Parva · Vrata · Kathā · Mantra

Festivals & Observances पर्व एवं व्रत

The month at a glance — choose any day for its story, its worship and its mantras

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October 2024

Bhādrapada → Āśvina

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Ekādaśī
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1 Caturdaśī 2 Amāvāsyā Mahālaya 3 Pratipadā Solar eclipse · annular +1 4 Dvitīyā 5 Tṛtīyā 6 Tṛtīyā 7 Caturthī 8 Pañcamī 9 Ṣaṣṭhī 10 Saptamī 11 Aṣṭamī Durgāṣṭamī 12 Navamī Vijayā Daśamī 13 Daśamī 14 Ekādaśī Pāpāṅkuśā Ekādaśī 15 Trayodaśī 16 Caturdaśī Śarad Pūrṇimā 17 Pūrṇimā 18 Pratipadā 19 Dvitīyā 20 Tṛtīyā Karaka Caturthī 21 Pañcamī 22 Ṣaṣṭhī 23 Saptamī 24 Aṣṭamī 25 Navamī 26 Daśamī 27 Ekādaśī Ramā Ekādaśī 28 Ekādaśī 29 Dvādaśī Dhana Trayodaśī 30 Trayodaśī 31 Caturdaśī Dīpāvalī +3

This month’s festivals 14

2Wed

Wednesday, 2 October 2024

Bhādrapada · Amāvāsyā · Uttara Phalgunī

About the day

Lunar month: Bhādrapada
Tithi at sunrise: Amāvāsyā · until 00:19 (next day)
Nakṣatra: Uttara Phalgunī
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:19 · 18:13

Read the full daily column for this date →

Mahālaya — Sarvapitṛ Amāvāsyā

Significance

The new moon that closes the ancestors’ fortnight. Every ancestor — whether the day of passing is known or not — may be honoured today, which is why it is Sarvapitṛ, “of all the fathers”. In Bengal it is Mahālaya, the dawn on which the Goddess is invited to begin her journey to earth.

The story from the scriptures

Garuḍa Purāṇa; Devī Māhātmya 2

The Garuḍa Purāṇa teaches that an offering on this one day satisfies the ancestors as fully as offerings through the whole fortnight, and that they depart content, leaving blessings behind. Bengal joins to it the memory of the gods’ distress under Mahiṣāsura: from the combined radiance of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva and all the devas a single blazing form arose, the Goddess, to whom each god gave his weapon — and on this dawn she sets out.

Regional traditions and folklore

Before sunrise all Bengal listens to the Mahiṣāsura-mardinī recitation, a tradition of radio since 1931; on this day the sculptors of Kumārṭulī paint the eyes of Durgā (cakṣu-dāna). At Gayā, Kāśī and the riverbanks everywhere, families stand waist-deep offering tarpaṇa.

Pūjā and havan

Tarpaṇa and piṇḍa-dāna for all ancestors, feeding of brāhmaṇas, the poor, cows and crows, and lamps lit at dusk facing south to light the pitṛs’ way back.

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ | tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi | dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt ||

Meaning: We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitṛ; may he awaken our understanding.

Benefit: The mother of the Vedic mantras — recited at sunrise, noon and sunset for clarity of mind, inner light and the blessing of the Sun.

Ṛgveda 3.62.10 (Viśvāmitra)

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥

yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu śakti-rūpeṇa saṃsthitā | namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namaḥ ||

Meaning: To the Goddess who abides in all beings as power — salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation to her, again and again.

Benefit: Sung through the nine nights — awakens inner strength and the sense of the Mother present in every being.

Devī Māhātmya 5.32–34 — the Aparājitā-stuti

Scriptural references 2

Garuḍa Purāṇa, Preta-khaṇḍa
Devī Māhātmya 2

Amāvāsyā — the new moon

Significance

The new moon, when Sun and Moon dwell together — the day that belongs to the ancestors. Offerings of water and sesame made today reach them directly, and their blessing is sought for the family’s welfare. A new moon on a Monday (Somavatī) is especially sacred for married women, who circle the pīpal tree 108 times; on a Saturday (Śanaiścarī) Śani is propitiated with sesame oil; on a Tuesday (Bhaumavatī) debts are said to be cleared by ancestral rites.

The story from the scriptures

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana-parva 87–92; Matsya Purāṇa 14 (Acchodā and the Pitṛs)

The Matsya Purāṇa tells of Acchodā, mind-born daughter of the Pitṛs, who through a moment’s wavering fell from heaven. The Pitṛs, in compassion, told her that the day of her fall would be named Amāvasyā, dear to them above all days, and that whatever is offered to the ancestors on it would be imperishable. Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira that of all tithis the new moon is foremost for the śrāddha.

Pūjā and havan

Tarpaṇa with water and black sesame facing south; feeding of crows, cows and the needy; a lamp of sesame oil under the pīpal at dusk; on Somavatī, circumambulation of the pīpal with thread, and a vow of silence at the bath.

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ | tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi | dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt ||

Meaning: We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitṛ; may he awaken our understanding.

Benefit: The mother of the Vedic mantras — recited at sunrise, noon and sunset for clarity of mind, inner light and the blessing of the Sun.

Ṛgveda 3.62.10 (Viśvāmitra)

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥

oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to the blessed Lord Vāsudeva.

Benefit: The dvādaśākṣara — by this mantra the child Dhruva saw the Lord within six months; recited for devotion, protection and liberation.

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.8.54 — the twelve-syllable mantra Nārada gives to Dhruva

Scriptural references 2

Matsya Purāṇa 14
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana-parva 87–92

3Thu

Thursday, 3 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Pratipadā · Hasta

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Pratipadā · until 02:59 (next day)
Nakṣatra: Hasta
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:19 · 18:12

Read the full daily column for this date →

Solar eclipse · annular Greatest eclipse (IST) 00:15

Bṛhat Saṃhitā · Adhyāya 5

Varāhamihira gives both accounts side by side. First the story: the severed head that tasted the nectar and became a graha. Then the science: the Moon enters the earth’s shadow, and at a solar eclipse the Moon covers the Sun — “Rāhu is not the cause”. And then why the rite continues: by Brahmā’s boon Rāhu has a share of the oblation offered at an eclipse.

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.1 ✓ verified against the edition

अमृतास्वादविशेषाग्छिन्नमपि शिरः किलासुरस्यैदम् । प्राणैः अपरित्यक्तं ग्रहतां यातं वदन्त्येके ॥ ५.१॥

Some say that this head, though severed from the demon (asura) on account of a taste of the nectar of immortality, was not abandoned by the vital breaths, and thus attained the status of a planet (graha).

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.8 ✓ verified against the edition

भूच्छायां स्वग्रहणे भास्करमर्कग्रहे प्रविशतीन्दुः । प्रग्रहणमतः पश्चान् नेन्दोः भानोश्च पूर्वार्धात् ॥ ५.८॥

The truth is: in its own eclipse, the Moon enters the earth’s shadow; in the Sun’s eclipse, the Moon obscures the Sun. Hence the eclipse begins, for the Moon, from the hindward part, and for the Sun, not from the forward part.

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.13 ✓ verified against the edition

एवमुपरागकारणमुक्तमिदं दिव्यदृग्भिः आचार्यैः । राहुः अकारणमस्मिन् इत्युक्तः शास्त्रसद्भावः ॥ ५.१३॥

Thus has the true cause of an eclipse been stated by the teachers of divine sight (the astronomer-sages); and it has been said that Rahu is not the true, physical cause in this -- such is the real purport of the science.

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.14 ✓ verified against the edition

योऽसौअसुरो राहुः तस्य वरो ब्रह्मणाऽयमाज्ञप्तः । आप्यायनमुपरागे दत्तहुतांशेन ते भविता ॥ ५.१४॥

This boon was ordained by Brahma for that demon Rahu: ‘At the time of an eclipse, you shall have your due share of the offered oblation.’

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.16 ✓ verified against the edition

न कथंचिदपि निमित्तैः ग्रहणं विज्ञायते निमित्तानि । अन्यस्मिन् अपि काले भवन्त्यथौत्पातरूपाणि ॥ ५.१६॥

An eclipse can in no way be known merely by omens; omens, in the form of portents, also occur at other times unrelated to eclipses.

Significance

An eclipse is a parva — a sacred juncture. The tradition treats its hours as the most potent of all for japa, meditation and giving: a mantra repeated through an eclipse is said to bear fruit many times over, and a gift made at its release never decays.

Pūjā and havan

A bath at the first touch; japa of one’s own mantra, the Gāyatrī or the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya through the eclipse; a second bath at release; then gifts of grain, sesame, clothes and gold, and fresh cooking. Darbha grass or tulasī leaves are placed on stored food and water.

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ | tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi | dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt ||

Meaning: We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitṛ; may he awaken our understanding.

Benefit: The mother of the Vedic mantras — recited at sunrise, noon and sunset for clarity of mind, inner light and the blessing of the Sun.

