Solah Somvar Vrat Katha (16 Mondays Fast)
Vrat Mahatmya & Spiritual Significance
Blesses unmarried maidens with an ideal spouse, harmonizes married life, and secures Lord Shiva’s eternal grace.
Auspicious Day & Fasting Rules
Sacred Observation Time: Every Monday (Commenced in Shravan or Shukla Paksha)
Devotees observe fasting (Upavasa) by taking a morning spiritual bath, meditating on the deity, maintaining purity of mind, and partaking in satvik prasad or milk and fruits (Phalahar). Avoiding grains, negative thoughts, and harsh speech is recommended throughout the day.
Complete Puja Vidhi & Rituals
- Fast on 16 consecutive Mondays, beginning from Shravan Maas or any bright fortnight.
- Visit a Shiva temple and perform Abhishek with water, raw milk, Bilva leaves, and Chandan.
- Prepare Churma prasad using wheat flour, pure ghee, and jaggery, dividing it into three equal portions.
- Offer one part to Lord Shiva, distribute the second among devotees, and consume the third part.
- On the 17th Monday, perform the sacred Udhyapan and havan.
Sacred Vrat Katha (Full Narrative)
Once, Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati arrived at a serene Shiva temple in Amravati. For amusement, Mata Parvati invited Shiva to a game of dice and asked the temple priest to predict the winner. The priest hastily named Shiva, but Parvati won. For uttering an untruth, she cursed him with leprosy.
Later, celestial apsaras visited the shrine and taught the remorseful priest the sacred Solah Somvar Vrata: fasting on 16 consecutive Mondays, offering Churma divided into three portions, and completing the Udhyapan on the 17th Monday. The priest observed the fast with deep remorse and devotion, and his health was miraculously restored.
Later, during the princess's Swayamvara where a royal elephant was to choose the groom, the elephant garlanded this pious devotee. He married the princess, who also observed the fast and was blessed with a noble son who eventually became a righteous king. Victory to Mahadeva!
Divine Aarti & Stuti
બ્રહ્મા, વિષ્ણુ, સદાશિવ, અર્ધાંગી ધારા... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
હંસાસન ગરુડાસન વૃષવાહન સાજે... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
તીનોં રૂપ નિરખતા ત્રિભુવન જન મોહે... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
ચંદન મૃગમદ સોહૈ ભાલે શશિધારી... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
સનકાદિક બ્રહ્માદિક ભૂતાદિક સંગે... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
જગકર્તા જગભર્તા જગસંહારકર્તા... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
પ્રણવાક્ષર કે મધ્યે યે તીનોં એકા... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥
કહત શિવાનંદ સ્વામી મનવાંછિત ફલ પાવે... ૐ હર હર હર મહાદેવ ॥