These 16 Mondays should be started from Shraavan month, if possible, and should be done continuously for 16 Mondays. Its Kathaa is like this : Once Mahaadev was wandering in Mrityu Lok with his consort Paarvatee Jee. Wandering around they came to Amaraavatee named city in Vidarbh Desh. There was a beautiful Shiv temple in that city, so Mahaadev Jee started living there with Paarvatee Jee. Once Paarvatee Jee proposed to Shiv Jee to play Chaucer with her just for fun. So they started playing Chaucer.
At the same time, the priest of that temple came there to do his daily worship. Paarvatee Jee asked the priest "Tell me, who will win in this Chaucer?" As if destined, the words came out from his mouth - "Mahaadev Jee will win." But after a while Paarvatee Jee won and Mahaadev Jee lost. At his lies Paarvatee Jee filled with rage and she got ready to curse him. Although Mahaadev Jee tried to convince her that he was not at fault, still she cursed him to be a leper. Now he became a leper and started suffering with various kinds of afflictions.
Thus a lot of time passed for the Priest suffering like this. One day some Apsaraa came to worship Shiv Jee in that temple. They saw the Priest suffering with leprosy. Compassionately they asked him his story. He told them all what happened. They said to him - "Now you need not to suffer for long. You observe 16 Mondays Vrat." The priest asked the method of doing it. Apsaraa said - "On Monday, after taking bath, put on clean clothes, make Panjeeree (Kasaar) of half kilo wheat flour (roasted wheat flour with enough Ghee, and when it gets cool, mix ground sugar of equal quantity in it). Divide it in three parts. Worship Shiv Bhagavaan in Pradosh time with as many things as you can. Distribute one third of the Panjeeree to people present there as Shiv Jee's Prasaad and take the Prasaad himself also. Thus one should do 16 Mondays. On the 17th Monday, take 1/4 kilo wheat flour and make Baatee (round shaped balls fried in Ghee). Mix equal quantity of sugar and a little Ghee to make its Chooramaa. Offer it to Shiv Jee and distribute it to the people present there, take it yourself also. The priest did this for 16 Monday and he got cured. And he started living happily.
One day, after some time, Shiv and Paarvatee Jee visited that temple again, and they found that that priest was quite normal and healthy. Paarvatee Jee asked the Braahman how he got cured. The Braahman told her all that what he did - 16 Som Vaar Vrat. Paarvatee got very happy to hear about this Vrat. She also did this Vrat and because of this Vrat her son Kaarttikeya came back home and became obedient to her. Kaarttikeya wished to know how his mind got changed like this (to come back home). Paarvatee Jee told him the same 16-Som Vaar Vrat method. Kaarttikeya got very happy to hear this.
Kaarttikeya's one Braahman friend had gone to far lands for very long time, so he kept this Vrat to meet him. After the completion of the Vrat, he came back from foreign lands and met him. He also asked the secret of this type of meeting him. Kaarttikeya said - "I did 16 Som Vaar Vrat that is how we could meet." Hearing that that Braahman also did this Vrat with the desire of being married. So once he went to a city where its King was in the process of marrying his daughter. Many princes came there with the desire to marry that Princess. The King also promised that in whoever's neck this she-elephant (not the princess) put the Varmaalaa, he will marry his daughter to him only. That Braahman also came there curiosity sake. Fortunately the she-elephant put the Varmaalaa in his neck and the King married his daughter to him.
One day the Princess asked the Braahman - "What Punya you did that the she-elephant put on the Varmaalaa in your neck only leaving all other princes?" He said - "Priye, I did 16 Som Vaar Vrat at the advice of my friend Kaarttikeya, and because of that I got a qualitative Lakshmee like bride like you." The Princess got very impressed hearing this Vrat so she also started it with the desire of having a son. At the appropriate time she gave birth to a beautiful boy. Parents started bringing him up with lots of love. When the boy had grown up, he asked his mother - "Maa, What did you do that you got a son like me?" She told him the same - 16 Som Vaar Vrat.
Hearing this that boy also started doing it with the desire of getting kingdom. At that time some old King was looking for a groom for his daughter, so his people considered that boy appropriate for her and informed to the King about him. The King happily married his daughter to him. When the King died, he became the King of that kingdom, because the King had no son. Even after getting kingdom, that Braahman boy continued to do his Som Vaar Vrat.
One day when the 17th Som Vaar came, he asked his wife to come along with him to Shiv temple with the Poojaa materials. But his wife did not take them herself, but sent them through her maids. When the Braahman boy completed his Poojaa, an Aakaashvaanee said - "You send your wife out of the palace, otherwise she will destroy you. The Braahman boy got very surprised as well as sad to hear this. After coming home he told all this to his courtiers. The courtiers also got very sad to hear this that because of which Princess he has got this kingdom he is sending the same Princess away from the palace. But the Braahman boy sent her out of the palace.
The Princess arrived in an unknown city wandering hungry and thirsty. There an old woman was going to market to sell her home made cotton thread. As she saw the Princess, she asked her to help her in selling the thread. So the Princess took her basket of the thread and kept it on her own head. She hardly went a few yards that a strong storm came and threw the thread many yards away. Seeing this the old woman cried a lot and asked her not be with her again. Then she went to a oil presser's house. As she reached there, his all oil pitchers cracked and oil started dripping from them. Oil presser also asked her not to come there again considering her unfortunate. Then she went to a river, all water of the river dried up. Then she went in a garden where she found a beautiful pond. As she bent to drink water from it, countless worms started crawling in it and the its water got dirty. Cursing her fate she drank the same water and went to a tree to lie under its shade. As she came under its shade its all leaves fell off the tree. Now to whichever tree she went to, all trees fell its leaves.
Seeing this people went to their priest who used to work in temple there. He understood that this woman comes from a good family, so he said to her - "Dear Daughter, You come with me, live with me. I will keep you like my daughter. You won't have any problem there in my Aashram. So she started living in his Aashram. But whatever she cooked, or water she brought, everything got worms in it. Seeing all this the priest also got very surprised, he asked - "Dear Daughter, Whose wrath is on you that you are in such a condition?" She told him the story of Shiv Poojaa. The Priest prayed Shiv Jee in several ways and asked her to do 16 Som Vaar Vrat. He will surely give you relief.
She did 16 Som Vaar Vrat and from the 17th Som Vaar the Braahman's boy started thinking about her - "Where she would be, let us look for her". So he sent his people all around in search of his wife. They came to this priest's house also found her there. They asked the priest's permission to take her home, but the priest did not send her. They told all this to their King. The King himself came there and took her to his palace.
So whoever does this fast, he gets all kinds of comforts and pleasures and his all wishes are fulfilled.
