Vrat · Gauri (Parvati)

Mangla Gauri Vrat

The Tuesday vrat of Shravana, when married women fast and worship Gauri for a happy married life, and new brides, by one custom, for their first five years. Offerings are made in sixteens; in Maharashtra it is Mangalagaur, with games late into the night.

Mangla Gauri Vrat 2027
Tuesday 20 July 2027
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Tuesday 20 July 2027

Sunrise
5:36 am
Sunset
7:19 pm
Moonrise
8:30 pm
Moonset
6:47 am

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Fast, and worship Gauri with the suhaag items in sixteens
  • Light a lamp of sixteen wicks and wave it in aarti
  • Hear the story of the merchant Dharmapal and his son
Parvati, Gauri and her vrats →

What it remembers

Mangla Gauri Vrat is kept on every Tuesday of Shravana, the month of the rains. Married women fast and worship Gauri, Goddess Parvati, for a happy married life and their husbands’ long life, and some unmarried girls keep it for a good husband. A new bride keeps it with special joy, by one custom for the first five years of her marriage. Sixteen is the vrat’s number: Gauri is offered sixteen of each thing. In Maharashtra it is Mangalagaur, a bride’s night of puja, songs and games.

The merchant Dharmapal and his son

A rich merchant named Dharmapal had everything but a child. At last a son was born to him, but it was foretold that the boy would die of a snake bite at sixteen. Before that age he was married to a girl whose mother kept the Mangla Gauri vrat. By the merit of her mother’s vrat the girl was blessed never to be widowed, so the danger passed and Dharmapal’s son lived a long life. Women tell this story at every Mangla Gauri puja.

Why sixteen

The number sixteen runs through the vrat. Gauri is offered sixteen flowers, garlands and fruits, sixteen betel leaves, sixteen bangles and more, and the lamp has sixteen wicks. Women dress in the solah shringar, the sixteen adornments of a married woman, and offer the suhaag items to Gauri. The lists differ by family; what matters is that every offering is made in full.

Parvati’s tapas

Goddess Parvati, it is told, won Lord Shiva as her husband by long penance and devotion. So women pray to her as Gauri, her gentle form, for a lasting marriage, and keep her Tuesdays in Shravana from the first Shravana after their wedding.

Keeping Mangla Gauri Vrat

The puja is done in the morning of each Tuesday of Shravana. Some fast the whole day; others take only fruit and milk, or one simple meal without onion or garlic. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Bathe early and make your vow (sankalp) to keep the vrat.
  2. Set an image of Gauri, with Lord Shiva, on a wooden seat covered with a red cloth.
  3. Dress in your best, in the adornments of a married woman.
  4. Offer sindoor, a bindi, bangles and mehendi, with sixteen each of flowers, garlands, fruits, betel leaves and the other offerings.
  5. Light a lamp of sixteen wicks, made in many homes of wheat-flour dough, and wave it in aarti.
  6. Tell or listen to the story of the vrat, the merchant Dharmapal and his son.
  7. Give sixteen laddoos to your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, and share the prasad.
  8. Where an image is made for the day, give it to a pond or river afterwards.

What you need

  • An image of Gauri and Lord Shiva, and a red cloth
  • Sindoor, a bindi, bangles and mehendi
  • Sixteen each of flowers, garlands, fruits and betel leaves
  • A lamp of sixteen wicks
  • Sixteen laddoos

Across India

North India

Shravana begins the day after Ashadha Purnima, so the Tuesdays come about two weeks earlier than in the West and South. Married women fast, offer the suhaag items in sixteens and hear the story of Dharmapal.

Maharashtra

Mangalagaur is a new bride’s festival. In new clothes and jewellery she worships Gauri on the Tuesdays of Shravan, by custom for the first five years, and then the women of the family gather for songs and games such as zimma and fugdi, late into the night.

The South

In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, where the month runs from new moon to new moon, it is kept on the Tuesdays of that later Shravana as the Sri Mangala Gowri Vratham.

When it falls

Every Tuesday of Shravana, from the day after Ashadha Purnima to Shravana Purnima, as North India counts the month: four or five Tuesdays a year. Where months run from new moon to new moon (Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South), Shravana and its Tuesdays begin about two weeks later.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Mangla Gauri Vrat in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2027Tuesday 20 July 2027
  2. 2027Tuesday 27 July 2027
  3. 2027Tuesday 3 August 2027
  4. 2027Tuesday 10 August 2027
  5. 2027Tuesday 17 August 2027
  6. 2028Tuesday 11 July 2028
  7. 2028Tuesday 18 July 2028
  8. 2028Tuesday 25 July 2028
  9. 2028Tuesday 1 August 2028

Questions

When is Mangla Gauri Vrat in 2027?

Tuesday 20 July 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Mangla Gauri Vrat fall?

Every Tuesday of Shravana, from the day after Ashadha Purnima to Shravana Purnima, as North India counts the month: four or five Tuesdays a year. Where months run from new moon to new moon (Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South), Shravana and its Tuesdays begin about two weeks later. It comes in Shravana (July to August).

How is Mangla Gauri Vrat kept?

Families fast, and worship Gauri with the suhaag items in sixteens, light a lamp of sixteen wicks and wave it in aarti and hear the story of the merchant Dharmapal and his son. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Mangla Gauri Vrat?

Gauri (Parvati). The Tuesday vrat of Shravana, when married women fast and worship Gauri for a happy married life, and new brides, by one custom, for their first five years. Offerings are made in sixteens; in Maharashtra it is Mangalagaur, with games late into the night.

Who keeps the Mangla Gauri Vrat?

Married women, for a happy married life and their husbands’ long life, and above all new brides, who by one custom keep it for the first five years of marriage. Some unmarried girls keep it too, praying for a good husband.

How many Tuesdays is the vrat kept?

Every Tuesday of Shravana, four or five in a year. North India counts Shravana from the day after Ashadha Purnima; Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South count it from the new moon, about two weeks later, so their Tuesdays start later. The dates on this page follow North India’s count.

Why is sixteen important in the Mangla Gauri Vrat?

Each offering to Gauri is made in sixteens, flowers, fruits, betel leaves, bangles and laddoos, with a lamp of sixteen wicks, and women wear the solah shringar, the sixteen adornments of a married woman. The exact list differs by family.

What is the story of the Mangla Gauri Vrat?

The merchant Dharmapal had a son foretold to die of a snake bite at sixteen. The boy married a girl whose mother kept this vrat, and by its merit she was blessed never to be widowed, so he lived a long life.

What is Mangalagaur?

The Maharashtrian name for the vrat, kept by a new bride on the Tuesdays of Shravan. After the puja the women gather for songs and games such as zimma, fugdi and bhendya, often late into the night.

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