प्रदोष व्रत कथा

The Puranas say that the twilight of Trayodashi is the hour of Shiva's special delight. Tradition tells that at this hour, on the silver peak of Kailash, Shiva dances in bliss: Nandi beats the drum, Saraswati plays the veena, Indra the flute, Brahma keeps time and Lakshmi sings, while all the gods, the gandharvas and the sages stand around in praise. Whoever on earth remembers Shiva at this hour, it is said, has their call carried straight to that assembly. This is why the worship of Shiva in the pradosh kaal is called the best of all worship at any hour.

Another tradition ties this tithi to the churning of the ocean. When the gods and the demons churned the sea for the nectar of immortality, before the nectar rose the halahala poison, and its flames began to burn the three worlds. All took refuge in Shiva, and Shiva, to save the world, drank the poison and held it in his throat; from that day he is Neelkanth, the blue-throated. It is said that this was a Trayodashi, and that in the evening, in the pradosh window, the gods praised Shiva in gratitude. Then Shiva granted that whoever worships him at the twilight of Trayodashi would be especially dear to him. This is taken as the beginning of the Pradosh vrat.

In the Skanda Purana it is Suta who tells the sages this katha of the Pradosh vrat. There was a righteous king of the country of Vidarbha who had a single son, Dharmagupta. Once the neighbouring kings joined together and attacked Vidarbha. The king fell in battle and the kingdom passed into enemy hands. The queen took the infant Dharmagupta in her arms, slipped out of the palace and fled toward the forest. The hardships of the forest, hunger and grief broke her, and within a few days she too died. Now the prince, who had once been raised in a palace, was alone in the forest, hungry and orphaned.

In a village near that forest lived a poor Brahmin woman. Her husband had died, and she kept herself and her small son Shuchivrata alive by begging for alms. One day, returning with her alms, she saw a child weeping at the edge of the forest, his clothes royal but his face covered with dust and tears. Beside him lay the body of his mother. The Brahmin woman's heart melted. She lifted the child and said, 'If I have two pieces of bread, I will give half to each of you.' She brought him home and began to raise him with her own son: one mother, two sons, and most days a single meal in the house.

One day she took both boys on a pilgrimage, and there she met the sage Shandilya. The sage looked at the boys and knew by his inner sight that the child with the royal face was the prince of Vidarbha, whose father had died in battle and whose mother had died in the forest. He said to the woman, 'What you have done is a great merit. Now I will teach you a vow. On every Trayodashi fast through the day, worship Shiva at twilight in the pradosh kaal, and seat both boys beside you. By Shiva's grace the days of sorrow of these children will pass.' The woman bowed to the sage and from that very Trayodashi began the Pradosh vrat. A little milk received as alms, bel leaves plucked from a tree, a clay lamp: that was all her puja had, but the devotion in it was whole.

Some years passed and both boys grew into youths. One day, playing in the forest, they wandered far and saw gandharva maidens roaming there. Shuchivrata turned home, but Dharmagupta fell into conversation with one of the maidens. She was Anshumati, the daughter of the king of the gandharvas. Affection grew between them, and Anshumati asked him to return to the same place some days later. When Dharmagupta came again, Anshumati was with her parents. The gandharva king looked at the young man, raised in the forest yet royal in his gaze and his speech, and asked who he was. Dharmagupta told the whole truth: he was the son of the king of Vidarbha, whose kingdom had been taken, and a poor Brahmin woman had raised him on the bread of alms.

The gandharva king said, 'I already know this. Lord Shiva himself appeared to me in a dream and commanded me: marry your daughter Anshumati to Dharmagupta, the prince of Vidarbha, who is growing up in this forest. Shiva is pleased with the Pradosh vrat of the woman who raised you, and the fruit of that vow is to come to you.' At an auspicious hour Anshumati and Dharmagupta were married. The Brahmin woman, who had raised this prince on the bread of alms, sat in the mother's place at the wedding.

After the wedding the gandharva king gave Dharmagupta an army of gandharvas. With it Dharmagupta marched on Vidarbha, defeated his enemies and won back his father's throne. The first thing he did on gaining the kingdom was to call the Brahmin woman and Shuchivrata to the palace with honour; he gave the woman the place of the queen mother and took Shuchivrata as his brother. He proclaimed across Vidarbha that this kingdom, this marriage and this life were all the fruit of a poor widow's Pradosh vrat, and in every home of the kingdom a lamp began to burn for Shiva at the twilight of Trayodashi.

Suta closed the katha with these words: whoever fasts on Trayodashi, worships Shiva in the pradosh kaal and hears this story has their sorrow, poverty and disease taken away, and Shiva protects them as he protected that orphaned child of the forest. The message of the story is that Shiva asks not for materials but for devotion; the lamp of a woman who lived on alms gave back a kingdom. That is why, at the twilight of every Trayodashi, Shiva's devotees keep the fast, light the lamp, offer bel leaves and hear this katha.

Things needed: a Shivling or a picture of Shiva and Parvati, water and Ganga water, milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar for the panchamrit, uncut three-leaved bel leaves, datura or aak flowers, white flowers, bhasma or sandal paste, akshat, incense, a lamp of ghee or sesame oil, fruit or kheer for the offering, and the katha book. Look to the purity of the bel leaves rather than their number; washing a single leaf and offering it again is accepted.

