Sawan Somvar
Also written: Sawan · Shravan Maas · Shravan Somvar · Sawan Somwar · Shravan Month · Sawan ka Mahina · Shravana
The lunar month of Śrāvaṇa, in the monsoon (roughly July–August), and every Monday (Somavāra) within it, usually four and sometimes five. The two calendars begin the month on different dates. In the pūrṇimānta reckoning of North India, Śrāvaṇa begins the day after the full moon of Āṣāḍha (Guru Pūrṇimā) and ends on Śrāvaṇa full moon. In the amānta reckoning of South and West India (for example Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), it begins about fifteen days later, after the new moon, and ends on the next new moon. So the Mondays kept as Śrāvaṇa Mondays are not all the same in the two regions; follow your local pañcāṅga.
What it is, and why
Śrāvaṇa, called Sāvan in Hindi, is the month of the rains, and across India it is regarded as the month of Śiva. Temples stay crowded through the month, and its Mondays, the weekday already associated with Śiva, are kept with a fast and worship known as Śrāvaṇa Somavāra vrata.
The month takes its name from the Śravaṇa nakṣatra, near which the moon stands at its full moon. Monday is Somavāra, the day of Soma, the moon; Śiva wears the crescent moon and is called Somanātha and Candraśekhara, and tradition links the day to him for that reason.
Several reasons are given for the month's special place, all as received tradition rather than from one verse we can point to. One widely told account holds that the churning of the ocean took place in this month, and that the gods poured water over Śiva to cool him after he held the poison in his throat; pouring water on the liṅga in Sāvan is said to recall this. Another holds that Pārvatī's austerities to win Śiva as her husband were kept in this month, which is why many unmarried women keep the Monday fast.
In North India the month is also the season of the Kāṅvar Yātrā, when pilgrims carry river water, often from the Gaṅgā, on foot to offer at a Śiva temple. In the west and south, the Mondays of the later, amānta Śrāvaṇa are kept in the same spirit. Some people continue beyond the month with a vow of sixteen Mondays (Solah Somvār).
How it is observed
This is custom; practice differs by family and region.
- Traditionally a fast is kept on each Monday of the month, ended in the evening after worship; the form of the fast varies by family and region.
- The liṅga is bathed with water, and often milk, in the morning; in a temple or at home.
- Bilva leaves, flowers and a lamp are offered.
- Om Namaḥ Śivāya is repeated, and many add the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra.
- The Śiva Chālīsā or other hymns are recited, and the evening āratī is sung.
- Many keep the whole month simply, eating sāttvika food, as their custom holds.
- In North India some join or serve the Kāṅvar pilgrims who carry river water to Śiva temples.
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Sources
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The largest Purāṇa, famous for its sections on sacred places (Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa and many more).
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