🔱 Pradosh Vrat Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the household Pradosh vidhi — the day's fast, the Shiva-Parvati puja in the Pradosh Kaal, the katha, the meal after the aarti.
How to do Pradosh Vrat — the steps
- Bathe in the morning, remember Shiva, sankalp — '(weekday) Pradosh vrat, for (wish), the meal after the puja in the Pradosh Kaal'; fruit/no food all day (as strength allows), water may be taken (the strict form is waterless); no sleeping in the day.
- Evening, before sunset: bathe again (if possible), white/light clothes; the puja place/Shiva temple — a Shivalinga or a Shiva-Parvati picture, a rangoli of five colours (some customs), a kusha seat, facing north-east.
- The puja in the Pradosh Kaal (time above): water, milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar (panchamrit) on the Shivalinga, then Gangajal; bel leaves (3 leaflets, face down), datura, aak, shami, bhang, white flowers, sandalwood and bhasma, akshat, the sacred thread; suhag items and red flowers for Parvati; 'Om Namah Shivaya' 108 times, the Shiva Chalisa/Rudrashtakam, the Mahamrityunjaya (for freedom from illness).
- Hear the Pradosh katha (below — the katha by weekday too); lamp and incense, naivedya (kheer, fruit, halwa, sweets), the Shiva aarti 'Om Jai Shiv Omkara', the camphor aarti; green fodder/jaggery for Nandi.
- After the puja: prasad, then breaking the fast — a sattvic meal (without salt/once — some customs), many homes only fruit at night; normal the next morning.
- By weekday: on Soma Pradosh the Moon arghya/the gift of white things; on Bhauma Pradosh the gift of masoor and jaggery, Hanuman darshan; on Shani Pradosh the gift of black sesame, oil and urad, the Shani mantra, a lamp at the peepal; on Shukra Pradosh the gift of suhag items.
- Women: the worship of Parvati is special — offer suhag items (bangles-bindi-sindoor) and later wear/donate them; 11 Shani Pradoshs for the blessing of children; only remembrance during menstruation.
- Udyapan: on completing 11/26 Pradoshs — Shiva puja, havan (Mahamrityunjaya/Om Namah Shivaya), feeding a Brahmin/couple, charity; then the vrat as one wishes.
Puja samagri checklist
The Shiva abhishek + Parvati's suhag + the Pradosh katha — the list for every Pradosh.
- A Shivalinga (parad/Narmadeshwar/clay) or a Shiva-Parvati picture, wooden seat, white cloth, kusha seat
- Abhishek: water, Gangajal, milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar, sugarcane juice (if possible)
- Bel leaves (3 leaflets), datura, aak (madar) flowers, shami leaves, bhang, durva, white flowers (jasmine-kaner), red flowers (Parvati)
- Sandalwood, bhasma, akshat, sacred thread, mauli, roli-turmeric-kumkum, perfume, paan-supari-clove-cardamom
- Suhag items for Parvati: bangles, bindi, sindoor, mehndi, chunari
- Lamp (ghee/sesame oil), incense, camphor, aarti thali, bell and conch
- Naivedya: kheer, halwa, fruit (banana-apple), sweets, panchmewa; jaggery and fodder for Nandi
- The Pradosh katha/Shiva Chalisa book, rudraksha mala; charity items by weekday (sesame-oil-urad/masoor-jaggery/white things)
Kheer, halwa, fruit — Shiva's sattvic naivedya; fruit on the vrat day
On Pradosh, fruit/no food all day, the meal after the Pradosh puja — many homes without salt or once; kheer-halwa-fruit-sweets-panchmewa and bhang-milk (some customs) for Shiva, jaggery for Nandi; charity by weekday — white things on Monday, masoor and jaggery on Tuesday, sesame, urad and oil on Saturday.
