Shravana Somavara - Chaturtha 2026 Date

About Shravana Somavara - Chaturtha

The fourth Monday of Shravan — the month whose glory the Skanda Purana sets out as a dialogue between Shiva and Sanatkumara. In temples, a perforated pot (Dharanatra) drips water onto the Linga all day, while devotees pile it with bilva leaves and fast till sunset.

By the fourth Somvar, many devotees are deep into a longer vow — the Solah Somvar, sixteen consecutive Mondays of fasting that begins on the first Monday of Sawan and runs well past the month itself. The day's central rite is the abhisheka of the Linga to the chant of the Rudra Ashtadhyayi from the Shukla Yajurveda — the Rudram naming Shiva, the Chamakam asking for boons. In North India, this is also the peak of the Kanwar Yatra: saffron-clad kavadias who walked from the Ganga time their pot-bearing arrival so the water is poured on a Shravan Monday. The Tuesday that follows pairs the vrat with Mangala Gauri Vrat for Parvati — Shiva on Mondays, his consort the next day.