Hindu observances · गुरुवार व्रत

Guruvar Vrat
what is eaten, and how to hold it

Almanac entry

गुरुवार व्रतGuruvar Vrat

Hindu observances · Light · dates announced locally

Every Thursday, often kept for a set number of weeks — commonly sixteen — as a vow.

The struck span is the part of the day held without food, from sunrise to evening puja, as commonly observed. Households differ, and where they differ the difference is the practice, not an error.

ஆதாரம்·Published accounts of Guruvar Vrat as commonly observed·customs differ by family, region and sampradaya·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

How long Guruvar Vrat runs

640–790kcal

One serving of each food listed below, ±10% for the hand that cooks it. A scale check, not a target. The Thursday fast, with yellow food. A single-meal day dedicated to Brihaspati or to Sai Baba depending on tradition, with a strong custom of yellow food: chana dal, besan, turmeric and banana.

As the dataset states it: Sunrise to the evening meal.

ஆதாரம்·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·Guruvar Vrat entry·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

இந்தப் பக்கம் என்ன

இந்தப் பக்கம் பெயரிடப்பட்ட ஆதாரங்களிலிருந்து குறிப்பு எண்களை வெளியிடுகிறது. இது தகவல், மருத்துவ ஆலோசனை அல்ல, உங்கள் சொந்த வரலாற்றை இது கணக்கில் கொள்ள முடியாது — ஒரு மருத்துவரால் முடியும். ஆதாரங்கள் & அவற்றை நாங்கள் எப்படி மதிப்பாய்வு செய்கிறோம் →

Fasting is not safe for everyone. Speak to a doctor before the observance rather than during it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have diabetes — particularly on insulin or a sulfonylurea — have a history of disordered eating, are elderly or a child, or take regular medication. Every tradition described here already provides for those who cannot fast. The full list, and what to watch for →

What Guruvar Vrat is

Guruvar vrat is kept for Brihaspati — Jupiter — and in many households for Sai Baba. Its distinguishing custom is colour: yellow foods, meaning chana dal, besan, turmeric, jaggery and banana, and in many families the banana tree itself is worshipped, so bananas are offered rather than eaten.

Because pulses are often included rather than excluded, this is one of the few Hindu fast days that is not automatically low in protein — chana dal and besan both carry a reasonable amount.

Customs vary. Whether bananas are eaten or only offered, whether salt is set aside, and whether the fast is for Brihaspati or for Sai Baba all differ by family and tradition.

How this entry is drawn, and how the food is counted

The observance is read from published accounts of Guruvar Vrat and written as commonly observed — never as required, never as correct. Where households differ, the entry says they differ.
The arc above places the observed span between named stations of the day — sunrise, midday, sunset, moonrise — and never between times. Sehri, iftar, moonrise and sunset are local and religiously significant, and this site publishes none of them.
The length is taken from the range the dataset itself states, as a range. Where the length turns on latitude and season, no duration is printed at all.
Food energy is per the serving each item is really eaten in, from IFCT 2017 (ICMR–NIN) where the table has the food, and from a named alternative where it does not.
Every food is reconciled against Atwater factors on each build, and a page that fails to reconcile does not ship.

serving kcal  =  per-100 g kcal × (serving g ÷ 100)
energy check  =  4·protein + 4·carbohydrate + 9·fat   (±15%, ±20% high-fibre)
day shape     =  observed span, station → station   (no clock times, ever)

தரவு & முறை முழுமையாக →

What is customarily eaten, and what is set aside

Described as commonly observed. Your own family's practice is the one that applies.

Commonly eaten

Yellow food — chana dal, besan preparations, turmeric-coloured dishes, jaggery
One meal, usually in the afternoon or evening
Milk and fruit through the day

Customarily set aside

Salt, in some households
Bananas, in households where the banana tree is worshipped that day
Meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic and alcohol

ஆதாரம்·Published accounts of Guruvar Vrat·reported, not prescribed; regional practice varies and the variation is the practice·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

The food, with the numbers

Foods commonly associated with Guruvar Vrat, at the serving each is really eaten in. Every one has its own page with the full breakdown.

Commonly eaten during Guruvar Vrat — calories and macros per real serving. IFCT 2017 · JUL 2026
Food	One serving is	கலோரிகள்	புரதம்	கார்ப்ஸ்
Jaggery (Gur)	1 small piece · 20 g	77 kcal	0.1 g	19.0 g
Cow Milk (full cream)	1 glass · 200 g	124 kcal	6.4 g	9.0 g
Curd (Dahi)	1 கட்டோரி · 150 g	90 kcal	4.7 g	4.5 g
Banana	1 medium banana · 100 g	105 kcal	1.3 g	24.0 g
Makhana (Fox Nuts), raw	1 கட்டோரி · 25 g	87 kcal	2.4 g	19.2 g
Almonds (Badam)	10 almonds · 12 g	72 kcal	2.5 g	1.3 g
Fruit Chaat	1 plate · 200 g	114 kcal	1.6 g	25.4 g
Dates (Khajoor)	2 dates · 16 g	46 kcal	0.4 g	10.9 g

One serving of each of these 8 items would come to about 715 kcal — a scale check, not a menu. Guruvar Vrat is not a calorie target and this table is not a plan.

What the vrat foods cost, counted per serving rather than per 100 g.

ஆதாரம்·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·per stated serving weight·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

How to hold it without wrecking the week

This is the part nobody publishes well. None of it asks you to change the observance — training, sleep and meal timing are the variables you control, and the fast is not.

Training

One of the easiest fasts to train through, particularly where chana dal and besan are included and protein is not short.

Sleep

Unaffected.

Blood sugar

Besan and chana dal are lower on the glycaemic scale than most vrat food, which makes this one of the gentler weekly fasts for blood glucose — but jaggery in quantity works the other way.

Hydration

Normal.

The specific risk with Guruvar Vrat

Low.

Who should not fast · Fasting and blood sugar · Hydration during fasting · Sources

Questions asked about Guruvar Vrat

Can I eat bananas on Guruvar vrat?

In households where the banana tree is worshipped that day, bananas are offered rather than eaten. In others they are the central food of the day. Both customs are common — follow your family's.

Related observances

Sharad NavratriNine days, the longest vrat most people keep Chaitra NavratriSpring Navratri, ending at Ram Navami EkadashiTwice a month, the most frequently kept vrat of all Nirjala EkadashiWithout water — the most demanding fast in the Hindu year Karva ChauthSunrise to moonrise, kept without water in its full form Maha ShivratriA day fast followed by a night of jagran Paryushan ParvaEight or ten days of the most structured fasting in India Ayambil OliNine days of a single bland meal Ramzan (Ramadan) RozaA month of daily fasting from dawn to sunset

Guides that apply here

Who should not fast Hydration during fasting Training while fasting Breaking a fast Fasting and blood sugar Fasting and sleep Protein during a vrat Lighter vrat food, same rules

ஆதாரம்·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·observance accounts and food composition·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

Practices are described as commonly observed; customs differ by family, region, community and sampradaya, and this site is not an authority on any of them. Food values come from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR–NIN), the older ICMR–NIN tables, USDA FoodData Central, named composition studies and the shared ThaliFacts dataset, reconciled against Atwater factors on every build. Which source applies to which food is listed per food, and every source carries the date it was last checked. General information only — not medical or religious guidance. Fasting is not safe for everyone, particularly during pregnancy or with diabetes or other conditions. Speak to a doctor first.

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