Festival · 2027
Sawan Somvar 2027 — Monday, 19 July 2027
Sawan Somvar is the name for the Mondays of the month of Shravana, when devotees fast and pour water, milk and bel leaves over the Shiva linga.
In 2026
Monday, 3 August 2026until 24 August 2026
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:43 AM / 7:10 PM
- Sawan Somvar 1 (purnimanta): 3 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 2 (purnimanta): 10 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 3 (purnimanta): 17 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 4 (purnimanta): 24 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 1 (amanta): 17 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 2 (amanta): 24 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 3 (amanta): 31 August 2026
- Sawan Somvar 4 (amanta): 7 September 2026
Rule: The Mondays of Shravana. North India (purnimanta) counts from the day after Ashadha Purnima to Shravana Purnima; Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south (amanta) from the day after Ashadha Amavasya to Shravana Amavasya. Each boundary is the day its tithi holds at sunrise.
In 2027
Monday, 19 July 2027until 16 August 2027
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:35 AM / 7:19 PM
- Sawan Somvar 1 (purnimanta): 19 July 2027
- Sawan Somvar 2 (purnimanta): 26 July 2027
- Sawan Somvar 3 (purnimanta): 2 August 2027
- Sawan Somvar 4 (purnimanta): 9 August 2027
- Sawan Somvar 5 (purnimanta): 16 August 2027
- Sawan Somvar 1 (amanta): 9 August 2027
- Sawan Somvar 2 (amanta): 16 August 2027
- Sawan Somvar 3 (amanta): 23 August 2027
- Sawan Somvar 4 (amanta): 30 August 2027
Rule: The Mondays of Shravana. North India (purnimanta) counts from the day after Ashadha Purnima to Shravana Purnima; Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south (amanta) from the day after Ashadha Amavasya to Shravana Amavasya. Each boundary is the day its tithi holds at sunrise.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Sawan Somvar?
Shravana, or Sawan in everyday Hindi, is the monsoon month that tradition holds most dear to Shiva, and Monday, Somvar, is Shiva’s day of the week. Soma is the Moon, which Shiva wears on his head, and Somvar is named after it. When the two come together, the day becomes one of the most widely kept observances of the year. Across north India temples open before dawn on Sawan Mondays, and long lines form to offer water to the linga.
The best-known reason given for Shravana’s link with Shiva is the churning of the ocean. The Bhagavata Purana, in its eighth book, tells how the gods and asuras churned the ocean of milk for the nectar of immortality and first brought up halahala, a poison that threatened all the worlds. Shiva drank it and held it in his throat, which turned blue, and so he is Neelkantha. Popular tradition places this in Shravana and explains the pouring of water on the linga as a way to cool the poison’s heat.
Many people keep a fast on every Sawan Monday. Some eat nothing until the evening puja, some take fruit and milk, and some eat one simple meal without grains. Unmarried girls often keep the fast hoping for a good husband, as Parvati did; married people keep it for the family’s well-being. The Solah Somvar vrat, a fast on sixteen consecutive Mondays, is often begun in Shravana, and in some regions the Tuesdays of the month are kept separately as the Mangala Gauri vrat for Parvati.
The month is also the season of the Kanwar Yatra. Devotees called kanwariyas carry Ganga water in pots slung from a pole across the shoulder, walking from Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri to Shiva temples in their home towns, or from Sultanganj in Bihar to the Baidyanath temple at Deoghar in Jharkhand. Many offer the water on Sawan Shivratri, the fourteenth of the dark half, while others time their arrival for a Monday.
How it is observed
- Bathing early and visiting a Shiva temple, or worshipping a linga at home.
- Jalabhishek: pouring water, often Ganga water, over the linga, along with milk, curd, honey or ghee in a fuller abhishek.
- Offering bel leaves, dhatura, white flowers, sandal paste and akshat.
- Chanting Om Namah Shivaya, the Mahamrityunjaya mantra or the Shiva Chalisa, and hearing the Sawan Somvar katha.
- Fasting until evening, or eating only fruit, milk or one simple grain-free meal.
- Joining or supporting the Kanwar Yatra, and the free food and rest camps set up along its routes.
How the date is fixed
Sawan Somvar is every Monday that falls in the month of Shravana, and the two calendar systems define that month differently. North India, which uses purnimanta months, counts Shravana from the day after Ashadha Purnima to Shravana Purnima. Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south, which use amanta months, count it from the day after Ashadha Amavasya to Shravana Amavasya. The amanta month therefore begins and ends about two weeks later, so the two lists of Mondays differ by two weeks. We give both lists.
Where practice differs
In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, the northern count is followed, and the Kanwar Yatra and the Shravani Mela at Deoghar draw very large numbers. In Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh the amanta Shravana is followed, and in Maharashtra the month is known for Shravan Somvar fasts and Mangalagaur. Nepal reckons its month of Shrawan by the solar calendar and keeps its Mondays accordingly. In a year when Shravana has an extra month, the season holds more Mondays, and families decide by their own custom which ones to keep.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why are the Mondays of Sawan special for Shiva?
Shravana is the month tradition holds dearest to Shiva, and Monday is his day of the week, named after the Moon he wears. Together they make Sawan Mondays the most popular days for his worship and fasting.
Why do north and south India have different Sawan Somvar dates?
North India ends its months at the full Moon, while Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south end them at the new Moon. So Shravana starts about two weeks earlier in the north, and the Mondays in each list are two weeks apart.
What can be eaten during the Sawan Somvar fast?
It depends on family custom. Many take fruit, milk, curd, sabudana, potatoes and rock salt, avoiding grains, onion and garlic. Some keep a full fast until the evening puja, then eat a simple meal.
What is the Solah Somvar vrat?
It is a vow to fast on sixteen consecutive Mondays in honour of Shiva, often begun in Shravana and ended with a small ceremony called udyapan. It has its own katha and is kept for a wish close to one’s heart.