Every Monday (Somvar), the day of the week over which he is
supposed to preside, a religious vow (vrat) that is a version of the devotion
of the deity Shiva is mandated.
The observer promises to execute this ritual for sixteen
(solah) consecutive Mondays in the Solah Somvar Vrat.
Fasting (upavasa), worship, and reading aloud the founding
myth for this particular observance are all part of each week's celebration.
The passage concludes, as does most material on such
ceremonies, with a list of the advantages conferred by the rite—in short, it
bestows anything one wishes.
According to the founding tale of the vow, as Shiva and his
wife Parvati are playing dice at a temple, Parvati asks a neighboring brahmin
which of them would win, and when he says Shiva, she curses him with lep rosy.
The curse is fulfilled (as it is with all curses in Indian
mythology), and the brahmin is doomed.
Shiva takes pity on the brahmin and advises him to execute
the Solah Somvar Vrat, after which the brahmin is entirely healed on the
sixteenth Monday.
Parvati meets him again later and is astounded by his
recuperation.
When she inquires about his healing, the brahmin explains
the vow, which she subsequently uses to cure her son of disobedience (thus
emphasizing the power of the vow, since it is even used by the gods
themselves).