Ṛgveda 3.62.10 (Viśvāmitra)

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ॥

oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā’mṛtāt ||

Meaning: We worship the three-eyed Lord, fragrant, the nourisher of all; as a ripe gourd is freed from its stalk, may he free us from death, not from immortality.

Benefit: The great death-conquering mantra — japa of 108 for health, long life, recovery from illness and fearlessness.

Ṛgveda 7.59.12 (Vasiṣṭha); Śukla Yajurveda 3.60

Scriptural references 2

Bṛhat Saṃhitā 5
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.82 — the eclipse pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra

Śārada Navarātri

Significance

The nine nights of the Goddess in autumn — three for Durgā who destroys, three for Lakṣmī who nourishes, three for Sarasvatī who illumines; or, in the northern reckoning, one for each of the Nava-Durgās from Śailaputrī to Siddhidātrī. The Goddess herself promises in the Devī Māhātmya that those who hear her glory in the great autumn worship will be freed from every trouble and blessed with wealth, grain and children.

The story from the scriptures

Devī Māhātmya (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa 81–93)

King Suratha, driven from his kingdom, and the merchant Samādhi, cast out by his family, met in the hermitage of the sage Medhas and asked why the heart clings to what has wounded it. The sage answered with the three deeds of the Goddess: how as Mahāmāyā she woke Viṣṇu to slay Madhu and Kaiṭabha; how, born of the gathered radiance of all the gods and armed by each of them, she fought the buffalo-demon Mahiṣāsura for nine days and slew him on the tenth; and how as Kauśikī, with Kālī and the Mātṛkās, she destroyed Śumbha, Niśumbha, Caṇḍa, Muṇḍa and Raktabīja, whose every drop of blood bred a new demon. King and merchant worshipped her on a riverbank for three years; to the one she gave back his kingdom, to the other the knowledge that frees.

Regional traditions and folklore

Bengal, Assam and Odisha celebrate Durgā Pūjā as the daughter’s homecoming, with paṇḍāls, dhāk drums and sindūra-khelā. Gujarat dances garbā and ḍāṇḍiyā around a lamp in a pierced clay pot. Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka arrange golu — stepped displays of dolls — and Mysuru holds its royal Dasarā. North India stages the Rāma-līlā; Himachal’s Kullu Dasarā begins when the others end; Telangana builds Batukamma towers of flowers.

The vrata

Fasting for nine days, or on the first and last; one meal of fruit, milk and non-grain foods. Barley sown on the first day is watched as an omen of the year’s harvest. The fast closes with kanyā-pūjana on the eighth or ninth day.

Pūjā and havan

Ghaṭa-sthāpana on the first morning: a kalaśa of water, mango leaves and coconut on a bed of sown barley, with an unbroken lamp (akhaṇḍa-jyoti). The Devī Māhātmya’s seven hundred verses are read daily with Kavaca, Argalā and Kīlaka; the Caṇḍī-homa, with each verse an oblation, is performed on Aṣṭamī or Navamī. Nine little girls are worshipped as the Goddess, their feet washed, and fed pūrī, canā and halvā.

Mantras and japa 2

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

sarva-maṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike | śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namo’stu te ||

Meaning: O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O consort of Śiva, accomplisher of every aim, refuge, three-eyed Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī — salutation to you.

Benefit: The best-loved verse of the Caṇḍī — recited for auspiciousness in the home, the fulfilment of rightful wishes and the Mother’s protection.

Devī Māhātmya 11.10 (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) — the gods’ hymn to Nārāyaṇī

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥

yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu śakti-rūpeṇa saṃsthitā | namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namaḥ ||

Meaning: To the Goddess who abides in all beings as power — salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation to her, again and again.

Benefit: Sung through the nine nights — awakens inner strength and the sense of the Mother present in every being.

Devī Māhātmya 5.32–34 — the Aparājitā-stuti

Scriptural references 3

Devī Māhātmya 1–13 (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa 81–93)
Devī Māhātmya 12.12 — the autumn worship
Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.26–27

9Wed

Wednesday, 9 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Ṣaṣṭhī · Mūla

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Ṣaṣṭhī · until 12:15
Nakṣatra: Mūla
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:21 · 18:07

Read the full daily column for this date →

Śārada Navarātri

3 October →

Significance

11Fri

Friday, 11 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Aṣṭamī · Uttara Aṣāḍhā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Aṣṭamī · until 12:07
Nakṣatra: Uttara Aṣāḍhā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:22 · 18:05

Read the full daily column for this date →

Śārada Navarātri

3 October →

Significance

Durgāṣṭamī

Significance

Mahāṣṭamī, the great eighth — the height of the nine nights. On this day Cāmuṇḍā sprang from the brow of the Goddess to destroy Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, and the Sandhi-pūjā at the junction of the eighth and ninth tithis marks that very moment.

The story from the scriptures

Devī Māhātmya 7

When the asura generals Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa advanced with their army to seize her, the face of Ambikā grew dark as ink with anger, and from her forehead leapt Kālī — sword and noose in hand, garlanded with skulls, gaunt and terrible, filling the quarters with her roar. She devoured the host, elephants and chariots together, seized Caṇḍa by the hair and struck off his head, and felled Muṇḍa after him. Carrying the two heads to the Goddess she was told: “Because you have brought me Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, you shall be famed in the world as Cāmuṇḍā.”

Regional traditions and folklore

In Bengal 108 lotuses and 108 lamps are offered in the forty-eight minutes of Sandhi-pūjā, and a young girl is worshipped as Kumārī — a rite Svāmī Vivekānanda made famous at Belur Maṭh. In the south it is Durgāṣṭamī and the eve of Āyudha-pūjā; in North India kanyā-pūjana is kept today or tomorrow.

Pūjā and havan

Worship of the Goddess’s weapons and her sixty-four yoginīs; the Aṣṭamī fast; offering of red hibiscus, coconut and pumpkin; recitation of the middle episode of the Caṇḍī; homa with the navārṇa mantra.

Mantras and japa 2

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥

yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu śakti-rūpeṇa saṃsthitā | namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namaḥ ||

Meaning: To the Goddess who abides in all beings as power — salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation to her, again and again.

Benefit: Sung through the nine nights — awakens inner strength and the sense of the Mother present in every being.

Devī Māhātmya 5.32–34 — the Aparājitā-stuti

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

sarva-maṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike | śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namo’stu te ||

Meaning: O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O consort of Śiva, accomplisher of every aim, refuge, three-eyed Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī — salutation to you.

Benefit: The best-loved verse of the Caṇḍī — recited for auspiciousness in the home, the fulfilment of rightful wishes and the Mother’s protection.

Devī Māhātmya 11.10 (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) — the gods’ hymn to Nārāyaṇī

Scriptural references 2

Devī Māhātmya 7
Kālikā Purāṇa (Durgā-pūjā-vidhi)

12Sat

Saturday, 12 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Navamī · Śravaṇa

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Navamī · until 10:59
Nakṣatra: Śravaṇa
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:22 · 18:04

Read the full daily column for this date →

Śārada Navarātri

3 October →

Significance

Vijayā Daśamī (Dasarā)

Significance

The tenth of victory — of Rāma over Rāvaṇa, of Durgā over Mahiṣāsura, of the Pāṇḍavas’ return to arms. The whole day is a self-standing muhūrta for beginning study, a craft, a journey or an enterprise, and the afternoon Vijaya-muhūrta is held to make every undertaking succeed.

The story from the scriptures

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 105–108; Mahābhārata, Virāṭa-parva 5 and 41

On the battlefield of Laṅkā the sage Agastya came to the weary Rāma and taught him the Āditya-hṛdaya, the hymn to the Sun that brings victory. Rāma, thrice purified, recited it, took up the Brahmā-weapon given by Agastya, and loosed it at Rāvaṇa’s heart; the ten-headed king fell, and the gods rained flowers. The Mahābhārata remembers the same tithi: the Pāṇḍavas, entering their year of disguise, hid their weapons in a śamī tree outside Virāṭa’s city; when the year ended Arjuna took down the Gāṇḍīva from the śamī and alone routed the Kaurava host that had come to steal the cattle.

Regional traditions and folklore

Across North India effigies of Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa and Meghanāda are burnt at sunset to close the Rāma-līlā. In Maharashtra leaves of the āpṭā tree are exchanged as “gold”, recalling Kautsa, for whom Kubera rained gold on a śamī tree at Raghu’s prayer. Mysuru’s Jambū Savārī carries Cāmuṇḍeśvarī on a golden howdah; Bengal bids Durgā farewell with sindūra-khelā and immersion; Kerala and Karnataka begin children’s letters with Vidyārambham; tools, vehicles and books are worshipped in Āyudha-pūjā.

Pūjā and havan

Aparājitā-pūjā in the afternoon, facing north-east; Śamī-pūjā with the prayer that the śamī which held Arjuna’s bow may remove obstacles; sīmollaṅghana — ceremonially crossing the village boundary; worship of weapons, instruments and account books. The Āditya-hṛdaya and the Rāma-rakṣā are recited.

