Fasting & devotion
The fasting vows kept fortnightly, monthly or once a year — their significance, legends, rituals and how each is timed by the Hindu calendar. Open any to read the full story.
Every vrat
The practice
A vrat is a personal fasting vow, paired with worship of a chosen deity — kept fortnightly (Ekadashi, Pradosh), monthly (Sankashti Chaturthi), or once a year (Vat Savitri, Hartalika Teej, Ahoi Ashtami). Unlike a festival, it is rarely a communal celebration; it is a private discipline undertaken for a specific wish, a loved one’s wellbeing, or simple devotion.
Set to a specific lunar day — the eleventh, thirteenth, fourth, or another.
Rules range from a single grain-free meal to a full nirjala (waterless) fast.
A story recited during the puja explains the vrat's own origin.
Extended vows (like Solah Somvar) end with a formal closing ceremony.
Questions
A vrat is a Hindu fasting vow — abstaining from food, certain foods, or water for a set period, paired with worship of a chosen deity — undertaken as a personal discipline, a prayer for a specific wish, or an offering of devotion.
A festival (like Diwali or Holi) is a single annual celebration shared publicly across a community. A vrat is a personal observance — often kept fortnightly or monthly, like Ekadashi or Pradosh — centred on fasting and individual devotion rather than communal celebration.
Yes. Fasting strictness (nirjala/waterless versus fruit-permitted versus a single grain-free meal) commonly varies by region, family tradition, and personal capacity — there is rarely one single universal rule.
Recurring vrats fall on the same tithi (lunar day) every fortnight or month, but the Gregorian date shifts — check the panchang for the current month's exact date rather than relying on a fixed calendar date.
Explore the significance, legends, rituals and deities; find the muhurat or read the day’s panchang, and bring the festival or vrat into your own practice. Arrange any pooja through the temple or provider.
Each option says what you get and what it costs before you commit.
Chart readings are calculated by the Vedika engine from the birth details you save.Refund terms
Chart readings are calculated by the Vedika engine from the birth details you save.
