How do I start the Solah Somvār (16 Mondays) vrat?

begin on a Monday of the bright fortnight (Śrāvaṇa, Kārtika, Caitra or Mārgaśīrṣa are favoured) with a clear saṅkalpa, and keep sixteen Mondays in a row.

Solah Somvār is a vow to Śiva and Pārvatī, kept by many for a good marriage, harmony at home or simply for devotion. Most families begin on the first Monday of Śrāvaṇa or on a Monday in the śukla pakṣa of another favoured month. On the first morning, after bathing, hold water, rice and a flower and state your name, gotra (if known) and your wish to keep sixteen Mondays: that is the saṅkalpa.

Each Monday: bathe, offer water or milk on the Śiva-liṅga (at home or at a temple), bel-patra and white flowers, read or hear the Solah Somvār kathā, and eat once, usually in the evening. Many offer a simple prasāda of churma or wheat-and-jaggery made in three parts: one for God, one for family, one to share.

On the seventeenth Monday the udyāpana is done with a small pūjā, havan or feeding of a couple.

Tradition says Pārvatī herself kept sixteen Mondays to win Śiva, and that a priest cursed by her for a false judgement was freed by teaching this vrata to others.

Udyāpana on the 17th Monday · Source: Solah Somvār vrata-kathā, common family practice

Dharma Q&A — vratas, festivals & temples · Ask a Jyotishi your own question