Shukra Pradosh Vrat is the Pradosh fast that falls on a Friday. Pradosh Vrat is a fast kept for Lord Shiva on the Trayodashi, the thirteenth tithi of each lunar fortnight, and its worship belongs to the Pradosh-kaal — the roughly ninety-minute twilight that brackets sunset. The vrat takes its name from the weekday it lands on, and when the Trayodashi meets a Friday, the day belongs to Shukra, the planet Venus, whose own weekday Friday is.
That planetary lord gives the day its second name and its particular mood. Friday and Venus preside over love, marriage, beauty and the comforts of a settled home, so a Pradosh kept on this day is turned toward harmony between partners and ease within the household — the base worship of Shiva carrying Venus's warmth over it. For this reason it is also known as Bhrigu Pradosh, after the sage Bhrigu, from whose line Shukra descends. It has no fixed month; it returns each time a Trayodashi falls on a Friday, a few times through the year.
Where Shiva's twilight meets Venus
The weekday lord that shapes the day
Every Pradosh Vrat is, at heart, a fast for Shiva observed at dusk on the Trayodashi. What changes from one Pradosh to the next is the weekday, and with it the planet that rules that weekday — a second presence laid over the constant worship of Shiva. On a Friday that planet is Shukra, Venus, and the day becomes Shukra Pradosh.
In Jyotish, Shukra is the karaka of love and marriage, of beauty, art and refinement, and of the material comforts that make a home pleasant — good food, fine things, music and affection. He is the learned, graceful preceptor of the asuras, and Friday is the weekday under his rule. When his day carries the Trayodashi, the tradition reads the evening's Shiva worship as tilted toward all that Venus governs: tenderness between husband and wife, the settling of a marriage, and quiet plenty at home.
The day's other name, Bhrigu Pradosh, points to the same planet by a different route. Shukra is counted among the descendants of the sage Bhrigu — Shukracharya is his son in the old accounts — so 'Bhrigu' and 'Shukra' name the one Friday Pradosh.
Shukra Pradosh at a glance
Date in 2026
Friday, 23 October 2026
Tithi
Trayodashi (13th)
Presiding deity
Lord Shiva
Weekday & lord
Friday · Shukra (Venus)
Observance
Pradosh-kaal Shiva puja & fast
Date & Pradosh-kaal timing
The next Friday Trayodashi and its evening window for your city
In 2026, Shukra Pradosh falls on Friday, 23 October 2026. The Pradosh-kaal begins 23 October 2026, 05:43 PM and ends 23 October 2026, 08:07 PM.
Pradosh-kaal begins
23 October 2026, 05:43 PM
Pradosh-kaal ends
23 October 2026, 08:07 PM
| Upcoming dates | Day |
|---|---|
| 23 October 2026 | Friday |
| 6 November 2026 | Friday |
| 5 March 2027 | Friday |
Times shown for New Delhi; pick your city on the Pradosh Vrat calendar for local timings.
The Pradosh-kaal, and why the hour matters
Shiva's own twilight on the thirteenth tithi
Pradosh means the onset of night — the short span when day has ended but darkness is not yet full. In practice the Pradosh-kaal is reckoned as the roughly hour-and-a-half around sunset, and it is this window, not the whole day, that the vrat is built around. The card above shows when it opens and closes for your city on the featured date; the timings shift through the year and from place to place, so a local calculation matters.
Tradition gives the hour a story. On the Trayodashi at dusk, it is said, Shiva dances his ananda-tandava between the horns of Nandi while the gods look on, and worship offered in that span is held especially dear to him. Another telling ties the hour to the churning of the ocean, when Shiva drank the halahala poison at twilight to spare creation. Whichever account a family keeps, the meaning is the same: the Trayodashi evening is Shiva's own, and the Pradosh-kaal is when the vrat's puja is done.
Because the window is short, most who keep the fast prepare through the day and gather for the puja as sunset nears, breaking the fast only once the Pradosh-kaal worship is complete.
Keeping the vrat — the day's observance
From the dawn resolve to the evening abhishek
Those who keep Shukra Pradosh usually take a sankalp — a quiet resolve — at the morning bath and fast through the day. Some keep a nirjala or waterless fast, others a phalahar of fruit and milk; the strictness is a matter of health and custom, and it is meant to be kept within one's capacity rather than pushed past it.
As the Pradosh-kaal nears, devotees bathe again, and the puja is offered to Shiva — at a temple or before a Shivling at home. The heart of it is the abhishek: the lingam is bathed with water, then milk, and often honey, curd, ghee and sugar, each poured with the Panchakshara mantra, Om Namah Shivaya. Bilva (bel) leaves are the essential offering, laid on the lingam with white flowers; some add dhatura, sandal paste and a lamp. The Pradosh Vrat katha is read or heard, the aarti sung, and the fast is broken after the worship ends.
On a Friday, many couples keep the vrat together and add a gentle nod to Venus — white or fragrant offerings, white clothes, a sweet of rice and milk — folding the day's love-and-harmony theme into the constant worship of Shiva.
Kept in the spirit of faith
What devotees seek from the day
Love, marriage and a settled home
Because Friday belongs to Venus, Shukra Pradosh is kept above all for the things Venus stands for. Married couples observe it for harmony and affection between them, and for a home that is peaceful and well-provided. Those hoping to marry keep it praying for a suitable match, and one made in good time. Others turn to it simply for beauty, art and the small comforts Venus is said to grant, or to soften a difficult Venus in their chart.
It is worth holding all of this in proportion. The vrat is a discipline of devotion and patience, not a lever that forces an outcome; the tradition itself frames Shiva's grace as something earned through sincerity, not bought by a rite. A marriage or a relationship grows on honesty, effort and care, and the day is best kept as a support to that work rather than a shortcut around it.
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See today's live panchang for your city
Tithi, nakshatra, sunrise and the day's muhurat, computed for wherever you are.
Shukra Pradosh Vrat — questions answered
The Friday Trayodashi, the Pradosh-kaal and its blessings