Śukra Pradoṣam is the Pradoṣam that falls on a Friday, the weekday of Śukra (Venus). In Purāṇic lore Śukra is the preceptor of the asuras, and in jyotiṣa he is the graha of relationships, beauty, art and material comfort. For that reason the day is popularly held to favour marriage prospects, harmony between husband and wife, and a comfortable home. Because Friday is also widely kept as Devī's day, many devotees pray to Śiva and Pārvatī together at dusk. How the day is fixed: A day is Pradoṣam when Trayodaśī prevails at local sunset. When that day is a Friday, it is Śukra Pradoṣam. Keep in mind: Sunset falls at different times in different places, so the Pradoṣam can shift by a day from one city to another. Only a Pradoṣam that lands on a Friday counts as Śukra Pradoṣam. 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. Fast and dusk worship: Devotees fast through the day or take only fruit and milk. They attend the liṅga abhiṣeka and darśana in the Pradoṣa Kāla around sunset and break the fast the same evening. Honouring Devī: After the Śiva darśana many households also honour Devī, offering kuṅkuma at her shrine and praying to Śiva and Pārvatī together for marriage and a happy home. This is a household custom and not part of the Pradoṣam rule itself. Worth remembering: Śukra Pradoṣam is one of the weekday Pradoṣams, alongside Soma Pradoṣam, Śani Pradoṣam and the rest. No separate kathā is attached to it, and its character comes only from the link between Friday and Śukra. Regional custom shapes the evening. Tamil households often think of Kanjanur, the Navagraha shrine for Śukra, where the presiding deity is Śiva as Agnīśvara. Telugu and Kannada homes light the Friday Lakṣmī lamp before going to the temple, Kerala families visit the Devī shrine at dusk, and elsewhere the evening becomes a joint worship of Śiva and Pārvatī. Whatever the local form, the surest guide is the way the elders of one's own house have kept the day.
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