Guruvar Vrat Vidhi, Niyam & Udyapan (Thursday Fast)

Guruvar vrat, also called Brihaspativar vrat, is a Thursday fast kept for Brihaspati Dev, the guru of the devas, who is also worshipped as the graha Jupiter, and for Lord Vishnu. Devotees traditionally keep it praying for wisdom, a happy married life, the wellbeing of children, and steadiness at home and at work. Many unmarried women keep it praying for a suitable match.

In short:

• Day: Thursday
• Deities: Brihaspati Dev and Lord Vishnu, with worship of the banana tree
• Colour: yellow, in clothes, flowers and food
• Start: commonly on a Thursday in Shukla Paksha, the waxing half of the lunar month
• How many: many keep 16 Thursdays; others keep it for a fixed number of years
• Food: one meal in the day, usually yellow food
• Closing: udyapan, a final puja after the last vrat

Most families begin on a Thursday in Shukla Paksha, the fortnight after the new moon. Check the paksha for your chosen Thursday in a local panchang. Some families avoid starting any new vrat during Kharmas, a period considered unsuitable for new beginnings. Your family priest can tell you what your tradition follows.

How many Thursdays:

• 16 Thursdays is a common count
• Some keep the vrat for a fixed number of years, then do the udyapan
• Some keep it as a lifelong Thursday observance

Decide the count in your sankalp on the first day, and keep to it. If you miss a Thursday because of illness or travel, many families simply add one more at the end. If you are unsure, ask your family priest.

Keep these ready on Wednesday night so the morning is calm:

• Yellow clothes to wear, and a yellow cloth for the chowki
• A picture or murti of Lord Vishnu, or of Brihaspati Dev
• A lota of water and a little haldi (turmeric)
• Chana dal (split Bengal gram) and gud (jaggery)
• Yellow flowers, such as marigold
• Kesar or haldi for tilak, and akshat coloured with haldi
• A ghee lamp and incense sticks
• Bananas to offer as bhog
• Tulsi leaves for Lord Vishnu
• The Brihaspativar vrat katha book
• A yellow sweet, such as besan laddoo, for prasad

1. Wake early, bathe, and wear yellow clothes if you can.
2. Take the sankalp at your home shrine: your name, gotra, that you are keeping the Guruvar vrat, how many Thursdays you will keep, and your wish.
3. Place the picture of Lord Vishnu on the yellow cloth. Offer water, a tilak of haldi or kesar, yellow flowers, haldi-coloured akshat, tulsi, and chana dal with gud.
4. Light the ghee lamp and incense. Chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya 108 times, or as many times as you can with attention. Some devotees also chant "Om Brim Brihaspataye Namah".
5. Worship the banana tree if there is one at home or nearby. Pour water mixed with a pinch of haldi at its root, offer chana dal and gud, apply a haldi tilak on the trunk, light a diya and bow. Families without a banana tree nearby make the same offerings at the home shrine.
6. Read or listen to the Brihaspativar vrat katha. The katha most families read tells of a queen who disliked giving charity, the hardship that came to her household, and how keeping the Thursday vrat with devotion turned things around. Read the full katha from the printed book your family uses.
7. Perform the aarti, commonly Om Jai Jagdish Hare.
8. Share the prasad and, if you can, give something yellow in daan, such as chana dal, haldi or bananas.

Most families eat one meal in the day, after the puja, and keep it simple and satvik. Yellow food is the custom:

• Chana dal, or kadhi made with besan
• Besan laddoo, or rice cooked with a little kesar or haldi
• Yellow fruit such as papaya
• Milk with a pinch of haldi or kesar

Things many families avoid on this day:

• Bananas, because the banana tree is worshipped; the fruit is offered, not eaten
• Salt, in some families; others simply keep the meal light
• Onion, garlic, meat and alcohol

A health note: a one-meal fast is gentle for most people, but not for everyone. If you are pregnant, diabetic, elderly, on regular medication or unwell, speak to your doctor before fasting. Tradition itself allows a lighter vrat, with fruit, milk and water through the day, for anyone who needs it, and it is still the Guruvar vrat.

In many North Indian homes, Thursday comes with a set of household customs. These are folk customs that some families follow, not rules laid down in scripture:

• Not washing hair on Thursday
• Not cutting hair or nails, or shaving
• Not washing clothes with soap

If these are part of your family's practice, follow them. If they are not, your vrat is complete without them.

Udyapan is the closing puja done when you complete the number of Thursdays you took in your sankalp. Put simply, it completes the vrat with thanks. Families differ in the details, and many ask their purohit to perform it. Common elements:

1. On the last Thursday, do the usual puja with extra care, often with a havan led by a pandit.
2. Read the vrat katha and perform the aarti.
3. Offer a meal of yellow food, such as chana dal, kadhi and besan laddoo, to Brahmins, to people in need, or both.
4. Give daan of yellow things: chana dal, haldi, gud, a yellow cloth or bananas, or books to a student.
5. Take the blessings of elders.

After udyapan you may begin the vrat again, with a new sankalp, if you wish.

If you are travelling or unwell, or want a temple offering on a Thursday alongside your vrat, you can book a Guru Archana in your name at our verified Delhi temple. The pandit chants the Guru mantra 108 times with yellow flowers, chana dal and haldi-keshar prasad. It takes about 30 minutes, and you receive photo proof and a completion certificate by email, typically within 24 hours. At the time of writing it costs ₹299, and prasad delivery to your address is an optional add-on (₹250 within India). For Vishnu worship, a Krishna Archana is another option.

If you keep other weekly vrats, our Somvar vrat guide covers the Monday fast, and the Nav Grah Shanti guide explains the puja for all nine grahas together.