Experience Lord Shiva’s Divine Grace with Pradosha Vrata

नमामि शम्भुं पुरुषं पुराणं नमामि सर्वज्ञमपारभावम् । नमामि रुद्रं प्रभुमक्षयं तं नमामि शर्वं शिरसा नमामि ॥ नमामि गौरीप्रियमव्ययं तं नमामि नित्यं क्षरमक्षरं तम् । नमामि चिदरूपममेयभावं त्रिलोचनं तं शिरसा नमामि ॥

What is the significance of Pradosha Vrata?

Pradosha is the most auspicious vrata for devotees of Lord Shiva.

What is Pradosha?
प्रदोषो वै रजनीमुखम्
The junction between day and night, evening twilight, the onset period of night. This vrata is observed on Trayodashi, both in Krishna Paksha and Shukla Paksha.

By sincerely observing this vrata:
- A poor man can become rich.
- A dumb person can become super intelligent.
- An unhealthy person can become healthy.
- A childless person can beget a child.
- An unmarried person can get married.
- An unhappy person can become happy.
ये वै प्रदोषसमये परमेश्वरस्य नित्यं
कुर्वन्त्यनन्यमनसोऽङ्घ्रिसरोजपूजाम् ।
प्रवृद्धधनधान्यकलत्रपुत्र- सौभाग्यसम्पदधिकास्त इहैव लोके ॥

You have to do puja of Lord Shiva at the time of Pradosha. That is the most important part of Pradosha Vrata—physical puja, worship. Not just chanting, not just meditation, not just saying stotras. If puja is going on at a Shiva temple nearby, you can participate—that is sufficient—or watch a puja being streamed live from a temple. Watching it from beginning to end is also fair enough. During Pradosha, all the devas go to Kailasa and do his puja there. At the same time, we should do his puja here on earth.

How to keep Pradosha Vrata:
Observe upavasa throughout the day following the usual rules. The time for puja starts 3 ghatikas before sunset. 3 ghatikas means 72 minutes, roughly one and a quarter hours. If sunset is at 6:30, then puja should start at 5:15.

How you do puja is not that important. How sincerely you do it is more important. How unfailingly you do it is more important. The essence of any vrata is that only. There will be so many obstacles and distractions. Still, you do it. That is why it is a vrata. Doing the puja during a Pradosha is just Pradosha puja. But doing it unfailingly every Pradosha, no matter what happens, then only it becomes a vrata. When you take a resolve to do Pradosha Vrata, obstructions are bound to come. A vrata that happens without obstruction is not a vrata at all. If you don't feel hungry, there is no point in fasting. Some people say, "I can easily stay without food for a day or even the entire Navaratri." They better not do fasting. It will not help them. When you think about the fasting that you are going to do tomorrow and you start feeling hunger pangs today, such people should do fasting. For them, fasting helps. Not otherwise. So let’s not have very strict rules about how to do the puja. Do fasting throughout the day, do puja before sunset—that is more important.

There is a story associated with Pradosha Vrata.
There was an old noble lady. She had two sons. One was her own son. His name was Shuchivrata, and the other was an adopted son. In fact, that other boy was an orphan. He was a prince, and his parents were killed. He somehow escaped. The old lady took him in and took care of him as her own son. But they lived in poverty, hand-to-mouth existence.

Once, a noble saint told them to observe Pradosha Vrata on both Pradoshas of the month for one year. He said that would give them abundance. From the next Pradosha onwards, all three observed the vrata: fasting during the day and puja at sunset. After four months, one day, Shuchivrata went to the river alone. Normally, Shuchivrata and the prince always moved about together. That day, he went alone. He found a pot in the river; it came floating towards him. He picked it up. It was full of gold and precious gems. He happily took it home and told his mother, "Look, mother, Lord Shiva has blessed us. All our worries are over. We have become rich." The mother called the prince and said, "We have all observed the vrata together. This is the Lord’s blessing. So you both should share it equally." The prince said, "No, mother, if the Lord had wanted it that way, then it would have come when we were together. So, it is meant for him alone. God will bless me whenever I become eligible. Maybe there is something still lacking in me. Let me improve myself."

One year got over. One day, Shuchivrata and the prince went into the forest. There they saw a group of girls playing. Among them, a princess, the Gandharva princess, got attracted to the prince. She proposed to the prince. He said, "That’s fine, but we should proceed only with the permission of our parents." He said, "Tomorrow I will bring my mother. You also bring your parents." The next day, they all assembled at the same spot. The Gandharva said, "I know all about your past. Lord Shiva has asked me to restore all your prosperity and abundance to you. You can marry my daughter." Then the Gandharva established the prince as a king. Shuchivrata became his minister.

It is a simple story—no surprises, no suspense, no twist in the tale. But isn't most of our life like that? Simple, straightforward. Do good things, get good results. Here the main point is that if you do the Lord’s puja, results will definitely come. For someone, it came in four months; for someone else, it came after one year. For someone, it came as a pot of gold and gems; for someone else, it came as a kingdom and a good loving wife. This nobody can predict. How much the Lord gives is up to him. We can't predict. But results definitely come.