In the Shukra Pradosh katha as tradition tells it, there are three friends: a prince, a brahmin’s son and a merchant’s son. Against the advice of his parents and in-laws, the merchant’s son brings his wife home while Venus (Shukra) is set; on the way the cart breaks, robbers rob them, and as soon as he reaches home a snake bites him. On the brahmin’s son’s advice he is sent back with his wife to her parents’ home, and he begins to recover.
Hindi in Roman letters: a reading aid, made by a program. The Devanagari text is the original.
The other language could not be loaded. Keep reading here, or try again.
Each morning the tithi, Rahu Kaal and coming festivals, in one short WhatsApp message.Follow the channel
The next Shukra Pradosh dates
- Friday, 6 November 2026Shukra Pradosh · Kartika Krishna TrayodashiPuja time 5:33–8:10 PM (New Delhi) · your city’s time
- Friday, 5 March 2027Shukra Pradosh · Phalguna Krishna TrayodashiPuja time 6:23–8:51 PM (New Delhi) · your city’s time
A Pradosh vrat whose Trayodashi falls on a Friday is called Shukra Pradosh (Drik Panchang). In the story, not bringing a bride home while Venus is set ("Shukra asta") comes up as a folk belief, as the booklets have it; it is part of the katha, and we give no rule from it.
This katha is told by tradition; we found no Purana chapter for it. In the printed Pradosh booklets, Suta tells the kathas of all seven weekdays to Shaunaka and the other sages. We checked this one event by event against Drik Panchang and two printed booklets and told it in our own words; any differences are given below.
How the vrat and katha are kept
- By Drik Panchang and the booklets: the Shukra Pradosh puja is the same as the Som Pradosh puja.
- In this vrat, white foods such as kheer are the ones prescribed.
- The main time of the Shiva puja is Pradosh kaal after sunset, while the Trayodashi tithi also runs (Drik Panchang); the puja time of the next dates is above. The full rite is on the Pradosh vrat katha page.
Hindi in Roman letters: a reading aid, made by a program. The Devanagari text is the original.
The other language could not be loaded. Keep reading here, or try again.
The Shukra Pradosh katha: three friends and the merchant’s son
Long ago three close friends lived in a town: a prince, a brahmin’s son and a merchant’s son. The prince and the brahmin’s son were married. The merchant’s son was married too, but the gauna had not yet taken place, that is, his wife was still at her parents’ home.
One day the three friends were talking about women. Praising women, the brahmin’s son said that a house without a woman is a den of ghosts. Hearing this, the merchant’s son decided at once to bring his wife home, and told his parents. They said that Venus was set just then; bringing a daughter-in-law home from her parents in those days is not held auspicious, and he should fetch her after Venus rose again.
The merchant’s son would not listen and went to his in-laws’ house. His parents-in-law too tried to persuade him, but he held firm, and they had to send their daughter with him. The couple had barely left the town when a wheel of the bullock cart broke and one bullock broke its leg. The wife was badly hurt too. They struggled on, and robbers took all their wealth.
Weeping, the two reached home. As soon as they arrived, a snake bit the merchant’s son. The merchant called the physicians; they examined him and said he would die within three days.
The news reached the brahmin’s son. He told the merchant to send his son back with the daughter-in-law to her home; all these troubles had come because he had brought his wife home while Venus was set, and if he reached her home he would live. The merchant did so, and as soon as they reached her home the son began to recover. By Shiva’s grace the couple spent the rest of their lives happily and at the end went to a higher world.
Other tellings
- In Drik Panchang the brahmin’s son also advises a vow of the Shukra Pradosh vrat; in both booklets the story does not mention the vrat, and at the end the couple go to "heaven".
After the katha
After the katha the Shiva aarti is done; the Pradosh booklets give "Jai Shiv Omkara" for it. The full rite of the Pradosh vrat and the original katha of the Skanda Purana are on the Pradosh vrat katha page.
Pradosh Vrat 2026-27: full list Pradosh vrat kathaFrequently asked questions
What is Shukra Pradosh?
A Pradosh vrat whose Trayodashi falls on a Friday is called Shukra Pradosh (Drik Panchang). The vrat is kept on the day whose Pradosh kaal after sunset has the Trayodashi, so it sometimes falls on the Dwadashi day. The next dates and the puja time are at the top of this page; by the Pradosh booklets, this is the katha read and heard that day.
Sources
- Drik Panchang, Shukra Pradosha Vrat Katha (drikpanchang.com/vrat-katha/pradosha/shukra-pradosha/shukra-pradosha-vrat-katha.html), read 10 October 2026
- "Pradosh (Trayodashi) Vrat Katha, with the separate kathas of all seven days", told by Pt. Jwala Prasad Chaturvedi, Randhir Prakashan, Haridwar (archive.org/details/PradoshVratKathaRandhirPrakashan)
- "Pradosh (Trayodashi) Vrat Katha, Puja Vidhi, Udyapan Vidhi", Manav Vikas Foundation, Mumbai (Acharya Akhilesh Dwivedi), 2021 (archive.org/details/mvf_20240803_20240803_1531)
- Drik Panchang, Pradosh list, puja times and the names by weekday (drikpanchang.com/vrats/pradoshdates.html)
Something wrong? Report a mistake
