Hindu observances · प्रदोष व्रत

Pradosh Vrat
what is eaten, and how to hold it

Almanac entry

प्रदोष व्रतPradosh Vrat

Hindu observances · Moderate · dates announced locally

The thirteenth day of each lunar fortnight, twice a month.

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

SOURCE·Published accounts of Pradosh Vrat as commonly observed·customs differ by family, region and sampradaya·REVIEWED JUL 2026

How long Pradosh Vrat runs

820–1,000kcal

One serving of each food listed below, ±10% for the hand that cooks it. A scale check, not a target. Twice a month, broken in the twilight hour. A day fast dedicated to Shiva, broken during the pradosh kaal — roughly the hour and a half around sunset — after the evening puja.

As the dataset states it: Sunrise to sunset, ending in the twilight window rather than at a fixed time.

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·Pradosh Vrat entry·REVIEWED JUL 2026

What Pradosh Vrat is

Pradosh vrat is kept twice a lunar month and is broken during pradosh kaal, the twilight period around sunset, after the puja. Because it ends at sunset rather than at moonrise or midnight, it is one of the easier long-day fasts to fit around ordinary work and sleep.

Many keep it as a nirahar day — no food, water permitted — and break it in the evening. Others keep phalahar through the day.

Customs vary. Whether water alone, fruit and milk, or nothing at all is taken through the day differs by household and by Shaiva tradition.

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

The observance is read from published accounts of Pradosh 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)

Data & method in full →

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

Fruit and milk through the day where phalahar is kept
The fast is broken after the evening puja in pradosh kaal

Customarily set aside

Grains and pulses
Table salt, onion and garlic
Meat, fish, eggs and alcohol

SOURCE·Published accounts of Pradosh Vrat·reported, not prescribed; regional practice varies and the variation is the practice·REVIEWED JUL 2026

The food, with the numbers

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

Commonly eaten during Pradosh Vrat — calories and macros per real serving. IFCT 2017 · JUL 2026
Food	One serving is	Calories	Protein	Carbs
Cow Milk (full cream)	1 glass · 200 g	124 kcal	6.4 g	9.0 g
Banana	1 medium banana · 100 g	105 kcal	1.3 g	24.0 g
Makhana (Fox Nuts), raw	1 katori · 25 g	87 kcal	2.4 g	19.2 g
Curd (Dahi)	1 katori · 150 g	90 kcal	4.7 g	4.5 g
Boiled Potato	1 medium potato · 120 g	84 kcal	1.8 g	17.9 g
Sabudana Khichdi	1 plate · 150 g	321 kcal	3.8 g	47.4 g
Tender Coconut Water	1 coconut · 250 g	50 kcal	0.5 g	11.3 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 907 kcal — a scale check, not a menu. Pradosh 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.

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·per stated serving weight·REVIEWED JUL 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

Easier than most because it ends at sunset. A morning session on an empty stomach suits many people; an evening session just before breaking the fast is the harder option.

Sleep

Better than the midnight-ending fasts, since the meal falls at a normal hour. This is the fast that costs sleep least.

Blood sugar

A sunrise-to-sunset pattern twice a month is close to what an intermittent fasting schedule looks like, and the same medication caution applies.

Hydration

Water is permitted in most versions. Take it.

The specific risk with Pradosh Vrat

Low to moderate for healthy adults. The usual medication and pregnancy cautions apply.

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

Questions asked about Pradosh Vrat

When is pradosh kaal?

Roughly the hour and a half around sunset — about 45 minutes either side — which means it moves with the season and your location. Your local panchang gives it; this site does not compute it.

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

SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·observance accounts and food composition·REVIEWED JUL 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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