Karthika Puranam · Day 7 of 30
Karthika Puranam Day 7
Chapter 7 — Worship of Shiva and Keshava
Read on (2026)
Monday, November 16, 2026
Shukla Paksha Saptami · శుద్ధ సప్తమి
Also on this day: First Karthika Somavaram
Chapter 7 — the story
This chapter is a guide to Karthika worship rather than a story. Vasishtha lists the forms it can take: offering a thousand lotuses or reciting the sahasranama with tulasi or bilva leaves, Shaligrama worship under an amla tree, raising a flag at a temple, and keeping a lamp burning day and night (nanda deepam).
For those with little means, even prostrations before Shiva and Vishnu count. Vasishtha warns that those who let Karthika pass with no worship at all are reborn as dogs.
What this chapter teaches
Shiva and Vishnu are worshipped together in Karthika, and every form of worship counts — even a single prostration.
How to read the Karthika Puranam
- Read or listen to one chapter each day of Karthika Masam, usually in the evening after lighting the deepam.
- Many families read together after the pre-dawn Karthika snanam or at the Tulasi kota.
- These are short summaries; for the full text, read a printed Karthika Puranam or listen to a pravachanam.