Solah Somvar (16 Mondays) Vrat Katha

Dadi: "Guddu, do you know which day is special for Lord Shiva?"

Guddu: "Monday! That's why we light the lamp on Mondays!"

Dadi: "Very good! Tonight I'll tell you why sixteen Mondays in a row are considered especially powerful - and how this vrat began with Lord Shiva and Parvati themselves."

Guddu: "They created this vrat?"

Dadi: "In a way! Once, Lord Shiva and Parvati were visiting a beautiful Shiva temple in the city of Amravati. They decided to stay for a while. One day, Parvati found Shiva in a playful mood and suggested they play a dice game."

Guddu: "Even gods play games!"

Dadi: "*smiling* Everyone needs fun, beta. Now, while they were playing, the temple priest happened to walk by. Parvati called out to him: 'Priest! Who do you think will win this game?'"

Guddu: "What did he say?"

Dadi: "Without thinking properly, he casually answered, 'Lord Shiva will win.' But guess what? PARVATI won!"

Guddu: "Uh oh..."

Dadi: "She was furious that the priest gave a careless prediction without even watching them play. In her anger, she cursed him: 'You will become a leper!'"

Guddu: "*gasping* Just for making a wrong guess?!"

Dadi: "Anger can make us do terrible things, beta. The priest was immediately afflicted with the disease. He suffered for years, unable to cure himself, living in misery."

Guddu: "Poor priest. What happened next?"

Dadi: "One day, some celestial maidens - Apsaras from heaven - visited the temple. They saw the suffering priest and felt great compassion. One of them said, 'I know how you can be cured. Observe the Solah Somvar Vrat - fast on sixteen consecutive Mondays, worship Lord Shiva properly each time, and you will heal.'"

Guddu: "Did he try it?"

Dadi: "He had nothing to lose! For sixteen weeks, every Monday, he woke early, bathed, worshipped Lord Shiva with water, milk, and Bilva leaves, chanted 'Om Namah Shivaya,' read sacred stories, and ate only simple food once that day."

Guddu: "And after sixteen Mondays?"

Dadi: "He was completely cured! When Shiva and Parvati returned to that temple later, Parvati was shocked to see him healthy. 'How did you recover from MY curse?' she asked."

Guddu: "*giggling* Was she upset that her curse was undone?"

Dadi: "Not at all! She was impressed. When the priest explained the sixteen Monday vrat, Parvati herself decided to observe it!"

Guddu: "Goddess Parvati did the vrat? But she's already a goddess!"

Dadi: "Even gods benefit from devotion, beta. Parvati had been estranged from her son Kartikeya for a long time. After completing her sixteen Monday fasts, on the seventeenth Monday, Kartikeya suddenly appeared and reconciled with her!"

Guddu: "The vrat brought her son back!"

Dadi: "Kartikeya was amazed. 'Mother, what power has called me here?' When Parvati explained, he too decided to try it - he wanted to be reunited with a dear friend who had traveled to foreign lands. After sixteen Mondays, his friend returned safely."

Guddu: "It keeps working!"

Dadi: "The friend then observed the vrat wishing for a good marriage. After completing it, he went to a neighboring kingdom where the king was choosing a husband for his daughter in a unique way - a decorated elephant would garland the chosen man."

Guddu: "Like a swayamvara!"

Dadi: "The elephant walked past princes and warriors and put the garland around THIS simple brahmin's neck! He married the princess and received great wealth."

Guddu: "And I bet his wife then did the vrat?"

Dadi: "*laughing* You're catching the pattern! She wished for a brilliant son, and was blessed with one. The son grew up and wished for a kingdom, and eventually became a king. But here's where the story takes a warning turn."

Guddu: "What happened?"

Dadi: "The new king continued observing the vrat with his queen. But one year, the queen grew careless. She neglected the observance, thinking, 'We're already blessed. Why bother?'"

Guddu: "*worried* That doesn't sound good."

Dadi: "Misfortune followed her everywhere. When she tried to spin yarn, the wind blew it away. When she carried oil, the vessels cracked. When she went to fetch water, the wells dried up. Eventually, she was even exiled from the kingdom."

Guddu: "All because she stopped the vrat?"

Dadi: "She had to learn the hard way. A temple priest finally told her, 'Your fortune reversed because you rejected Lord Shiva's observance.' She performed the sixteen Monday vrat again with sincere devotion, and gradually her fortune returned. The king found her and brought her back with honor."

Guddu: "So the lesson is to stay consistent?"

Dadi: "Exactly, beta. Devotion isn't just for when we want something. It's a relationship we maintain through good times and bad. When we grow careless and take our blessings for granted, we lose them."

Guddu: "Dadi, can children do this vrat?"

Dadi: "In a simple way, yes. You can remember Lord Shiva on Mondays, say a small prayer, be kind to others, eat simple food. The point isn't strict rules - it's remembering the divine regularly, building a habit of devotion."

Guddu: "Like brushing teeth for the soul!"

Dadi: "*laughing* What a wonderful way to put it! Yes, exactly like that. Now, the vrat katha says that anyone who observes these sixteen Mondays with faith will receive all blessings in life and eventually reach Shivapuri - Lord Shiva's abode."

Guddu: "*yawning* Dadi, next Monday I'll remember this story."

Dadi: "And I'll remind you. Sleep now, and may every Monday bring you closer to the divine."

Guddu: "Goodnight, Dadi. Om Namah Shivaya!"

Dadi: "Om Namah Shivaya, my little devotee. Sweet dreams."