Somvati Amavasyaसोमवती अमावस्या
Devoted to Bhagwan Shiva, Mata Parvati, and Peepal Vriksha · Whenever Amavasya falls on a Monday (typically 2-4 times per year)
Significance
Somvati Amavasya is the rare and highly auspicious lunar phase when the new moon day (Amavasya) coincides with a Monday (Somvar), the day sacred to Bhagwan Shiva. This conjunction, occurring only two to four times in a calendar year, is regarded as immensely powerful for spiritual practice, ancestor worship, and matrimonial harmony. The vrat is especially observed by married women (suhagins) for the long life and prosperity of their husbands, drawing parallels with Savitri legendary devotion to Satyavan. The central ritual involves circumambulating the sacred peepal tree — believed to house the Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh in its roots, trunk, and leaves respectively — while tying a sacred thread and offering water, milk, and flowers.
Who Observes
Predominantly observed by married Hindu women for the longevity and welfare of their husbands and harmony in family life. Also observed by sons performing pitru tarpan, individuals seeking relief from pitru dosha or kaal sarp dosha, devotees of Lord Shiva, and seekers desiring spiritual upliftment.
Fasting Rules (Upvas Niyam)
- •Married women observe a full-day fast without food or water until the peepal pradakshina and evening puja are completed
- •Permitted satvik intake includes milk, fruits, and water for those unable to keep nirjala fast
- •Absolute avoidance of salt, grains, onion, garlic, and any tamasic food throughout the day
- •Refrain from cutting hair, nails, or using sharp implements; avoid lending money or quarrels on this day
- •Maintain mauna (silence) and brahmacharya during the vrat for enhanced spiritual benefit
- •Break the fast after sunset by offering arghya to the moon, feeding Brahmins, and consuming charanamrit
Rituals (Puja Vidhi)
- Pre-dawn holy snan in a sacred river such as Ganga, Yamuna, or Godavari, or with river water at home
- Visiting a peepal tree at sunrise, offering water mixed with milk, raw sugar, sesame seeds, and akshat at its roots
- Tying 108 rounds of red, white, or yellow raksha sutra around the peepal trunk while performing parikrama
- Performing 108 pradakshina of the peepal tree while chanting Om Namah Shivaya or the Mahamrityunjaya mantra
- Offering bel patra, dhatura, white flowers, and ganga jal abhishek to a Shiva linga at a temple or home shrine
- Performing pitru tarpan with black sesame seeds, kusha grass, and water facing south for the peace of departed ancestors
- Daan of food, clothes, blankets, footwear, and dakshina to Brahmins, widows, and the destitute in the name of ancestors
Prasad
Til-gud laddoo, kheer, fruits, charanamrit, and panchamrit offered to Shiva and distributed after puja
Benefits (Phal)
Observing Somvati Amavasya bestows extraordinary blessings for married women, ensuring the long life, good health, and prosperity of their husbands and the harmony of family bonds. The peepal pradakshina is believed to grant the punya of visiting all teerthas, performing all yajnas, and donating cows in charity. The vrat is supremely effective in alleviating pitru dosha, kaal sarp dosha, and shani dosha, providing relief from chronic obstacles and recurring misfortunes. Childless couples observing this fast are blessed with progeny, and unmarried girls receive the boon of a virtuous spouse. Donations made on this day return manifold, and the spiritual merit earned is said to accompany the soul beyond death.
Primary Mantra
Vrat Katha (Story Origin)
The mahatmya of Somvati Amavasya is recounted in the Bhavishya Purana and the Skanda Purana through the touching tale of a poor Brahmin family. There once lived a virtuous Brahmin couple with a beautiful daughter who could not find a suitable groom due to inauspicious yogas predicting early widowhood. A wandering sage revealed that the only remedy was for the daughter to receive blessings from a pious washerwoman named Soma, famed for her unflinching devotion to her husband. Soma accepted the sacrifice without hesitation, blessed the bride, then rushed back, observed the Somvati Amavasya vrat with absolute rigor, performed 108 pradakshinas of the peepal tree, and offered her accumulated punya at its roots. Pleased by her supreme sacrifice, Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati appeared and restored her husband to life.
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Concluding ceremony, havan, or full katha recitation at your home or remotely with video proof.