Mantras and japa 2

श्रीराम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे । सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥

śrīrāma rāma rāmeti rame rāme manorame | sahasranāma tattulyaṃ rāmanāma varānane ||

Meaning: “Rāma, Rāma, Rāma” — in this delightful name I rejoice; the name of Rāma, O fair-faced one, equals the thousand names of Viṣṇu.

Benefit: Śiva’s own teaching to Pārvatī: three utterances of the name carry the merit of the whole Sahasranāma.

Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa — Śiva to Pārvatī; recited at the close of the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

sarva-maṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike | śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namo’stu te ||

Meaning: O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O consort of Śiva, accomplisher of every aim, refuge, three-eyed Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī — salutation to you.

Benefit: The best-loved verse of the Caṇḍī — recited for auspiciousness in the home, the fulfilment of rightful wishes and the Mother’s protection.

Devī Māhātmya 11.10 (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) — the gods’ hymn to Nārāyaṇī

Scriptural references 3

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 105 (Āditya-hṛdaya), 108
Mahābhārata, Virāṭa-parva 5, 41
Raghuvaṃśa 5 (Kautsa)

14Mon

Monday, 14 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Ekādaśī · Śatabhiṣā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Ekādaśī · until 06:42
Nakṣatra: Śatabhiṣā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:23 · 18:02

Read the full daily column for this date →

Pāpāṅkuśā Ekādaśī

In the Padma Purāṇa · Adhyāya 59

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla)

In the chapter: the worship of Viṣṇu as Padmanābha.

Padma Purāṇa 59.3 ✓ verified against the edition

पापांकुशेति विख्याता सर्वपापहरा परा । पद्मनाभाभिधानं मां पूजयेत्तत्र मानवः ॥ 3 ॥

She is famed as Pāpāṅkuśā, the supreme remover of all sin; on it a person should worship Me under the name Padmanābha.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Read the chapter →

Significance

The eleventh tithi of each fortnight, dearest of all days to Viṣṇu. Eleven stands for the ten senses and the mind; on this day they are turned from food toward the Lord. The Padma Purāṇa gives each of the year’s Ekādaśīs its own name, story and fruit.

The story from the scriptures

Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa 38 — the birth of Ekādaśī

In the Kṛta age the asura Mura drove the gods from heaven. Viṣṇu fought him for a thousand divine years and then withdrew to rest in the cave Hemavatī at Badarikāśrama. Mura followed, meaning to slay the sleeping Lord — when from Viṣṇu’s own body sprang a radiant maiden, armed, who met the asura in battle and reduced him to ashes with a sound. Waking, the Lord asked who had done this; she answered that she was born of him, on the eleventh day. Pleased, he named her Ekādaśī and granted her wish: that whoever fasts on her day be freed from wrong and come to his abode.

The vrata

A light single meal on Daśamī; on Ekādaśī a full fast, or fruit and milk, with all grains and beans set aside; a night vigil with the names of Hari; and pāraṇa on Dvādaśī morning after sunrise, within the Dvādaśī, after feeding another.

Pūjā and havan

Viṣṇu is worshipped with tulasī leaves, sandal, flowers, lamp and fruit; the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma, the Gītā and the Ekādaśī-māhātmya of the day are read; lamps are lit before the tulasī at dusk.

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥

oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to the blessed Lord Vāsudeva.

Benefit: The dvādaśākṣara — by this mantra the child Dhruva saw the Lord within six months; recited for devotion, protection and liberation.

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.8.54 — the twelve-syllable mantra Nārada gives to Dhruva

ॐ नमो नारायणाय ॥

oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to Nārāyaṇa, the refuge of all beings.

Benefit: The eight-syllable mantra — the Upaniṣad says one who recites it attains full life, prosperity and the abode of Viṣṇu.

Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)

Scriptural references 1

Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa 36–63

15Tue

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Trayodaśī · Pūrva Bhādrapadā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Trayodaśī · until 00:20 (next day)
Nakṣatra: Pūrva Bhādrapadā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:24 · 18:01

Read the full daily column for this date →

Pradoṣa Vrata

Significance

The thirteenth tithi at twilight — the hour and a half around sunset when Śiva, having drunk the poison of the churned ocean, danced between the horns of Nandī for the joy of the gods. Worship in this window is held to please him swiftly; a Monday (Soma) or Saturday (Śani) Pradoṣa is prized most.

The story from the scriptures

Skanda Purāṇa, Brāhma-khaṇḍa, Brahmottara-khaṇḍa 6–7; Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.7

When the hālāhala poison rose from the churned ocean and scorched the worlds, the gods fled to Kailāsa. Śiva, in compassion, gathered the poison in his palm and drank it; Pārvatī pressed his throat, and it stayed there, turning it blue — Nīlakaṇṭha. The Skanda Purāṇa tells that on the thirteenth, at dusk, he danced in gladness while the gods stood round in worship, and relates how a destitute widow’s son and an orphaned prince, taught the Pradoṣa vow by the sage Śāṇḍilya, regained a kingdom by it.

The vrata

A fast from sunrise, broken after the twilight worship; kept on both thirteenths of the month.

Pūjā and havan

In the pradoṣa window: abhiṣeka of the liṅga with milk and water, bilva leaves, lamp and incense; Nandī is worshipped first and the liṅga viewed between his horns; the pradakṣiṇā is done in the half-circle Soma-sūtra manner; the Śiva-pradoṣa-stotra and Rudram are recited.

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॥

oṃ namaḥ śivāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to Śiva, the auspicious one.

Benefit: The five-syllable mantra at the heart of the Yajurveda — purifies the five elements of the body and steadies the mind in Śiva.

Śrī Rudram, Taittirīya Saṃhitā 4.5.8 — “namaḥ śivāya ca śivatarāya ca”

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ॥

oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā’mṛtāt ||

Meaning: We worship the three-eyed Lord, fragrant, the nourisher of all; as a ripe gourd is freed from its stalk, may he free us from death, not from immortality.

Benefit: The great death-conquering mantra — japa of 108 for health, long life, recovery from illness and fearlessness.

Ṛgveda 7.59.12 (Vasiṣṭha); Śukla Yajurveda 3.60

Scriptural references 2

Skanda Purāṇa, Brahmottara-khaṇḍa 6–7
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.7

16Wed

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla) Caturdaśī · Uttara Bhādrapadā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: bright fortnight (śukla) Caturdaśī · until 20:41
Nakṣatra: Uttara Bhādrapadā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:24 · 18:00

Read the full daily column for this date →

Śarad Pūrṇimā (Kojāgarī)

Significance

The brightest full moon of the year, when the Moon is said to shine with all sixteen of his kalās and to drip nectar. It is the night of Kṛṣṇa’s Mahā-rāsa, and the night Lakṣmī walks the earth asking “ko jāgarti?” — “who is awake?” — and blesses the wakeful.

The story from the scriptures

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.29–33

Seeing the autumn nights fragrant with jasmine and the full moon reddening the east like kumkum on the face of Lakṣmī, Kṛṣṇa took up his flute. At its sound the gopīs of Vraja left whatever they were doing — milk on the fire, meals half-served — and ran to the forest. He tested them, asking them to go home; they answered that they had left everything for his feet. Then on the bank of the Yamunā he danced the rāsa, multiplying himself so that each gopī felt him at her side alone, and that one night, the Bhāgavata says, was stretched to the length of a night of Brahmā.

Regional traditions and folklore

Bowls of sweet rice-milk (khīr) are left under the open sky to soak up moonlight and shared at dawn as medicine for body and mind. Bengal, Odisha and Assam keep Kojāgarī Lakṣmī Pūjā tonight; Odisha’s girls keep Kumāra Pūrṇimā for a handsome husband; Gujarat dances Śarad Pūnam garbā; in Mithilā newly-weds receive Kojāgarā gifts of makhānā and betel. The tribal harvest festivals of central India fall on the same moon.

Pūjā and havan

Evening worship of Lakṣmī and the Moon with white flowers, white sweets, puffed rice and coconut water; arghya of milk to the risen moon; a night vigil with dice, song and the names of Hari. Āyurvedic physicians prepare special medicines under this moon.

Mantras and japa 2

हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् । चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥

hiraṇya-varṇāṃ hariṇīṃ suvarṇa-rajata-srajām | candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha ||

Meaning: O Jātavedas (Agni), bring to me Lakṣmī — golden-hued, lovely as a doe, garlanded with gold and silver, radiant as the moon.

Benefit: The opening of the Śrī Sūkta — recited with a lamp lit for prosperity, grace, abundance of grain and cattle, and a home where Lakṣmī stays.

Śrī Sūkta 1 (Ṛgveda Khila 2.6)

कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने । प्रणतक्लेशनाशाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः ॥

kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya haraye paramātmane | praṇata-kleśa-nāśāya govindāya namo namaḥ ||

Meaning: Salutations again and again to Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, Hari, the Supreme Self, Govinda — destroyer of the sorrows of those who bow to him.

Benefit: A prayer of surrender — recited for release from distress and bondage of every kind.

