Festivals and Vratas
व्रत
Mahashivaratri, Pradosha and the Monday fasts
A short guide to Shiv's main observances. Mahashivaratri is read from the Shiva Purana chapters on this site; Pradosha, Somvar and Shravan are described from devotional sources, which differ on fasting detail.
Mahashivaratri, per the Shiva Purana
In the Koti Rudra Samhita, Suta relays Shiv's own answer that of the vratas, Shivaratri alone stands supreme, open to everyone regardless of caste, gender or desire. The chapter lays out the night-long, four-yama worship; a second chapter gives the closing rite (udyapana) that completes fourteen years of observance; and a third tells of a hunter who, keeping watch in a bilva tree, unknowingly performs the full four-yama worship by dropping leaves and water on a hidden lingam, and is changed by it.
Pradosha and Somvar
Pradosha is the twilight window after sunset when Shiv worship is held to be most auspicious; when it falls on a Monday it is called Soma Pradosha. Devotional sources link Soma Pradosha to the moon being cured of Daksha's curse, a story told in the Koti Rudra Samhita's Somnath chapter. Common practice is bilva leaves, white flowers, milk and the panchakshara, with some devotees taking only fruit and milk. Fasting rules vary between sources and families.
Shravan and Solah Somvar
Shravana, usually July to August, is dedicated to Shiv, and its Mondays are held especially sacred, with jal abhisheka linked to the story of Shiv holding the Halahala poison. Solah Somvar is a series of sixteen consecutive Monday fasts, often begun in Shravan. These accounts come from devotional websites, not from a text read for this site.
Not covered yet
Kanwar Yatra could not be confirmed from the sources read, so it is not described here. The Kashmiri observance of Shivaratri is on its own page.
Read the source chapters
Source note
The Shivaratri section is from our own Shiva Purana translation. The Pradosha, Somvar and Shravan details come from devotional websites found by search, which disagree on fasting rules; ask your family tradition or a priest for the form you follow.