Pradosh Vrat 2026–27: Dates, Puja Vidhi, Katha and Benefits

Pradosh Vrat is the fast for Lord Shiva kept on the Trayodashi (13th lunar day) of every fortnight, so it comes twice a month. The puja is done in Pradosh Kaal, the twilight hours just after sunset, when Shiva is said to dance on Kailash and to grant wishes most readily. The next Pradosh is Shukra Pradosh on Friday, 23 October 2026.

Pradosh Vrat dates, October 2026 – November 2027

Calculated for New Delhi: the day on which Trayodashi falls in Pradosh Kaal. The time shown is Pradosh Kaal, the window for the puja.

Pradosh Kaal is the first fifth of the night after sunset; times shift by city. Check yours on our daily panchang. Calendars occasionally differ by a day when Trayodashi begins in the evening.

Why Pradosh is special to Shiva

Pradosh means the beginning of the night, the meeting point of day and dark. The Shiva Purana and the Skanda Purana praise this hour: Shiva dances the joyful tandava on Kailash, and every god gathers to watch. A prayer offered then is said to reach him without fail. A popular tradition also links it to the churning of the ocean: when the halahala poison rose, Shiva held it in his throat and became Neelkanth, and the gods worshipped him in gratitude at Pradosh on Trayodashi.

What each weekday’s Pradosh is kept for

Many devotees resolve to keep 11 or 26 Pradosh fasts in a row, starting on a Som or Shani Pradosh.

How to do the Pradosh puja at home

1. Morning: bathe, wear clean clothes and take the sankalp to keep the fast. Eat fruit and milk through the day if you are not keeping it nirjala.
2. An hour before sunset: bathe again or wash, and clean the puja place. Many families wear white.
3. In Pradosh Kaal: offer water, milk, curd, honey and Ganga jal to the Shivling (abhishek), then bel patra, dhatura, white flowers, sandalwood and akshat.
4. Light a ghee diya and incense, and chant ॐ नमः शिवाय 108 times, or the Mahamrityunjaya mantra.
5. Read or listen to the Pradosh katha (below), then sing Om Jai Shiv Omkara.
6. Break the fast after the puja with sattvic food, or the next morning if you keep a strict fast.

The Pradosh Vrat katha (in brief)

In a village lived a poor Brahmin widow who begged for alms with her young son. One day she found a wounded boy by the riverside, the prince of Vidarbha, whose kingdom had been seized by enemies, and brought him home. On the advice of the sage Shandilya, the widow and both boys began keeping the Pradosh Vrat. Some time later, the prince met a gandharva princess, Anshumati, in the forest; her father, guided by Shiva in a dream, gave her in marriage to him, and with the gandharvas’ help the prince won back his kingdom. He made the widow’s son his chief minister. The story ends: whoever keeps the Pradosh fast with faith is never left without Shiva’s help.

Pradosh and the great Shiva days

The Pradosh of the dark fortnight in Phalguna falls on the eve of Maha Shivratri (6 March 2027), and the Pradosh fasts of Sawan (July–August) are among the most important of the year. Plan a pilgrimage with our guide to the 12 Jyotirlingas.

Sources: Shiva Purana and Skanda Purana (Pradosh mahatmya); dates and Pradosh Kaal computed by World of Hindus for New Delhi using the Lahiri ayanamsa. Image: Raja Ravi Varma chromolithograph, Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0.