Somvar Vrath: the Monday fast for Shiva

Monday is Shiva's day. The moon — Soma — rests on his forehead, and the week opens with the graha that governs the mind. Keeping Somvar vrath is, at its plainest, an agreement to begin the week with a quiet mind.

The fast is kept from sunrise until the evening puja. Most households take one satvik meal after offering water, bel patra and white flowers at the Shivling. Sixteen consecutive Mondays make the Solah Somvar vrath, traditionally kept by those seeking a good marriage or the healing of a family member.

The katha read at the end tells of a merchant who had wealth and no child, and of the boon granted on the condition that the child would live only twelve years. What the story is really about is the refusal of the parents to stop keeping faith after the twelfth year — and the grace that follows persistence rather than bargaining.