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.73.16 — the prayer of the kings freed from Jarāsandha

Scriptural references 2

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.29–33 (Rāsa-pañcādhyāyī)
Skanda Purāṇa (Kojāgara-vrata)

17Thu

Thursday, 17 October 2024

Āśvina · Pūrṇimā · Revatī

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: Pūrṇimā · until 16:56
Nakṣatra: Revatī
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:24 · 17:59

Read the full daily column for this date →

Pūrṇimā — the full moon

Significance

The full moon — the day of fullness, when the mind’s own planet is complete. It is the customary day for the Satyanārāyaṇa vrata, for charity, for honouring the guru and for a bath in sacred waters; each month’s full moon carries its own festival.

The story from the scriptures

Skanda Purāṇa, Revā-khaṇḍa — Satyanārāyaṇa-vrata-kathā

Nārada, grieved by the sufferings of people in the Kali age, asked Viṣṇu for a simple remedy, and the Lord taught him the worship of Satya-Nārāyaṇa — Truth itself as God. The kathā’s five chapters tell of a poor brāhmaṇa of Kāśī, a woodcutter, the merchant Sādhu and his daughter Kalāvatī, and King Tuṅgadhvaja: each prospered by keeping the vow and honouring its prasāda, and each stumbled on forgetting a promise made to the Lord — for truthfulness is the vow’s real offering.

Pūjā and havan

In the evening: a kalaśa and an image or picture of Viṣṇu under a canopy of plantain stems; offerings of tulasī, fruit and the prasāda of roasted wheat flour, sugar, ghee, milk and banana (sapāda-bhakṣya); the five-chapter kathā is read aloud and the prasāda shared with all. Arghya is offered to the risen moon.

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ नमो नारायणाय ॥

oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to Nārāyaṇa, the refuge of all beings.

Benefit: The eight-syllable mantra — the Upaniṣad says one who recites it attains full life, prosperity and the abode of Viṣṇu.

Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥

oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to the blessed Lord Vāsudeva.

Benefit: The dvādaśākṣara — by this mantra the child Dhruva saw the Lord within six months; recited for devotion, protection and liberation.

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.8.54 — the twelve-syllable mantra Nārada gives to Dhruva

Scriptural references 1

Skanda Purāṇa, Revā-khaṇḍa (Satyanārāyaṇa-kathā)

20Sun

Sunday, 20 October 2024

Āśvina · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Tṛtīyā · Kṛttikā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Tṛtīyā · until 06:47
Nakṣatra: Kṛttikā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:26 · 17:57

Read the full daily column for this date →

Karaka Caturthī (Karvā Chauth)

North and West India

Significance

A wife’s day-long fast, without food or water, for her husband’s long life — broken only when the moon rises. Karaka is the small earthen pot through which arghya is offered to the moon and which is gifted with the vow.

The story from the scriptures

Karaka-caturthī-vrata-kathā (Vāmana Purāṇa tradition; folk kathā of Vīrāvatī)

Vīrāvatī, the only sister of seven brothers, kept her first fast at her parents’ home. By evening she was faint with hunger, and her brothers, unable to bear it, lit a fire behind a sieve on a distant hill and told her the moon had risen. She offered arghya and ate; with the first morsel she sneezed, with the second she found a hair, with the third came news that her husband lay dying. Indrāṇī appeared to the weeping girl, explained that the fast had been broken before the true moonrise, and taught her to keep the fourth of every dark fortnight through the year. She did so with devotion, and her husband was restored to life and health. The vrata-kathā also tells that Draupadī kept this fast, on Kṛṣṇa’s advice, for Arjuna’s safety in the Nīlagiri hills.

Regional traditions and folklore

Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh keep it with great colour: the mother-in-law sends sargī, a pre-dawn meal; women in bridal red and henna gather in the afternoon to pass their thālīs in a circle while the kathā is sung; the moon is sighted through a sieve, then the husband’s face, and he gives the first sip of water.

The vrata

Sargī before sunrise, a waterless fast through the day, the kathā in the late afternoon, and the breaking of the fast after arghya to the moon.

Pūjā and havan

Gaurī (Cauth Mātā), Śiva, Gaṇeśa and Kārttikeya are drawn on the wall or set as images; the karaka filled with water or milk, with coins and grains, is worshipped and given to a married woman or a brāhmaṇa. Ten or thirteen karakas are gifted at the udyāpana.

Mantras and japa 2

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

sarva-maṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike | śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namo’stu te ||

Meaning: O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O consort of Śiva, accomplisher of every aim, refuge, three-eyed Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī — salutation to you.

Benefit: The best-loved verse of the Caṇḍī — recited for auspiciousness in the home, the fulfilment of rightful wishes and the Mother’s protection.

Devī Māhātmya 11.10 (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) — the gods’ hymn to Nārāyaṇī

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ॥

oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ ||

Meaning: Salutation to Gaṇapati, lord of the hosts.

Benefit: Recited before every beginning — removes obstacles and grants success, learning and a steady intellect.

Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa Upaniṣad 7

Scriptural references 1

Vrata-rāja; Nirṇaya-sindhu (Karaka-caturthī)

Saṅkaṣṭī Caturthī

Significance

The fourth of the dark fortnight, Gaṇeśa’s monthly vow: saṅkaṣṭa-hara, “the remover of hardships”. The fast is kept until the moon rises. When it falls on a Tuesday it is Aṅgārakī, the most prized of all.

The story from the scriptures

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā-khaṇḍa; Mudgala Purāṇa

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells that Aṅgāraka (Mars), son of the Earth and the sage Bharadvāja, worshipped Gaṇeśa with long austerity; the Lord appeared to him on a dark fourth that fell on a Tuesday and granted that the day bear his name, and that whoever keeps the vow on it have every obstacle removed. Each month’s Caturthī has its own form of Gaṇeśa and its own story, told at moonrise.

The vrata

A day-long fast, fruit and roots permitted; at moonrise Gaṇeśa is worshipped, arghya is given to the Moon, the kathā is heard and the fast is broken.

Pūjā and havan

Twenty-one dūrvā blades, red flowers, modaka or sesame laḍḍū; the Saṅkaṣṭa-nāśana Gaṇeśa-stotra from the Nārada Purāṇa and the Atharvaśīrṣa are recited.

Mantras and japa 1

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ॥

oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ ||

Meaning: Salutation to Gaṇapati, lord of the hosts.

Benefit: Recited before every beginning — removes obstacles and grants success, learning and a steady intellect.

Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa Upaniṣad 7

Scriptural references 2

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā-khaṇḍa
Nārada Purāṇa (Saṅkaṣṭa-nāśana-stotra)

27Sun

Sunday, 27 October 2024

Āśvina · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Ekādaśī · Maghā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Ekādaśī · until 07:51 (next day)
Nakṣatra: Maghā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:29 · 17:52

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Ramā Ekādaśī

In the Padma Purāṇa · Adhyāya 60

Āśvina · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

In the chapter: King Mucukunda, his daughter Candrabhāgā and her husband Śobhana.

Padma Purāṇa 60.2 ✓ verified against the edition

श्रूयतां राजशार्दूल कथयामि तवाग्रतः । कार्त्तिके कृष्णपक्षे तु रमा नाम सुशोभना ॥ 2 ॥

Listen, tiger among kings, I shall tell you: in the dark fortnight of Kārttika is the very beautiful one named Ramā.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Read the chapter →

Significance

The story from the scriptures

Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa 38 — the birth of Ekādaśī

The vrata

Pūjā and havan

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥

oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to the blessed Lord Vāsudeva.

Benefit: The dvādaśākṣara — by this mantra the child Dhruva saw the Lord within six months; recited for devotion, protection and liberation.

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.8.54 — the twelve-syllable mantra Nārada gives to Dhruva

ॐ नमो नारायणाय ॥

oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to Nārāyaṇa, the refuge of all beings.

Benefit: The eight-syllable mantra — the Upaniṣad says one who recites it attains full life, prosperity and the abode of Viṣṇu.

Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)

Scriptural references 1

Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa 36–63

29Tue

Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Āśvina · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Dvādaśī · Uttara Phalgunī

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Dvādaśī · until 10:32
Nakṣatra: Uttara Phalgunī
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:30 · 17:50

Read the full daily column for this date →

Dhana Trayodaśī (Dhanteras)

Significance

The thirteenth that opens the five days of Dīpāvalī. It is the day Dhanvantari, the divine physician, rose from the ocean of milk with the pot of nectar — and so it is wealth in its first meaning, health. Lakṣmī and Kubera are worshipped, new metal is brought home, and at dusk a lamp is set out for Yama.

