Kārtika Vrata Māhātmya (Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa)

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa teaches the Kārtika vrata, a vow kept through the whole month of Kārtika (October to November) for Bhagavān Vishṇu. The teaching is part of the account of Daśaratha’s earlier birth, in Sāra Khaṇḍa, Sarga 5. There two good women, Puṇyaśīla (the virtuous one) and Suśīla (the well-natured one), explain how the vrata is kept and what it gives.

The setting

In his earlier birth Daśaratha was the brāhmaṇa Dharmadatta. He met the two women, Puṇyaśīla and Suśīla. They told him how the Kārtika vrata is kept and what it gives. This teaching is linked to Dharmadatta’s freeing of the preta (restless spirit) Kalahā, and to his later birth as Daśaratha.

How the vrata is kept

The vrata is kept through the whole month of Kārtika. Its main parts are these.

  • Bathing before dawn (prātaḥ-snāna). One bathes before sunrise every day of the month, best in a sacred river, tank or well. The bath before dawn in Kārtika is said to have great power to cleanse.
  • Lamp offering (dīpa-dāna). Lighting lamps every day, above all in the evening, is a central practice. Lamps offered to Bhagavān Vishṇu in Kārtika destroy pāpa (sin) that has gathered and bring great puṇya (merit). Even one lamp offered with a true heart gives puṇya equal to great yajñas (fire rituals).
  • Pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Every day, with tulasī (holy basil), flowers and devotional recitation.
  • Rules for food. One fasts or limits food: leaving out some foods, eating only once a day (ekabhukta), or eating only uncooked food (nakta). How strict one is depends on one’s strength.
  • Gift of food (anna-dāna). Giving food in Kārtika brings very great puṇya. One feeds brāhmaṇas, devotees, the poor and hungry animals during the month.
  • Pūjā of Tulasī. Special pūjā of the Tulasī plant, above all at the Tulasī-vivāha, the sacred marriage of Tulasī with Śāligrāma (Bhagavān Vishṇu), held on Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī.

The fruits of the vrata

The text lists these among the many fruits of the Kārtika vrata.

  • Freedom from great pāpa. Even the pāpa of brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa) can be destroyed by keeping the vrata with a true heart.
  • Moksha. The vrata is a direct path to moksha (liberation) for devoted people.
  • Wishes fulfilled. Worldly wishes, children, health and wealth are given to those who keep the vrata with devotion.
  • Removal of pitṛ-dosha. The vrata helps those troubled by debts to the ancestors.
  • A cleansed home. A home where the Kārtika vrata is kept is free from harmful forces, illness and quarrels.

Trijaṭā’s vara

In another part of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, in Sarga 12, Rāma gives Trijaṭā a special vara (a boon). Trijaṭā is the rākshasī who guarded Sītā in the Aśoka grove. The vara concerns bathing vows in four months: Kārtika, Vaiśākha, Māgha and Caitra.

Rāma says that in each of these months, for three days after the pūrṇimā (full moon), those who bathe and remember Trijaṭā will give the puṇya of their monthly vow to her. Those who do not do so will lose that month’s puṇya to Trijaṭā.

The Skanda Purāṇa on Kārtika

The Skanda Mahāpurāṇa also has a long Kārtika Māhātmya, in its Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa. In it the month of Kārtika is praised as the most sacred month, and Bhagavān Vishṇu is said to be especially pleased by pūjā in this month.

Sources

  • Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Sāra Khaṇḍa, Sarga 5 (the Kārtika vrata, in the account of Daśaratha’s earlier birth)
  • Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Sarga 12 (Trijaṭā’s vara)
  • Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Kārtika Māhātmya