Somvar Vrath Katha and my vrath routine

Successfully completed my Solah Somvar Vrath ! Blogging the modalities I followed for friends who would be interested.

I was advised in India to follow somvar vrath but was not sure what exactly to follow - the one where they eat fruits at the end of the day or just refrain from rice ....Thanks to my friend who was observing the sixteen weeks fast which starts with a puja in the morning, allows eating any fruits, nuts and milk  through the day and one meal without salt at the end of the day. I decided to follow that picking some more details from the web and customized a little :) .

I have created a video of the puja reciting mrithyunjaya manthram and reading the story as a dedication - Somvar Vrath Katha Video.

Somvar Puja

When to start

Any Monday in the waxing period of moon is good preferably in the month of Shravan . I started on August 12 2012. 

Puja needs

A small shivalingam for abhishekam and Puja.

Water, Milk, sandal powder, vibhoothi, flowers, fruits, rice, agarbatthi, ghee lamp.

The vrath story to read or listen to. I followed this link Somvar Vrath Katha in English to read.

Puja Needs

Puja Procedure

I would take a shower in the morning, arrange everything, light the lamp and agarbathi. Would play Anuradha Paudwal's shiv arthi while doing abhishekam - first with milk, then water, then sandal, again water and then finally vibhoothi and let that stay. Then would read the vrath katha and then done. If time permitted I recited the "mrithyunjaya mantram" in the evening.

What to eat

Fruits, Nuts, Milk, yogurt, Tea, Coffee but only one meal with no salt, no pulses. My friend told you can eat saboodana any time during the day. I do not know what kind of meal exactly. I started my day with tea, breakfast was mostly banana, lunch was apple or something and milk. And then early dinner around 6 PM.  Luckily my mom was here.  So she made wheat puttu with sugar and coconut with banana for dinner  and that was the best option. Chapathi without salt , wheat dosa etc., ragi semiya are other options I tried.

Udhyapan

This is the consummation of the vratha on the 17th week when you do the puja with family and friends making a prasad. It seems you make it with wheat, ghee and jaggery.

I enquired with the local temple, the Durga Mandir in Route 27 and Somvar Vrath Udhyapan was one of the services offered. So chose to do that. Paid the service dakshina to the temple and as intructed took 1/2 gallon milk, white vasthram 1.5 yards ( a white towel is accepted), 16 white flowers ( a bunch would do also) and 16 fruits (not necessarily)  and a white sweet ( I took kheer but dry sweets like kaju katli is good since it is easy to distribute). 

The priests did a wonderful puja with all the devotees who joined that day for this vratha. In the end all devotees did abhishekam to the Shivalingam at the temple while all shiva sthothras were chanted by the priests. I followed the same diet for this day also.

Benefits

It seems whatever you wish for when you take the pledge to do this vratha comes true. In my case, I do not really long or wish for whatever I wished for  anymore...isn't that even better :) . Thanking God for that little transformation.  

Note: Both men and women can do this puja. Women can continue to fast during their periods skipping the puja.