The story from the scriptures

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.8.31–35; Skanda Purāṇa (Yama-dīpa-dāna)

When the gods and asuras churned the ocean of milk with Mount Mandara for a staff and Vāsuki for a rope, there arose in turn the poison that Śiva drank, the wish-cow, the horse, the elephant, the jewel, the tree of paradise, the apsarases and Lakṣmī. Last of all a wondrous youth stepped from the waves — dark, long-armed, conch-necked, garlanded, clad in yellow, bearing a jar brimming with amṛta. He was Dhanvantari, a portion of Viṣṇu himself, the founder of Āyurveda and receiver of a share in sacrifices. The Skanda Purāṇa adds the teaching of Yama to his messengers: whoever offers a lamp at dusk on this thirteenth shall not meet untimely death.

Regional traditions and folklore

The tale is told of King Hima’s son, fated to die of snakebite on the fourth night of his marriage. His young wife heaped her gold and silver at the threshold, lit lamps everywhere and sang through the night; Yama, coming as a serpent, was dazzled by the blaze, sat listening upon the heap till dawn, and went quietly away. Hence the buying of gold, silver and new vessels, and the Yama-dīpa. Physicians keep the day as Dhanvantari Jayantī and National Āyurveda Day; in Maharashtra dhaṇe-gūḷ (coriander seed and jaggery) is offered; cattle are worshipped in the south as Vasu-bārasa follows the day before.

Pūjā and havan

In the pradoṣa hour Lakṣmī, Kubera and Dhanvantari are worshipped with lamps, new coins, coriander seed and sweets. Then a four-wicked lamp of wheat flour and sesame oil is placed outside the main door facing south, with the Yama-dīpa verse; it is not looked back upon.

Mantras and japa 3

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय धन्वन्तरये अमृतकलशहस्ताय सर्वामयविनाशनाय त्रैलोक्यनाथाय श्रीमहाविष्णवे नमः ॥

oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya dhanvantaraye amṛta-kalaśa-hastāya sarvāmaya-vināśanāya trailokya-nāthāya śrī-mahā-viṣṇave namaḥ ||

Meaning: Salutation to the blessed Lord Vāsudeva as Dhanvantari, who holds the pot of nectar, destroyer of all disease, lord of the three worlds, the great Viṣṇu.

Benefit: Recited by physicians and the sick alike — for healing, vitality and a long, healthy life.

Traditional Dhanvantari mantra of the Āyurveda lineage

मृत्युना पाशदण्डाभ्यां कालेन श्यामया सह । त्रयोदश्यां दीपदानात् सूर्यजः प्रीयतां मम ॥

mṛtyunā pāśa-daṇḍābhyāṃ kālena śyāmayā saha | trayodaśyāṃ dīpa-dānāt sūryajaḥ prīyatāṃ mama ||

Meaning: By this gift of a lamp on the thirteenth, may Yama, son of the Sun — with Death, with noose and staff, with Time and with Śyāmā — be pleased with me.

Benefit: Spoken while the south-facing lamp is set at the threshold at dusk — it guards the household against untimely death.

Skanda Purāṇa — the Yama-dīpa-dāna of Kārttika

हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् । चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥

hiraṇya-varṇāṃ hariṇīṃ suvarṇa-rajata-srajām | candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha ||

Meaning: O Jātavedas (Agni), bring to me Lakṣmī — golden-hued, lovely as a doe, garlanded with gold and silver, radiant as the moon.

Benefit: The opening of the Śrī Sūkta — recited with a lamp lit for prosperity, grace, abundance of grain and cattle, and a home where Lakṣmī stays.

Śrī Sūkta 1 (Ṛgveda Khila 2.6)

Scriptural references 2

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.8.31–35
Skanda Purāṇa, Vaiṣṇava-khaṇḍa, Kārttika-māhātmya

Pradoṣa Vrata

Significance

The story from the scriptures

Skanda Purāṇa, Brāhma-khaṇḍa, Brahmottara-khaṇḍa 6–7; Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.7

The vrata

A fast from sunrise, broken after the twilight worship; kept on both thirteenths of the month.

Pūjā and havan

Mantras and japa 2

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॥

oṃ namaḥ śivāya ||

Meaning: Salutation to Śiva, the auspicious one.

Benefit: The five-syllable mantra at the heart of the Yajurveda — purifies the five elements of the body and steadies the mind in Śiva.

Śrī Rudram, Taittirīya Saṃhitā 4.5.8 — “namaḥ śivāya ca śivatarāya ca”

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ॥

oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā’mṛtāt ||

Meaning: We worship the three-eyed Lord, fragrant, the nourisher of all; as a ripe gourd is freed from its stalk, may he free us from death, not from immortality.

Benefit: The great death-conquering mantra — japa of 108 for health, long life, recovery from illness and fearlessness.

Ṛgveda 7.59.12 (Vasiṣṭha); Śukla Yajurveda 3.60

Scriptural references 2

Skanda Purāṇa, Brahmottara-khaṇḍa 6–7
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.7

31Thu

Thursday, 31 October 2024

Āśvina · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Caturdaśī · Citrā

About the day

Lunar month: Āśvina
Tithi at sunrise: dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa) Caturdaśī · until 15:53
Nakṣatra: Citrā
Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain): 06:31 · 17:49

Read the full daily column for this date →

Naraka Caturdaśī

Significance

The day light first breaks the darkness: Kṛṣṇa’s victory over Narakāsura. A pre-dawn oil bath — the abhyaṅga-snāna, held equal to a bath in the Gaṅgā — washes away the old year’s weariness. It is called Choṭī Dīvālī, Rūpa Caturdaśī and, in Bengal, Kālī Caudaś.

The story from the scriptures

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.59

Naraka, son of the Earth, lord of Prāgjyotiṣa, had stolen the umbrella of Varuṇa, the earrings of Aditi, mother of the gods, and the peak of Mount Meru, and held sixteen thousand princesses captive. At Indra’s plea Kṛṣṇa mounted Garuḍa with his queen Satyabhāmā and flew to the fortress-city ringed with mountains, weapons, water, fire and wind. He shattered each defence, slew the five-headed Mura and his seven sons, and at last struck off Naraka’s head with the Sudarśana disc. Mother Earth herself came forward, returned the earrings and umbrella, praised the Lord, and entrusted to him Naraka’s son Bhagadatta. Kṛṣṇa freed the sixteen thousand maidens, who chose him as their lord.

Regional traditions and folklore

In South India this is Dīpāvalī itself: the household wakes before dawn, elders anoint the young with sesame oil, new clothes are worn and the first crackers lit, and a bitter berry is crushed underfoot as Naraka. Goa burns great paper Narakāsuras at daybreak. In Bengal fourteen lamps are lit and fourteen greens eaten for fourteen generations of ancestors; in Gujarat Kālī Caudaś is kept for Hanumān and protection from harm.

Pūjā and havan

Oil bath before sunrise with ubṭan of gram flour and herbs; tarpaṇa to Yama with sesame by fourteen names; lamps lit at the doorway, in the kitchen, at the well and the cowshed; evening worship of Kṛṣṇa, Kālī or Hanumān according to region.

Mantras and japa 2

कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने । प्रणतक्लेशनाशाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः ॥

kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya haraye paramātmane | praṇata-kleśa-nāśāya govindāya namo namaḥ ||

Meaning: Salutations again and again to Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, Hari, the Supreme Self, Govinda — destroyer of the sorrows of those who bow to him.

Benefit: A prayer of surrender — recited for release from distress and bondage of every kind.

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.73.16 — the prayer of the kings freed from Jarāsandha

मनोजवं मारुततुल्यवेगं जितेन्द्रियं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम् । वातात्मजं वानरयूथमुख्यं श्रीरामदूतं शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥

manojavaṃ māruta-tulya-vegaṃ jitendriyaṃ buddhimatāṃ variṣṭham | vātātmajaṃ vānara-yūtha-mukhyaṃ śrīrāma-dūtaṃ śaraṇaṃ prapadye ||

Meaning: Swift as the mind, fast as the wind, master of the senses, foremost of the wise, son of the Wind, chief of the vānara host, messenger of Śrī Rāma — in him I take refuge.

Benefit: Recited for courage, strength, protection on journeys and freedom from fear.

Śrī Rāma-rakṣā-stotra 33 (Budha Kauśika)

Scriptural references 3

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.59
Viṣṇu Purāṇa 5.29
Harivaṃśa 2.63–64

Dīpāvalī

Significance

The festival of lights. On the darkest night of the year every home is cleaned, adorned and lit, and Mahālakṣmī — who rose from the ocean of milk and chose Viṣṇu — is welcomed with Gaṇeśa. It is the night Ayodhyā lit its lamps for Rāma’s return, the merchants’ new year, and in Bengal the night of Kālī.

The story from the scriptures

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.8; Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 127–128; Padma Purāṇa and Skanda Purāṇa, Kārttika-māhātmya

As the ocean of milk was churned, Śrī arose seated on a lotus, lighting all the quarters with her beauty. The rivers came in person with water for her bath, the earth brought herbs, the cows the five sacred gifts, spring its flowers, the sages the Vedic rites, and the elephants of the quarters poured water over her from golden jars. Holding a garland of lotuses she looked among gods, sages and asuras, found each great yet wanting, and placed it on the neck of Viṣṇu, in whom alone all virtues rest unshaken. The Rāmāyaṇa tells of Rāma’s return in the Puṣpaka chariot after fourteen years: Bharata had the roads levelled and sprinkled, banners raised, and every house adorned — and the people remember that welcome with rows of lamps. The Kārttika-māhātmya teaches that the gift of a lamp in this month outweighs every other gift.

Regional traditions and folklore

Gujarat and Marwar open new account books with Copaṛā-pūjana and Śāradā-pūjana; Bengal, Odisha and Assam worship Kālī at midnight; Odisha lights jute stalks to show the ancestors their way (Baṛabaṛuā Ḍākā); Varanasi and the Braj light their ghāṭs; in Tamil homes the day after the oil bath brings Lakṣmī-Kubera pūjā and the first visit of the newly married couple (Talai Dīpāvalī). Doors are left open all night, for Lakṣmī enters the home that is clean, bright and awake.

Pūjā and havan

In the pradoṣa hour, with Vṛṣabha (fixed) lagna preferred: a kalaśa is set, Gaṇeśa is worshipped first, then Mahālakṣmī on a red cloth with lotus, lājā (puffed rice), batāśā, coins, turmeric and the new account books, with Sarasvatī and Kubera. The Śrī Sūkta is recited — by tradition sixteen times — and a homa with lotus seeds, bilva and ghee may be offered. Lamps of sesame oil or ghee are placed in every room, at the tulasī and at the threshold.

Mantras and japa 3

हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् । चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥

hiraṇya-varṇāṃ hariṇīṃ suvarṇa-rajata-srajām | candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha ||

Meaning: O Jātavedas (Agni), bring to me Lakṣmī — golden-hued, lovely as a doe, garlanded with gold and silver, radiant as the moon.

Benefit: The opening of the Śrī Sūkta — recited with a lamp lit for prosperity, grace, abundance of grain and cattle, and a home where Lakṣmī stays.

Śrī Sūkta 1 (Ṛgveda Khila 2.6)

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ॥

oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ ||

Meaning: Salutation to Gaṇapati, lord of the hosts.

Benefit: Recited before every beginning — removes obstacles and grants success, learning and a steady intellect.

Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa Upaniṣad 7

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

sarva-maṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike | śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namo’stu te ||

Meaning: O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O consort of Śiva, accomplisher of every aim, refuge, three-eyed Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī — salutation to you.

Benefit: The best-loved verse of the Caṇḍī — recited for auspiciousness in the home, the fulfilment of rightful wishes and the Mother’s protection.

Devī Māhātmya 11.10 (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) — the gods’ hymn to Nārāyaṇī

Scriptural references 4

Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.8.8–24
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 127–128
Skanda Purāṇa, Vaiṣṇava-khaṇḍa, Kārttika-māhātmya
Śrī Sūkta

Mahāvīra Nirvāṇa Jain

Bandī Choṛ Divas Sikh

Reference shelf

The twenty-six Ekādaśīs 26

The year of twenty-four Ekādaśīs — outer ring bright fortnight, inner ring dark; the centre holds the two of the intercalary month

The Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, adhyāyas 38–63, tells the glory of each Ekādaśī as Śrī Kṛṣṇa told it to Yudhiṣṭhira. The cards give the amānta month; the Purāṇa speaks in the pūrṇimānta reckoning of North India, which writes each dark fortnight under the following month’s name — so a verse may say “Pauṣa” where the card says Mārgaśīrṣa. The day is the same. Each card opens onto its chapter in the Library.

Kāmadā

Caitra · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 47.4 ✓ verified against the edition

साधु पृष्टं त्वया राजन्कथयामि तवाग्रतः । चैत्रस्य शुक्लपक्षे तु कामदा नाम नामतः ॥ 4 ॥

Well asked, O king; I shall tell you: the one in the bright fortnight of Caitra is, by name, Kāmadā.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the gandharva Lalita, his wife Lalitā, and King Puṇḍarīka, whose curse the vow lifts

Varūthinī

Caitra · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 48.2 ✓ verified against the edition

सौभाग्यदायिनी राजन्निहलोके परत्र च । वैशाखकृष्णपक्षे तु नाम्ना चैव वरूथिनी ॥ 2 ॥

Giver of good fortune, O king, in this world and the next: the one in the dark fortnight of Vaiśākha is, by name, Varūthinī.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Māndhātā and Dhundhumāra, named as kings who kept it

Mohinī

Vaiśākha · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 49.7 ✓ verified against the edition

वैशाखस्य सिते पक्षे राम चैकादशी भवेत् । मोहिनी नाम सा प्रोक्ता सर्वपापहरापराः ॥ 7 ॥

In the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha, O Rāma, the Ekādaśī that falls is called Mohinī, the supreme remover of all sin.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Dhṛṣṭabuddhi, son of the merchant Dhanapāla, and the sage Kauṇḍinya; Rāma is the questioner

Aparā

Vaiśākha · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 50.3 ✓ verified against the edition

अपरा नाम राजेंद्र अपरा पुत्रदायिनी । लोके प्रसिद्धितां याति अपरां यस्तु सेवते ॥ 3 ॥

Her name is Aparā, O king of kings; Aparā grants sons; whoever keeps Aparā attains renown in the world.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Nirjalā

Jyeṣṭha · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 51.19 ✓ verified against the edition

वृषस्थे मिथुनस्थे वा यदा चैकादशी भवेत् । ज्येष्ठमासे प्रयत्नेन सोपोष्योदकवर्जिता ॥ 19 ॥

When the Ekādaśī falls with the Sun in Vṛṣabha or in Mithuna, in the month of Jyeṣṭha, it is to be fasted with care, without even water.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Bhīma (Vṛkodara), who cannot bear hunger, and Vyāsa, who gives him this one waterless fast

Yoginī

Jyeṣṭha · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 52.3 ✓ verified against the edition

आषाढस्यासिते पक्षे योगिनी नाम नामतः । एकादशी नृपश्रेष्ठ महापातकनाशिनी ॥ 3 ॥

In the dark fortnight of Āṣāḍha the Ekādaśī is, by name, Yoginī, O best of kings — destroyer of the great sins.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the yakṣa Hemamālī of Alakā and the sage Mārkaṇḍeya

Śayanī (Devaśayanī)

Āṣāḍha · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 53.2 ✓ verified against the edition

कथयामि महापुण्यां स्वर्गमोक्षप्रदायिनीम् । शयनीं नामनामेति सर्वपापहरां पराम् ॥ 2 ॥

I shall tell of the greatly meritorious one, giver of heaven and liberation — Śayanī by name, the supreme remover of all sin.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Bali and Vāmana — in this recension the three strides are told here, in answer to “how do You sleep, and how do You dwell with Bali?”

Kāmikā

Āṣāḍha · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 54.5 ✓ verified against the edition

ब्रह्मोवाच- । शृणु नारद ते वच्मि लोकानां हितकाम्यया । श्रावणैकादशी कृष्णा कामिका नाम नामतः ॥ 5 ॥

Brahmā said: Hear, Nārada, I tell you for the good of the worlds: the dark Ekādaśī of Śrāvaṇa is, by name, Kāmikā.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Brahmā teaching Nārada; the worship of Hari with tulasī

Putradā (Pavitrā)

Śrāvaṇa · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 55.32 ✓ verified against the edition

श्रावणे शुक्लपक्षे तु पुत्रदा नाम विश्रुता । एकादशी वांच्छितदा कुरुध्वं तद्व्रतं जनाः ॥ 32 ॥

In the bright fortnight of Śrāvaṇa she is famed as Putradā, the Ekādaśī that grants what is wished; keep her vow, O people.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 55.36 ✓ verified against the edition

द्वादश्यां वासुदेवाय पवित्रारोपणं स्मृतम् । हेम रौप्य ताम्र क्षौमैः सूत्रैः कौशेयपद्मजैः ॥ 36 ॥

On the Dvādaśī the pavitrāropaṇa — the offering of the sacred thread — to Vāsudeva is taught, with threads of gold, silver, copper, linen, silk and lotus-fibre.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: King Mahījit and the sage Lomaśa; the pavitrāropaṇa follows on the Dvādaśī

Ajā (Annadā)

Śrāvaṇa · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 56.2 ✓ verified against the edition

शृणुष्वैकमना राजन्कथयिष्यामि विस्तरात् । अजेति नामतः प्रोक्ता सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी ॥ 2 ॥

Listen with one mind, O king, I shall tell it in full: she is called Ajā by name, destroyer of all sins.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the sage Gautama, who gives the vow to a fallen king

Parivartinī

Bhādrapada · bright fortnight (śukla)

in the verse: Padmā

Padma Purāṇa 57.5 ✓ verified against the edition

पद्मा नामेति विख्याता नभस्यैकादशी सिता । हृषीकेशः पूज्यतेऽस्यां कर्त्तव्यं व्रतमुत्तमम् ॥ 5 ॥

