Pradosh Vrat 2026–27: Dates, Katha, Vidhi and the Meaning of Each Weekday’s Pradosh

Pradosh Vrat is kept on Trayodashi, the thirteenth day of the lunar fortnight, and so comes twice every month — once in the bright half and once in the dark. The word pradosh means the first part of the night: the vrat belongs not to the day but to the twilight, the period beginning at sunset, when Shiva is said to dance on Kailash and to be most ready to hear prayer. This is why the date of Pradosh is decided by which evening Trayodashi falls on, not by the tithi at sunrise — and why calendars sometimes differ by a day.

Calculated for Ujjain: each date is the evening on which Trayodashi prevails after local sunset. Sunset is given for Ujjain; the Pradosh Kaal is the roughly two and a half hours that follow it. In cities far to the east or west the date can occasionally shift by a day, so check a local panchang if you are elsewhere. Where a date is marked with an asterisk, Trayodashi touches the twilight of two successive evenings and panchangs differ on which to observe.

The vrat takes its name from the weekday it falls on, and tradition assigns each a particular fruit:

• Som Pradosh (Monday) — Shiva’s own day; kept for peace of mind and the fulfilment of wishes. Considered especially auspicious.
• Bhaum Pradosh (Tuesday) — for health and for release from debt.
• Budh Pradosh (Wednesday) — for learning and knowledge.
• Guru Pradosh (Thursday) — for the blessings of ancestors and protection from opposition.
• Shukra Pradosh (Friday) — for harmony in marriage and prosperity.
• Shani Pradosh (Saturday) — traditionally kept by those seeking a child, and for relief in Saturn’s periods.
• Ravi Pradosh (Sunday) — for health and long life.

These are the associations the tradition gives. The vrat is the same in every case.

The Skanda Purana tells of a poor Brahmin widow who lived by alms with her young son. One evening she found a boy abandoned by the river — Dharmagupta, a prince of Vidarbha, whose father had been killed in battle and his kingdom seized. She took him home and raised him with her own son. The sage Shandilya, learning who the boy was, taught the family to keep the Pradosh Vrat. In time the two boys met Gandharva maidens in the forest; one of them, Anshumati, chose Dharmagupta, and her father — instructed by Shiva — gave her in marriage and lent the prince an army. Dharmagupta recovered his father’s kingdom, and he credited the Pradosh Vrat for it. The story is read or heard at the evening puja.

1. Morning: bathe, and resolve to keep the fast. Many fast completely until evening; others take fruit and milk. Rice, grains and salt are avoided.
2. Before sunset: bathe again and put on clean clothes.
3. In the Pradosh Kaal: worship Shiva — at a temple or at home — with water and milk on the Shivling, bel leaves, white flowers, a lamp and incense. Worship Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya and Nandi alongside.
4. Chant Om Namah Shivaya 108 times, and read or hear the vrat katha.
5. Close with the aarti, and break the fast with a simple sattvik meal afterwards.

What may and may not be offered on a Shivling is set out in our guide to Shivling worship.

A vrat is voluntary. Those who are pregnant, unwell, elderly, diabetic or on regular medication should not fast without their doctor’s agreement, and the tradition itself accepts the evening worship without the fast. The observance is the puja at twilight; the fast is its discipline, not its substance.

Because the Pradosh Kaal is considered the hour of Shiva’s grace, it is one of the classical times for a Rudrabhishek — along with Mondays, Masik Shivratri and Maha Shivratri, which falls on 6 March 2027. Families who want the abhishek performed in full, with the Rudri recited by pandits and the sankalp in their name, can have it arranged on a Pradosh: see Rudrabhishek in Ujjain. What each of the offerings in that ritual signifies is explained in the abhishek dravyas.