Mahashivratri Vrat: Fasting For First Time? Here Are Some Tips To Get You Through The Day

On the day of fasting, you should consume plenty of water, fluids, and nuts. Try to eat as many fruits as possible on this day.

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The festival of Mahashivratri is the most important for devotees of Lord Shiva. On this day, devotees bring 'kavad' to please the Lord. The Shivling is annointed with holy water of the river Ganges. Things of his choice like bhang-datura and aak flowers are offered to please Lord Shiva. Devotees worship Shiva on this day and fast. However, there are a lot of people who will be fasting on Shivaratri for the first time. Hence it is important to know how to start the fast of Shivaratri. People have different rules for fasting. Some people consume rock salt during this fast while some just eat fruits. There also some people who don't eat anything all day long and eat only once at night. Those who are starting this fast for the first time may not know how to begin this fast. So today we are telling you what you can eat during the fast of Shivaratri.

Eat these things while fasting-

1- Drinks - If you are fasting on Shivaratri, then you should start the day with a healthy drink after performing the puja. This will keep you energetic throughout the day. Fasting may cause lack of water in the body. So start the day with juice, smoothie, lemon water, coconut water. This allows you to keep yourself healthy. 

2- Dry fruits - During the fast, you must include a handful of dry fruits in the diet. Dry fruits prevent the body from becoming weak and keep the stomach full for a long time. Eating dry fruits energise the body.

3- Vegetables - On the day of fasting, you can also cook potatoes, gourd, pumpkin, taro root (arbi) and eat it. These vegetables are considered to be pure sattvic food. You can sauté them in clarified butter (ghee) and cumin seeds. You can also add green chillies and rock salt to the vegetables. These vegetables are considered healthy for the body. 

4- Fruit - Similar to fasting on Mondays during the month of Sawan to worship Lord Shiva, you can eat plenty of fruits on this day too. You can eat fruits like bananas, apples, oranges, pomegranates. This can protect the body from dehydration and your stomach will also be full. 

5- Food - It is forbidden to eat food during the fast. You can eat singhada (water chestnut) flour or kuttu flour instead by making poori or paranthas from these flours. It is quite difficult to make pooris with these flours. You can make poori or parathas by adding boiled potatoes. You can make kuttu flour pakodas (frittters) or singhada flour katlis.