- Naivedya: rice/sabudana/makhana kheer, semolina halwa, fruit (banana-apple-guava), peda-barfi, panchmewa, thandai/bhang-milk (some customs — Sawan)
- Fasting fare: fruit, milk, curd, makhana, sabudana khichdi, kuttu, rock salt (or no salt)
- The meal after the puja: sattvic — dal-rice-roti-sabzi (no onion-garlic), many homes one meal or only fruit at night
- Soma Pradosh: white things (milk-rice-mishri) as bhog and charity; Bhauma Pradosh: jaggery-gram, the gift of masoor; Shani Pradosh: sesame laddoo, the gift of urad khichdi; Ravi Pradosh: the gift of jaggery and wheat
- South (Pradosham): the Nandi abhishek, payasam-vada, ney appam; Maharashtra: the shivamuth (Sawan Mondays), sabudana as the fasting meal on Pradosh; Bengal: milk and batasha for Shiva
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- The puja only in the Pradosh Kaal (~2h24m from sunset — time above); the Trayodashi present in Pradosh — list above
- Bel leaves, water and panchamrit for Shiva, suhag items for Parvati; 'Om Namah Shivaya'; the weekday katha
- Charity by weekday — white on Monday, masoor-jaggery on Tuesday, sesame-urad-oil on Saturday
- The fast all day, a sattvic meal after the aarti; udyapan after 11/26 Pradoshs
- The unwell/pregnant take fruit and milk; at home if you cannot go to a Shiva temple
❌ Don't
- No puja in the morning/late at night skipping the Pradosh Kaal (regarded as loss of fruit); no meal before the puja
- No Tulsi, ketaki, turmeric, sindoor, coconut water (some customs) on the Shivalinga, no water from a conch (forbidden for Shiva)
- No torn or cut bel leaflets; place the bel leaf face down (smooth side down)
- No black clothes, tamasic food, anger, quarrels or sleeping in the day
- No abandoning the vrat midway; no harsh waterless fast against health
Vrat katha
The halahala poison emerged in the churning of the ocean; Shiva held it in his throat — Neelkanth; the burning of the poison subsided in the Pradosh Kaal of Trayodashi, the gods praised Shiva on Kailash and Shiva perform… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is the next Pradosh vrat? The dates of {Y}?
Above are the date of the next Pradosh, the Pradosh Kaal time (Delhi — ~2h24m from sunset) and the next 12 Pradosh dates with their weekday names (Soma/Bhauma/Shani…); your city's sunset is a few minutes earlier or later — match with a panchang.
What is the Pradosh Kaal and how long is it?
6 ghatis (2 hours 24 minutes) from sunset — the junction of day and night; Shiva's dance of joy in it (Skanda Purana); some texts take 3 ghatis before and after sunset (6 in all) — in practice the 1-2 hours after sunset are best; the time is given above.
What is the difference between Soma, Bhauma and Shani Pradosh?
The fruit by weekday: Soma (Monday) — wishes and pacifying the Moon; Bhauma (Tuesday) — freedom from debt and disease, Mangal dosha; Shani (Saturday) — children, pacifying Saturn's sade sati; Ravi — long life; Budha — learning; Guru — destruction of enemies; Shukra — wealth and fortune; the vidhi is the same, the charity by weekday; every date in the list above carries its weekday name.
If Trayodashi falls on two days, which day is Pradosh?
The day on which the Trayodashi tithi is present in the Pradosh Kaal (after sunset) — Pradosh-vyapini; if on both days, the first; if on neither (Trayodashi ends in the afternoon), the day with more of it — the list above is built by this rule.
Can women keep Pradosh? For what wish?
Yes — protection of marital fortune, children (11 Shani Pradoshs), the husband's health, peace of mind (Soma Pradosh); the worship of Parvati is special; no puja during menstruation, remembrance and japa; the pregnant take fruit; girls keep Soma Pradosh and the Sawan Mondays for the groom of their choice.
How many Pradoshs to keep and when is the udyapan?
By vow — 11 Pradoshs (about five and a half months) or 26 (about a year); on completion the udyapan — Shiva puja, havan, feeding a Brahmin/couple, charity; then continue as one wishes; if one is missed, add the next Pradosh of the same weekday.
🏠 Pradosh Vrat 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals