This is the story of the worship to be performed on sixteen consecutive Mondays.

This is the story of the worship to be performed on sixteen
consecutive Mondays.
One day Bhagawan Bhutanath, Lord Shiva, as the Lord of all
Beings, went to tour the sansar (the world of objects and
relationships) along with his beloved wife Parvati. They were
traveling, seeing many different lands, when they came to the
city of Amaravati. There they saw a great shining city, and they
took shelter in one particular Shivaloya, a temple of Lord Shiva.
One day Parvati had a desire to play "chalsar", an Indian dice
game. While Shiva and Parvati sat enjoying this game, a Brahmin
pujari walked into the temple. Parvati stopped and asked the
priest, "Who will win this game?"
Without hesitation or much thought the pujari immediately
responded, "Shankarji. Shiva will win."
After a short time Parvati did in fact lose the dice game and she
became very angry. She thought that it was because of the
Brahmin's prediction that she had lost the game. Shiva advised
Parvati to remain calm and to control her anger, but Parvati
would not be easily appeased. Her anger grew into a great rage
and she cursed the Brahmin who had said she would lose the game.
Parvati cursed the Brahmin that he would suffer from leprosy.
The Brahmin priest was immediately attacked by the disease, and
he became very sad and was filled with great pain from the
leprosy that developed. Many days passed and the priest suffered
a great deal. He thought, "For what karma have I received such a
curse from the Divine Mother? What will I ever be able to do to
get her grace once again?" In this way his mind was extremely
agitated, and his body pained.
One day that Brahmin priest went into the Shiva temple, where he
saw a most beautiful heavenly nymph. This beautiful and shining
angelic lady was an Apsara, a celestial maiden who serves the
Gods. Standing before the pain stricken priest, she gave him the
following instructions: "With all of your energy and devotion to the
greatest extent of your capacity, perform the vow of Shiva's
worship on sixteen consecutive Mondays. All of the pain and
suffering that now afflict you will completely dissolve if you
worship Lord Shiva with pure devotion."
The radiant Apsara then proceeded to tell the poor afflicted
Brahmin exactly how to perform the puja. "In the early morning
of each Monday you will bathe and wear a pure white cloth on your
body. At the time of cooking you will take a pound of pure white
wheat flour, mix with gur and ghee and fry. Offer this 'Churma'
along with a ghee lamp, as well as gur, beetle nut, a sacred
thread, sandal paste, some grains of rice and flowers. With these
items especially, you will worship Lord Shiva. You will adorn the
blessed Lord Shiva with three lines horizontally and with one mark
in the center, and after this you may also take prasad just as you
have offered to Shiva. Recite his mantras, sing His songs,
perform the fire sacrifice, and other forms of worship for the
Lord.
"Completing your worship to Lord Shiva in this way for sixteen
Mondays, on the seventeenth Monday you will take ten pounds of
pure wheat flour, mix with ghee and gur and fry. Offer this
'Churma' to the great Lord Shiva with all of your devotion and
love. You may then partake of the prasad, sharing in the blessings
of Lord Shiva. If you observe all that I have instructed, you will
certainly be freed from all pain and suffering, and you will soon
attain the highest graces and good fortune."
Finishing her discourse, the Apsara rose up and ascended into the
heavens. The Brahmin was completely amazed by this vision, and
with full faith, he observed the sankalpa of sixteen Mondays in
every detail. Every Monday he wore a pure white cloth, and
chanted the worship of Lord Shiva, offering the appropriate
offerings. Following this vow, he was freed from his disease and
sorrow. He became a well known, wealthy man and loved and
respected by all of the people of the kingdom. He taught the
worship of Lord Shiva to many people, and continued to inspire the
people of his community to serve the Lord with truth and joy.
One day that Brahmin priest returned to the temple where
Parvati had first cursed him. Parvati was amazed to se that the
Brahmin was healed of his disease. When Parvati learned of the
power of the vow of sixteen Mondays, she quickly went to her son
Kartikeya to share with him this wonderful secret of the regular
worship of Lord Shiva.
Kartikeya shared the secret of this worship with his friend. This
friend had no wife and desiring to marry, he at once make the
sankalpa, or spiritual promise, to observe the vow of sixteen
weeks, praying for the blessing of a good marriage. After
completing his vow of worship for sixteen Mondays, the man left
his native land and traveled to another Kingdom. Arriving at this
new land, he heard that the King had made a very strange public
declaration. That King had promised his daughter's hand in
marriage to the one who be chosen by his elephant. The King's
elephant would place a garland of flowers around some man's
neck, according to divine understanding, and that man would
become the husband of the princess.
The traveler went to witness this betrothal ceremony, as he had
never heard of such a curious way of fixing a marriage. The
elephant looked at all the men assembled for the occasion, and
then put the garland around his neck. The king happily gave his
daughter in marriage, and the traveler became a member of the
Royal household.
It was some years later, that the King's daughter found out that
her husband had been chosen for the marriage after he had
performed the vow of Lord Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays
for that purpose. She was eager to have a son, and decided to
perform the vow of Lord Shiva's worship for sixteen Mondays in
order to have a beautiful son who could become a king. The wife
did this vow with such devotion and love that Shiva was pleased,
and she gave birth to a wonderful son.
When the child grew up, he desired to become the king of a
nation, and therefore, he also took the vow of Lord Shiva's
worship for sixteen Mondays to become a good king. When his vow
was complete, a messenger came from another King asking
whether he might like to join with his daughter to become his
wife. He was very happy when he heard of this proposal, and he
immediately consented, and the King performed the marriage in a
gay fashion. The King was delighted to have completed his
responsibility to his daughter, and being an old man, he left his
body just a short time following the marriage. The young man
then inherited the throne.
Immediately after taking over the duties of the kingdom, the new
King asked his wife to gather together all of the ingredients for
Shiva's puja. But his wife passed this order to one of her
servants, who prepared everything for the worship. While doing
the puja, the King received a message which was as follows: " If
the King would not leave that insolent wife, then his lineage would
be finished."
Upon hearing this message, the King was extremely pained and
filled with wonder. He asked the ministers what was the matter,
and what should he do? The ministers advised him to leave the
wife or he would face ruin. Because the wife had not obeyed the
King's order to get ready his puja, but instead had asked her
servant to do this, such a wife would only cause him problems. The
King again asked the ministers what he should do, and they quickly
told him, "Leave the Queen!"
The queen was very sorry when she was exiled from the palace.
She wandered on her way, but no one would give her shelter. By
this time her status was reduced to a beggar. Her cloth was torn
and she had no shoes.
She tried to seek refuge with an old man, but she was chased
away. Then she asked for help from an old servant who was
washing dishes, but she was scared away. The queen had no place
and was cold and frightened. A milk man took her to a nearby
Shiva temple, where she told the priest her whole story. He had
deep compassion for the poor woman, and he gave her refuge in
his temple. But whatever the queen touched became ruined. Worms
came into all of the food that she touched, and at this the priest
was extremely pained.
Then he told the queen to appease Lord Shiva by observing the
vow of sixteen Mondays. He explained to her the entire process,
and with great faith and devotion the queen followed this advice
of the priest.
On the seventeenth Monday, the King heard a divine voice telling
him to search for his wife. Then he sent ambassadors to search
everywhere for the exiled queen, and finally they came to the
temple where she was residing. Learning the whereabouts of his
beloved wife, the king immediately went to that temple to find
her.
When the King learned how the queen had performed the vow of
Shiva's worship for sixteen consecutive Mondays, then he was very
happy, and he went to the temple priest to do him service and
honor in thanks. The priest listened to the King's story, and
blessed them both.
When the King and Queen returned to the capital all of the
subjects of the kingdom welcomed them both with great love and
devotion. Then the king gave the people many gifts, and always
worked hard at their service. With the grace of Lord Shiva the
King and Queen had beautiful children, enjoyed many years of
comfort and happiness in their Kingdom, and ultimately went to
the Shivaloka.
This is the story of the vow of Lord Shiva's Worship. Whoever will
read it with devotion, or listen to it with one pointed attention, at
the time of worship on Monday, will be blessed with health, wealth,
the cessation of all disturbances, and the fulfillment of all
desires. This is the promise of Lord Shiva.
JAI MAHAKAAL....