Solah Somwar 2026: Complete Dates, Puja Vidhi, Rules and Katha

Add as a preferred source on Google

In many North Indian households, August does not begin with a calendar reminder. It begins with a mother gently telling her daughter that the first Sawan Somwar is coming - and asking if this is the year she wants to start Solah Somwar.

Photo Credit: Chat GPT

"Solah Somwar" means sixteen Mondays. It is one of the more demanding vrats (vows) in the Hindu calendar, not because any single day is difficult, but because it requires sixteen consecutive Mondays without a break in devotion to Lord Shiva. Unmarried women observe it hoping for a good life partner, married women for their husband's well-being, and many others simply because they are holding a wish they want Shiva to grant. It is traditionally begun on the first Monday of Sawan, the month considered most sacred to Shiva.

When Solah Somwar 2026 Begins

Photo Credit: Canva

The dates differ slightly depending on which lunar calendar a region follows. Most devotees begin the vrat on the first Sawan Somwar - Monday, 3 August 2026 in North India, which follows the Purnimanta calendar, and Monday, 17 August 2026 in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South, which follow the Amanta calendar.

For those starting on the North Indian date, the sixteen Mondays fall as follows: 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 August; 7, 14, 21 and 28 September; 5, 12, 19 and 26 October; and 2, 9 and 16 November 2026.

The vow concludes with the Udyapan - the closing puja - on the sixteenth Monday, marked by a fuller abhishek, feeding others, and offering dakshina. In North India, that falls on 16 November 2026; in Amanta-calendar states, where the vrat starts later, it falls on 30 November 2026. Some families choose to complete it on the following Monday instead, so it is worth confirming the practice followed in your own household.

How The Fast Is Kept

Photo Credit: Chat GPT

The routine stays the same each week, which is part of what makes it demanding. Devotees wake before sunrise and bathe, then clean the puja space and set up a Shivling or an image of Shiva with a small vessel of water nearby. A sankalp - stating one's name, gotra and the intention behind the vow - is taken first; skipping it is considered to leave the vrat incomplete.

The abhishek follows: water poured slowly, then milk, honey, curd, ghee and sugar where available, along with whole bilva (bel) leaves and white flowers such as datura or aak. Sixteen bilva leaves are typically offered, in keeping with the sixteen Mondays. Through the puja, devotees chant "Om Namah Shivaya," and many add the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra at least eleven times.

Most people who keep Solah Somwar eat only one phalahar (fruit-based) meal on the day, avoiding grains and regular cooked food, and close the evening with the reading of the Solah Somwar Vrat Katha - the story most often told is of a merchant's wayward son who loses his family's fortune, is guided by a sannyasi to observe the sixteen Mondays without a break, and finds his fortunes restored as a result.

The Rules That Matter Most

The vrat's strictness lies less in what is eaten and more in consistency. Missing a single Monday, in most traditions, means starting the count again from the first week. Because of this, many families deliberately begin during Shravan, when the discipline of daily worship is already in place, rather than picking a Monday at random later in the year.

Simplicity is also part of the observance. Devotees are encouraged to wear something simple rather than anything loud, reflecting the restraint the month asks for. Anger, gossip and non-vegetarian food are generally avoided on the day, and the fast is broken only after the evening puja and katha are complete.