Recurring / Extended · A sixteen-week span, most commonly begun in Shravan (July–August)
Also known as Solah Somwar Vrat · Sixteen Mondays Vrat
When it's kept
Recurring or moving vrats are best checked against this month's panchang for the exact next date.
Significance
Solah Somvar Vrat is an extended vow kept across sixteen consecutive Mondays in devotion to Lord Shiva, undertaken for a specific wish — commonly a good marriage, marital harmony, or the fulfilment of a heartfelt prayer — and completed with a formal closing ceremony rather than dropped once the wish is granted.
The story
The vrat's founding legend, recounted in several Shiva Purana-linked retellings, describes Parvati herself observing sixteen Mondays of fasting and worship to win Shiva as her husband; devotees who take up the vrat today do so in that same spirit, each Monday's worship building toward the sixteenth and its Udyapan.
Rituals
Across India
Kept across North and Central India, most commonly begun in the month of Shravan though it can be started on any auspicious Monday through the year; unmarried women observing it for marriage and married women observing it for their husband's wellbeing follow the same sixteen-week structure.
Questions
Tradition generally holds that the sixteen Mondays should be consecutive and unbroken; if one is missed, most guidance is to restart the vrat from the beginning on the next available Monday.
Udyapan is the closing ceremony performed after completing all sixteen Mondays — a puja followed by a feast and gifts, formally concluding the vrat.
Commonly unmarried women praying for a good marriage and married women praying for their husband's long life and marital harmony, though it is open to any devotee with a Shiva-directed wish.
Book a pooja in your name, or check this month’s panchang for the exact next date.
