. When the sixteen Mondays were complete and he performed the Udyapan, Lord Shiva was pleased and his leprosy was wholly cured — his body made whole and radiant once more.
In time Parvati returned and, seeing the priest healed and joyful, asked how it had come to pass. Learning of the power of the Solah Somvar vrat, she herself kept it — and through its grace was lovingly reunited with her son Kartikeya, who had been estranged from her. From that day the Solah Somvar vrat has been kept by all who seek Shiva's grace — a good marriage, health, progeny and the fulfilment of every sincere wish.
Mantras for Solah Somvar Vrat — 16 Mondays Fast
शिव मानस पूजा
रत्नैः कल्पितमासनं हिमजलैः स्नानं च दिव्याम्बरं नानारत्नविभूषितं मृगमदामोदाङ्कितं चन्दनम्।