On the day of Trayodashi rise before sunrise, bathe, wear clean clothes, and before Shiva take water and akshat in your hand for the sankalp, the vow: 'Today I keep the Pradosh vrat for the pleasure of Lord Shiva.' Do a short puja in the morning and fast through the day. Those who cannot go without food may take fruit and milk; grain and salt are not taken.

Through the day keep 'Om Namah Shivaya' going in the mind, and stay away from anger, lies and gossip. If there is a Shiva temple nearby, it is best to do the evening puja there; otherwise at home before the Shivling or the picture.

Before sunset bathe again; this evening bath is particular to the Pradosh vrat. Wear white or clean clothes. Purify the puja place, sit facing east or north and light the lamp. Do the main puja in the pradosh kaal itself, the evening window around sunset; check that day's pradosh window in the panchang, which is shown above this text.

Bathe the Shivling: first water, then milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar, and last Ganga water or clean water. Say 'Om Namah Shivaya' with each stream. Then mark the three lines of the tripund with bhasma or sandal, offer akshat and white flowers, and offer the bel leaves with the smooth side down and the stalk toward you. Datura, aak and bhang leaves are also dear to Shiva. Show the incense and the lamp and set out the offering of fruit or kheer.

Now chant one or more malas of the five-syllable mantra, 'Om Namah Shivaya'. If there is time, chant the Mahamrityunjaya mantra or recite the Shiva Chalisa or the Shiva Panchakshara Stotra. Remember the graha of the weekday of this Pradosh, the Moon on a Monday, Saturn on a Saturday, and ask Shiva for the peace of that graha.

Then read or hear this katha of the Pradosh vrat. After the katha do the aarti of Shiva, 'Om Jai Shiv Omkara', light camphor, wave the aarti and offer it to everyone present. Ask forgiveness for any lapse in the puja and bow to Shiva.

After the aarti share the offering as prasad in the family and then open the fast with one sattvic meal, without onion or garlic. The paran of the Pradosh vrat is the same night; there is no separate paran to wait for the next day. Put the bel leaves and flowers under a tree or in flowing water, never in a drain.

The vow is usually taken for eleven or twenty-six Trayodashis; some devotees keep it for life. When the vow is complete do the udyapan: a special puja of Shiva, and a meal and gifts for a brahmin or someone in need.

A Pradosh is named for the weekday on which the twilight of Trayodashi falls, and tradition has given each weekday its own fruit. Ravi Pradosh, on a Sunday, is kept for long life, health and peace of mind; in the kundli the Sun stands for inner strength and for the father, so it is kept for the father's health and for honour too. Som Pradosh, on a Monday, is the most widely kept of all: Monday is Shiva's own day and the Moon's, and the Moon in the kundli is the mind. For those whose mind is restless, who cannot sleep, who are afraid of decisions, or whose Moon is weak, afflicted by malefics or placed in the sixth, eighth or twelfth house, Som Pradosh is the fast for peace of mind and the fulfilment of wishes.

Bhaum Pradosh, on a Tuesday, is kept for freedom from illness, release from debt and bodily strength; Mars stands for blood, land, brothers and courage, so it is also prescribed in land disputes and for Mangal dosha. Budh Pradosh, on a Wednesday, is for intelligence, learning, speech and the fulfilment of wishes, and is held special for students and for those whose trade depends on their speech.

Guru Pradosh, on a Thursday, is kept for the peace of the ancestors, victory over enemies and the grace of the guru; Jupiter stands for dharma, children and marriage, so those who wish for a child or a marriage also keep Guru Pradosh. Shukra Pradosh, on a Friday, is for wealth, good fortune, happiness between husband and wife and peace in the home; it is prescribed for those whose homes are troubled by quarrels, or whose Venus is afflicted in the kundli.

Shani Pradosh, on a Saturday, is the most searched-for Pradosh of all. Saturn in the kundli is the graha of karma, delay, hardship and justice, and Shiva is held to be the lord of Saturn too, so during Saturn's sade sati, its dhaiya or its dasha the Shani Pradosh fast is given as the simplest remedy for Saturn's peace. In tradition Shani Pradosh is also special for the gift of a child: childless couples keep it and ask Shiva and Parvati for a son or daughter. It is kept, too, to regain lost standing or a lost position, as Dharmagupta in the story regained his kingdom. If Saturn is now in sade sati or dhaiya in your kundli, build your chart on this site, see how long the period runs, and take the vow of Shani Pradosh accordingly.

By tradition the Pradosh vrat is the fast that destroys sin, frees from disease and debt and fulfils wishes; it is said that a single puja in the pradosh kaal equals many pujas at other hours, and that whoever keeps this vow regularly on every Trayodashi attains the abode of Shiva. The message of the story is that Shiva looks at devotion, not at materials; the lamp of a woman who lived on alms won a kingdom for an orphaned child.

Seen through astrology, the Pradosh vrat is a remedy for the peace of both the Moon and Saturn, the mind and karma. It is held special for those whose kundli is passing through Saturn's sade sati or dhaiya, whose Moon is weak or afflicted, who are surrounded by illness, debt or litigation, who long for a child, or who simply want to give Shiva one evening in every fortnight. Two Trayodashis come in every month, so this is the vow that settles most easily into the rhythm of a life.

After the katha, in the pradosh kaal, the Shiva aarti 'Om Jai Shiv Omkara' is sung. Wave the aarti with camphor or a ghee lamp, ring the bell, and at the end bow to Shiva saying 'Om Namah Shivaya'. After the aarti share the offering as prasad and then open the fast.