The bright Ekādaśī of Nabhasya (Bhādrapada) is famed by the name Padmā; on it Hṛṣīkeśa is worshipped and the excellent vow is to be kept.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the emperor Māndhātā, whose kingdom has no rain for three years

Indirā

Bhādrapada · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 58.2 ✓ verified against the edition

आश्विने कृष्णपक्षे तु इंदिरा नाम नामतः । तस्या व्रतप्रभावेन महापापं प्रणश्यति ॥ 2 ॥

In the dark fortnight of Āśvina she is, by name, Indirā; by the power of her vow great sin perishes.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: King Indrasena, whose father asks for the merit of this vow

Pāpāṅkuśā

Āśvina · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 59.3 ✓ verified against the edition

पापांकुशेति विख्याता सर्वपापहरा परा । पद्मनाभाभिधानं मां पूजयेत्तत्र मानवः ॥ 3 ॥

She is famed as Pāpāṅkuśā, the supreme remover of all sin; on it a person should worship Me under the name Padmanābha.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the worship of Viṣṇu as Padmanābha

Ramā

Āśvina · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 60.2 ✓ verified against the edition

श्रूयतां राजशार्दूल कथयामि तवाग्रतः । कार्त्तिके कृष्णपक्षे तु रमा नाम सुशोभना ॥ 2 ॥

Listen, tiger among kings, I shall tell you: in the dark fortnight of Kārttika is the very beautiful one named Ramā.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: King Mucukunda, his daughter Candrabhāgā and her husband Śobhana

Prabodhinī (Devotthānī)

Kārttika · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 61.5 ✓ verified against the edition

तावद्गर्जंति तीर्थानि आसमुद्रसरांसि च । यावत्प्रबोधिनी विष्णोस्तिथिर्नायाति कार्तिके ॥ 5 ॥

The tīrthas, down to the ocean and the lakes, boast only so long as Prabodhinī, Viṣṇu’s own tithi, has not arrived in Kārttika.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Brahmā teaching Nārada; the night on which Govinda wakes, kept with a vigil

Utpannā

Kārttika · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 38.65 ✓ verified against the edition

देवता निर्जिताः सर्वाः स्वर्गभ्रष्टाः कृताः प्रभो । अत्युग्रेण हि दैत्येन मुरनाम्ना महौजसा । इंद्रस्य वचनं श्रुत्वा विष्णुर्वचनमब्रवीत् ॥ 65 ॥

All the gods have been defeated and cast out of heaven, O Lord, by the exceedingly fierce and mighty daitya named Mura. Hearing Indra’s words, Viṣṇu spoke.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the daitya Mura of Candrāvatī, who drives the gods from heaven — the chapter of Ekādaśī’s own origin

Mokṣadā

Mārgaśīrṣa · bright fortnight (śukla)

in the verse: Mokṣā

Padma Purāṇa 39.9 ✓ verified against the edition

मोक्षा नामेति सा प्रोक्ता सर्वपापहरा परा । देवं दामोदरं राजन्पूजयेच्च प्रयत्नतः ॥ 9 ॥

She is called Mokṣā by name, the supreme remover of all sin; on it, O king, one should carefully worship the Lord Dāmodara.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 39.11 ✓ verified against the edition

मोक्षा चैकादशी नाम्ना महापातकनाशिनी । रात्रौ जागरणं कार्यं नृत्यगीतस्तवैर्मम ॥ 11 ॥

The Ekādaśī named Mokṣā destroys the great sins; at night a vigil is to be kept, with dance, song and hymns to Me.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: King Vaikhānasa and the sage Parvata; Dāmodara is worshipped, with a night vigil

Saphalā

Mārgaśīrṣa · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 40.4 ✓ verified against the edition

सत्यमेतन्न वै मिथ्या धर्मिष्ठानां विशारद । पौषस्य कृष्णपक्षे या सफला नाम नामतः ॥ 4 ॥

This is true and not false, O best knower of the righteous: the one in the dark fortnight of Pauṣa is, by name, Saphalā.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 40.9 ✓ verified against the edition

सफलायां फलै राजन्पूजयेन्नामतो हरिम् । नारिकेलफलैश्चैव क्रमुकैर्बीजपूरकैः ॥ 9 ॥

On Saphalā, O king, one should worship Hari by name with fruits — with coconuts, areca nuts and citrons.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Lumpaka, the wayward son of King Māhiṣmata; Hari is worshipped with fruits

Putradā (Pauṣa)

Pauṣa · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 41.4 ✓ verified against the edition

पूर्वेण विधिना राजन्कर्त्तव्यैषा प्रयत्नतः । पुत्रदा नाम नाम्ना सा सर्वपापहरा परा ॥ 4 ॥

It is to be kept with care, O king, by the procedure given before; by name she is Putradā, the supreme remover of all sin.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: King Suketumān of Bhadrāvatī

Ṣaṭtilā

Pauṣa · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 42.21 ✓ verified against the edition

तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि स्वर्गलोके महीयते । तिलस्नायी तिलोद्वर्ती तिलहोमी तिलोदकी ॥ 21 ॥

… for so many thousand years he is honoured in heaven. Bathing with sesame, rubbing the body with sesame, offering sesame into the fire, sesame in water —

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 42.22 ✓ verified against the edition

तिलदाता च भोक्ता च षट्तिलाः पापनाशनाः । कृष्णकृष्ण महाबाहो नमस्ते विश्वभावन ॥ 22 ॥

— giving sesame and eating it: these six sesames (ṣaṭ-tila) destroy sin. “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, mighty-armed, homage to you, maker of all.”

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Pulastya telling Dālabhya; the six uses of sesame (tila) that give the day its name

Jayā

Māgha · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 43.4 ✓ verified against the edition

कथयिष्यामि राजेंद्र शुक्ले माघस्य या भवेत् । जया नामेति विख्याता सर्वपापहरा परा ॥ 4 ॥

I shall tell you, O king of kings, of the one in the bright half of Māgha: she is famed by the name Jayā, the supreme remover of all sin.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Mālyavān and Puṣpavatī of Indra’s court

Vijayā

Māgha · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 44.2 ✓ verified against the edition

नारदः परिपप्रच्छ ब्रह्माणं कमलासनम् । फाल्गुनस्यासिते पक्षे विजयानाम नामतः । तस्याः पुण्यं द्विजश्रेष्ठ कथयस्व प्रसादतः ॥ 2 ॥

Nārada asked the lotus-seated Brahmā: “The one in the dark fortnight of Phālguna, Vijayā by name — tell me her merit, O best of the twice-born, by your grace.”

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: Rāma at the ocean and the sage Dālbhya

Āmalakī

Phālguna · bright fortnight (śukla)

Padma Purāṇa 45.3 ✓ verified against the edition

फाल्गुनस्य विशेषेण विशेषः कथितो नृप । आमलकीव्रतं पुण्यं विष्णुलोकफलप्रदम् ॥ 3 ॥

A special observance of Phālguna has been told, O king: the holy Āmalakī vow, which yields the fruit of Viṣṇu’s world.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 45.4 ✓ verified against the edition

आमलक्यास्तले गत्वा जागरं तत्र कारयेत् । कृत्वा जागरणं रात्रौ गोसहस्रफलं लभेत् ॥ 4 ॥

Going beneath an āmalakī tree one should keep the vigil there; keeping the vigil through the night one gains the fruit of a thousand cows.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: a vigil beneath the āmalakī tree; Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma) is named in the worship

Pāpamocanī

Phālguna · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

Padma Purāṇa 46.4 ✓ verified against the edition

चैत्रमास्यसिते पक्षे नाम्ना वै पापमोचनी । एकादशी समाख्याता पिशाचत्वविनाशिनी ॥ 4 ॥

In the dark fortnight of the month of Caitra the Ekādaśī is known by the name Pāpamocanī, destroyer of the piśāca state.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

In the chapter: the sage Medhāvī, son of Cyavana, and the apsaras Mañjughoṣā

Kamalā (popularly Paramā)

Adhika (intercalary) month · dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa)

in the verse: Kamalā

Padma Purāṇa 62.6 ✓ verified against the edition

अधिमासे तु संप्राप्ते भवेदेकादशी तु या । कमला नाम सा नाम्ना तिथीनामुत्तमा तिथिः ॥ 6 ॥

When the intercalary month arrives, the Ekādaśī that falls in it is, by name, Kamalā — the best tithi among tithis.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Kāmadā (popularly Padminī)

Adhika (intercalary) month · bright fortnight (śukla)

in the verse: Kāmadā

Padma Purāṇa 63.4 ✓ verified against the edition

एकादशी कलौ राजन्भवबंधविमोचनी । कामदा सर्वकामानां पापानां पापहा भुवि ॥ 4 ॥

In the Kali age, O king, the Ekādaśī frees from the bonds of worldly existence: Kāmadā, granter of all desires, destroyer of sins on earth.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Kinds of Ekādaśī, and the rites around the fast 6

Trispṛśā

One civil day touched by three tithis — Ekādaśī, then Dvādaśī, and Trayodaśī before the night is out.

Padma Purāṇa 34.47 ✓ verified against the edition

हत्यायुतशतं हंति त्रिस्पृशा समुपोषिता । एकादशी द्वादशी च रात्रिशेषे त्रयोदशी ॥ 47 ॥

Trispṛśā, when fasted, destroys a hundred ayutas of killings: it is Ekādaśī, then Dvādaśī, and at the end of the night Trayodaśī.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Pakṣavardhinī

Named when the fortnight’s closing Amāvāsyā or Pūrṇimā runs a full sixty nāḍikās and spills into the Pratipad day.

Padma Purāṇa 36.2 ✓ verified against the edition

अमा वा यदि वा पूर्णा संपूर्णा जायते तदा । भूत्वा वै नाडिकाषष्ठिर्जायते प्रतिपद्दिने । अश्वमेधायुतैस्तुल्या सा भवेत्पक्षवर्द्धिनी ॥ 2 ॥

When the Amāvāsyā or the Pūrṇimā runs complete — a full sixty nāḍikās — and continues into the Pratipad day, that is Pakṣavardhinī, equal to ten thousand horse-sacrifices.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Jayā and Vijayā — named by the star

A bright Ekādaśī under Punarvasu is Jayā; a bright Dvādaśī under Śravaṇa is Vijayā. The chapter goes on to Jayantī and Pāpanāśinī in the same way.

Padma Purāṇa 38.5 ✓ verified against the edition

एकादश्यां यदा ऋक्षं शुक्लपक्षे पुनर्वसुः । नाम्ना सा च जया ख्याता तिथीनामुत्तमा तिथिः ॥ 5 ॥

When, on an Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight, the star is Punarvasu, that tithi is known by the name Jayā — the best of tithis.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 38.6 ✓ verified against the edition

तामुपोष्य नरः पापान्मुच्यते नात्र संशयः । यदा च शुक्लद्वादश्यां नक्षत्रं श्रवणं भवेत् ॥ 6 ॥

Fasting on it a person is freed from sins, without doubt. And when on the bright Dvādaśī the star is Śravaṇa —

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 38.7 ✓ verified against the edition

विजया सा समाख्याता तिथीनामुत्तमा तिथिः । सहस्रगुणितं दानं यस्यां वै विप्र भोजनम् ॥ 7 ॥

— that is called Vijayā, the best of tithis, on which a gift and the feeding of a brāhmaṇa are multiplied a thousandfold.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Jāgaraṇa — the night vigil

A whole adhyāya is given to the vigil; the Mokṣā chapter says how it is kept — with dance, song and hymns.

Padma Purāṇa 37.1 ✓ verified against the edition

शृणु नारद वक्ष्यामि माहात्म्यं जागरस्य च । यच्छ्रुत्वा मुक्तिमाप्नोति महापापी न संशयः ॥ 1 ॥

Hear, Nārada: I shall tell the greatness of the vigil (jāgara), hearing which even a great sinner attains liberation — of this there is no doubt.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 39.11 ✓ verified against the edition

मोक्षा चैकादशी नाम्ना महापातकनाशिनी । रात्रौ जागरणं कार्यं नृत्यगीतस्तवैर्मम ॥ 11 ॥

The Ekādaśī named Mokṣā destroys the great sins; at night a vigil is to be kept, with dance, song and hymns to Me.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Dvādaśī — worship after the fast

The fast is on the Ekādaśī; Janārdana is worshipped by rule on the Dvādaśī.

Padma Purāṇa 233.18 ✓ verified against the edition

एकादश्यामुपोष्याथ भक्त्या चैव जनार्दनम् । द्वादश्यामर्च्चनं चक्रुर्विधिना वरवर्णिनि ॥ 18 ॥

Having fasted on the Ekādaśī with devotion, they worshipped Janārdana on the Dvādaśī according to rule.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Pavitrāropaṇa — the thread-offering of Śrāvaṇa

Offered to Viṣṇu in Śrāvaṇa; the text says it completes the whole year’s worship.

Padma Purāṇa 86.1 ✓ verified against the edition

श्रावणे मासि संप्राप्ते पवित्रारोपणो विधिः । यस्मिन्कृते तु देवेशि दिव्यभक्तिः प्रजायते ॥ 1 ॥

When the month of Śrāvaṇa arrives there is the rite of pavitrāropaṇa, by doing which, O goddess, divine devotion arises.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 86.2 ✓ verified against the edition

पवित्रारोपणं विष्णोः कर्तव्यं श्रद्धया बुधैः । संपूर्णा जायते तस्य पूजा पार्वति वार्षिकी ॥ 2 ॥

The wise should perform Viṣṇu’s pavitrāropaṇa with faith; by it one’s worship for the whole year becomes complete.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

Padma Purāṇa 55.36 ✓ verified against the edition

द्वादश्यां वासुदेवाय पवित्रारोपणं स्मृतम् । हेम रौप्य ताम्र क्षौमैः सूत्रैः कौशेयपद्मजैः ॥ 36 ॥

On the Dvādaśī the pavitrāropaṇa — the offering of the sacred thread — to Vāsudeva is taught, with threads of gold, silver, copper, linen, silk and lotus-fibre.

English rendering by Horā — the edition on file carries a Hindi commentary only.

What the text asks of the day

Read together, the chapters ask for the same few things: the fast on the Ekādaśī (waterless, on Nirjalā); worship of Viṣṇu under the name the chapter gives — Dāmodara, Hṛṣīkeśa, Padmanābha; an offering that suits the day — fruits on Saphalā, sesame on Ṣaṭtilā, tulasī on Kāmikā; the vigil through the night with song and hymn; and worship again on the Dvādaśī before the fast is broken. The japa of the day is the dvādaśākṣarī, oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, with the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma.

Eclipses (grahaṇa)

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.1 ✓ verified against the edition

अमृतास्वादविशेषाग्छिन्नमपि शिरः किलासुरस्यैदम् । प्राणैः अपरित्यक्तं ग्रहतां यातं वदन्त्येके ॥ ५.१॥

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.8 ✓ verified against the edition

भूच्छायां स्वग्रहणे भास्करमर्कग्रहे प्रविशतीन्दुः । प्रग्रहणमतः पश्चान् नेन्दोः भानोश्च पूर्वार्धात् ॥ ५.८॥

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.13 ✓ verified against the edition

एवमुपरागकारणमुक्तमिदं दिव्यदृग्भिः आचार्यैः । राहुः अकारणमस्मिन् इत्युक्तः शास्त्रसद्भावः ॥ ५.१३॥

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.14 ✓ verified against the edition

योऽसौअसुरो राहुः तस्य वरो ब्रह्मणाऽयमाज्ञप्तः । आप्यायनमुपरागे दत्तहुतांशेन ते भविता ॥ ५.१४॥

This boon was ordained by Brahma for that demon Rahu: ‘At the time of an eclipse, you shall have your due share of the offered oblation.’

Bṛhat Saṁhitā 5.16 ✓ verified against the edition

न कथंचिदपि निमित्तैः ग्रहणं विज्ञायते निमित्तानि । अन्यस्मिन् अपि काले भवन्त्यथौत्पातरूपाणि ॥ ५.१६॥

An eclipse can in no way be known merely by omens; omens, in the form of portents, also occur at other times unrelated to eclipses.

The coming eclipses

Solar eclipse annular Sat, 6 Feb, 2027 · 21:29 IST
Lunar eclipse penumbral Sun, 21 Feb, 2027 · 04:42 IST
Lunar eclipse penumbral Sun, 18 Jul, 2027 · 21:33 IST
Solar eclipse total Mon, 2 Aug, 2027 · 15:36 IST
Lunar eclipse penumbral Tue, 17 Aug, 2027 · 12:43 IST
Solar eclipse annular Wed, 26 Jan, 2028 · 20:37 IST

Month planner Today’s column The Library

October 2024

This month’s festivals 14

Pitṛ Pakṣa — the fortnight of the ancestors

Mahālaya — Sarvapitṛ Amāvāsyā

Amāvāsyā — the new moon

Solar eclipse · annular Greatest eclipse (IST) 00:15

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Śārada Navarātri

Durgāṣṭamī

Śārada Navarātri

Vijayā Daśamī (Dasarā)

Pāpāṅkuśā Ekādaśī

Pradoṣa Vrata

Śarad Pūrṇimā (Kojāgarī)

Pūrṇimā — the full moon

Karaka Caturthī (Karvā Chauth)

Saṅkaṣṭī Caturthī

Ramā Ekādaśī

Dhana Trayodaśī (Dhanteras)

Pradoṣa Vrata

Māsika Śivarātri

Naraka Caturdaśī

Dīpāvalī

Mahāvīra Nirvāṇa Jain

Bandī Choṛ Divas Sikh

Reference shelf

Trispṛśā

Pakṣavardhinī

Jayā and Vijayā — named by the star

Jāgaraṇa — the night vigil

Dvādaśī — worship after the fast

Pavitrāropaṇa — the thread-offering of Śrāvaṇa

What the text asks of the day

The coming eclipses