Hindu observances · शनिवार व्रत

Shanivar Vrat
what is eaten, and how to hold it

Almanac entry

शनिवार व्रतShanivar Vrat

Hindu observances · Moderate · dates announced locally

Every Saturday, often kept during a Sade Sati period or as a vow for a fixed count.

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 Shanivar Vrat as commonly observed·customs differ by family, region and sampradaya·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

How long Shanivar Vrat runs

720–880kcal

One serving of each food listed below, ±10% for the hand that cooks it. A scale check, not a target. The Saturday fast for Shani. A single-meal day dedicated to Shani, with customs around black — black sesame, urad dal, and offerings of mustard oil.

As the dataset states it: Sunrise to the evening, after the Shani puja.

ஆதாரம்·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·Shanivar 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 Shanivar Vrat is

Shanivar vrat is kept for Shani, frequently through a Sade Sati period. Its customs cluster around black and around sesame and urad — black til, urad dal, black cloth and mustard oil for the offering.

Where urad dal and til are included in the meal, this is a relatively protein-adequate fast day; where only fruit is taken, it is not.

Customs vary. Whether urad and til are eaten or only offered, and whether the fast is phalahar or a single satvik meal, differ by household and region.

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

The observance is read from published accounts of Shanivar 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

One meal in the evening after the puja
Black sesame, urad dal preparations and khichdi in many households
Fruit and milk through the day

Customarily set aside

Salt, in some households
Meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic and alcohol

ஆதாரம்·Published accounts of Shanivar 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 Shanivar Vrat, at the serving each is really eaten in. Every one has its own page with the full breakdown.

Commonly eaten during Shanivar Vrat — calories and macros per real serving. IFCT 2017 · JUL 2026
Food	One serving is	கலோரிகள்	புரதம்	கார்ப்ஸ்
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
Boiled Potato	1 medium potato · 120 g	84 kcal	1.8 g	17.9 g
Makhana (Fox Nuts), raw	1 கட்டோரி · 25 g	87 kcal	2.4 g	19.2 g
Boiled Sweet Potato (Shakarkandi)	1 medium · 150 g	164 kcal	2.0 g	36.5 g
Almonds (Badam)	10 almonds · 12 g	72 kcal	2.5 g	1.3 g
Jaggery (Gur)	1 small piece · 20 g	77 kcal	0.1 g	19.0 g

One serving of each of these 8 items would come to about 802 kcal — a scale check, not a menu. Shanivar 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

A weekly single-meal day sits fine alongside training if the meal carries protein. Saturday being a common training day for people who work weekdays is the usual scheduling clash — a morning session before the day gets long works for most.

Sleep

Unaffected at normal meal timings.

Blood sugar

Standard weekly-fast caution.

Hydration

Normal, water freely in most observances.

The specific risk with Shanivar Vrat

Low for healthy adults.

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

Questions asked about Shanivar Vrat

Is Shanivar vrat kept all year?

Often it is undertaken for a defined period — through Sade Sati, or for a fixed number of Saturdays — rather than indefinitely. Practice varies.

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.

The people behind these sites

Follow the build

This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.

Amit Sharma @amitsharmaofficial Instagram

Geeta Patel @geetapatelnz Instagram

Geeta Patel GeetaPatelYoga Facebook

Following changes nothing here — every page stays open, with no account and no wall.