Pradoṣam is Śiva's twilight worship day, kept on Trayodaśī in both lunar fortnights, so it comes round roughly twice a month. Its central legend is the Samudra Manthan. When devas and asuras churned the ocean for amṛta, the poison Halāhala rose first, and Śiva drank it to save creation while Pārvatī held his throat so that it went no further, turning his neck blue and earning him the name Nīlakaṇṭha. The devas worshipped him at dusk in gratitude once the danger had passed, and that is why Pradoṣa worship is kept at sunset rather than at any other hour. How the day is fixed: Trayodaśī, the thirteenth tithi, comes once in the Śukla pakṣa and once in the Kṛṣṇa pakṣa. The day is the one on which Trayodaśī prevails in the Pradoṣa Kāla around local sunset, in either fortnight. Keep in mind: Pradoṣa Kāla is roughly the hour and a half straddling sunset, the last nāḻikai of day and the first of night. Worship follows this window rather than a fixed clock time, so it shifts with place and season. Weekday and fortnight: Each Pradoṣam takes a name from the weekday it lands on, such as Soma Pradoṣam on Monday or Śani Pradoṣam on Saturday. Some traditions hold the Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Pradoṣam slightly more significant, though both are kept in the same way. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Dusk abhiṣeka: The core rite is abhiṣeka of the Śiva liṅga with milk, water and other traditional offerings during the twilight window, followed by darśana and ārati. Many temples bathe Nandi as well, and seeing Śiva between Nandi's horns is held especially meritorious, since Purāṇic accounts describe Śiva dancing before the devas at this hour. Fast: Those who fast go without food through the day, or take only light phalāhāra such as fruit and milk. They break the fast the same evening after the Pradoṣa Kāla pūjā, often after reciting the Liṅgāṣṭakam at home by the lamp. Worth remembering: Unlike Ekādaśī or Saṅkaṣṭī, the Pradoṣam fast ends the same evening, not the next morning. Soma Pradoṣam, Śani Pradoṣam and the other weekday Pradoṣams each carry their own emphasis, while the dusk abhiṣeka and darśana stay the same for all of them. How Pradoṣam is kept depends on region and family. Tamil temples begin with Nandi's abhiṣekam and often take the Pradoṣa Nāyakar round the prākāram on the Ṛṣabha vāhana, Kerala temples mark the hour with dīpārādhana, and in Bengal the dusk pūjā belongs to Śiva temples and Śaiva households rather than to every home, as Śivarātri does. Some keep a full fast, others only attend the evening worship. Beyond the general rule, the fullest fruit comes from following the elders of one's own house.
