On the Mondays of Karthika, the Shiva temples of the Telugu lands fill twice. At dawn, devotees arrive fresh from the river or the bathing ghat with bilva leaves and a small pot of milk for the Lord's abhishekam. At dusk, they return to light lamps, and many have not eaten all day. Only after the evening worship, when the first stars appear, do they sit down to their single meal. This is the Karthika Somavaram vratam, one of the most widely kept observances in Telugu homes, and it asks for nothing more elaborate than a day of restraint and a lamp in the evening.
Karthika Masam begins on Karthika Shukla Padyami, the day after Deepavali Amavasya, and ends on Karthika Amavasya. Every Monday that falls within the month is a Karthika Somavaram – usually four, sometimes five. Monday (Somavaram, the day of Soma, the Moon) is in any case Lord Shiva's day, and in Karthika, the month most dear to him in the Telugu tradition, its Mondays gain special importance. Your local Telugu panchangam will show which Mondays fall within the month each year.
For the wider customs of the month – the dawn baths, the evening lamps, Karthika Pournami and the Vana Bhojanalu – please see our Karthika Masam page.
The Karthika Puranam, read chapter by chapter in many Telugu homes through the month, devotes its second chapter to the glory of the Somavaram vratam. It describes the observance in degrees, so that everyone can take part according to their strength:
The chapter illustrates the vratam's power with a story. Nishtura, a woman of cruel deeds, suffers for her sins and is reborn as a dog. One Karthika Monday, a devout Brahmin who has kept the fast all day leaves a little of his evening prasadam where the dog can eat it. The animal remembers her past life, and by the merit of that single morsel she is released and carried to Shiva's abode. The story is told as a Purana tells such stories: to show that devotion, and even its smallest overflow, can change a soul's course.
The Puranam itself offers several levels of observance, and families have always adapted them. A day of fasting is meant to clear the mind, not to harm the body. Elders, children, pregnant women and anyone with diabetes, low blood pressure or another health condition should not feel bound to fast; the morning worship, the evening lamp and an act of charity keep the spirit of the day just as truly. If you are unsure, please consult your doctor before fasting.
In many homes the Karthika Puranam is read one chapter a day, beginning on the first day of the month, so that its thirty chapters are completed by the end of Karthika. On Somavarams, families often gather to hear the day's chapter after the evening lamp, before the fast is broken. It is a gentle way to keep children close to the month's stories.
The Mondays of Karthika bring the year's largest weekday crowds to Shiva temples across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – at Srisailam, at the five Pancharamas and at countless village shrines. Many devotees choose a Somavaram for the Pancharama pilgrimage; our Pancharama yatra route guide will help you plan it. On these days, expect long queues and arrive early.
Monday fasts for Shiva are kept across India, but the month varies. In much of North India, the Mondays of Shravana are the great Somvar fasts. In the Telugu and Kannada lands, it is the Mondays of Karthika that matter most. The devotion is the same; the calendar reflects each region's own sacred year.
The Somavaram vratam is perhaps the most democratic of observances. It needs no priest, no costly materials and no special knowledge: a bath, a few leaves, a lamp, a day of restraint, and a meal shared at the end. That is why it has lasted. Week after week through Karthika, it gives ordinary households a way of keeping company with Lord Shiva, at whatever level of strength each person can bring.