Somvar Vrat Food Rules — Monday Fast Guide
Somvar Vrat (Monday fast for Lord Shiva) requires strictly sattvic (pure) food. Below is the complete list of allowed and forbidden foods, plus the correct time to break the fast.
✅ What to Eat — Allowed Foods
🍌
All fruits (banana, apple, pear, mango)
🥛
Milk and milk products (curd, paneer, butter)
🍚
Sabudana — sago (khichdi or kheer)
🥔
Potatoes and sweet potatoes (boiled or roasted)
🌰
Kuttu flour — buckwheat (puri or paratha)
🧂
Sendha namak (rock salt — the only salt allowed)
🍬
Mishri, white sugar, jaggery (gud)
🥜
Dry fruits and seeds (walnuts, cashews, peanuts)
🍵
Tea and thandai (without grain additives)
💧
Water, coconut water — unlimited
❌ What to Avoid — Forbidden Foods
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Grains — wheat, rice, corn, lentils, besan (chickpea flour)
🧅
Onion and garlic (tamasic / rajasic)
🥩
Meat, fish, and eggs — strictly forbidden
🍺
Alcohol and intoxicants of any kind
🧄
Ginger (forbidden in some traditions during strict fast)
🌿
Turmeric (restricted in some regional traditions)
🛢️
Common iodized salt — only sendha namak is permitted
🍳
Heavily fried or overly spiced food — disrupts sattvic state
🌅 When to Break the Fast — Pradosh Kaal
Somvar Vrat is traditionally broken during Pradosh Kaal — approximately 1.5 hours after sunset (around 6:00–7:30 PM). Offer puja to Shiva first, accept prasad, then eat your evening meal.
⏰ Before breaking the fast, chant "Om Namah Shivaya" 5 times and offer water to Shiva.
Fasting Tips & Rules
- Wake at Brahma Muhurat and bathe before puja
- Wear white clothes on Monday
- One light meal during the day is ideal
- Avoid anger, falsehood, and gossip on fast days
- If possible, observe silence (maun vrat) for part of the day
Somvar Puja Checklist
☑ Puja Items Checklist
0/7- Raw Milk (Kacha Dudh)दूध — for abhishek and drinking
- Bilva Leaves (Belpatra)बेलपत्र — Shiva's most beloved leaf
- Sandalwood Paste (Chandan)चंदन — for tilak on Shivling
- Black Sesame (Kala Til)काला तिल — for Shani-Shiva remedies
- Incense (Dhoop / Agarbatti)धूप — cedar or sandalwood
- White Flowers (Safed Phool)सफेद फूल — dhatura or white lotus preferred
- Gangajalगंगाजल — or pure water if unavailable