Bhū-Dvādaśī and Kubja-kāmra
The Bhū-Dvādaśī, also called the Dharaṇī Vrata, is a year-long vrata kept on the bright ekādaśī and dvādaśī (the eleventh and twelfth lunar days) of the month of Mārgaśīrsha. In it Bhagavān Vishṇu is worshipped through the year, and Bhū-devī, the Earth devī, is given special honour. The vrata ends with the gift (dāna) of a golden image of the Earth. The Varāha Purāṇa tells it through the account of an ancient king who kept this vrata under a great mango tree. There Bhagavān Vishṇu came in the form of a small brāhmaṇa and the huge mango tree shrank. This is how the tīrtha (holy place) called Kubja-kāmra, “the bent mango tree”, arose. After this wonder the king was given moksha by the touch of Janārdana’s conch.
The question
A king asks Agastya to tell him the vrata that is the best of all vratas, the one that surely brings the grace of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Agastya answers that it is the vrata of the bright dvādaśī of Mārgaśīrsha, kept over a full year in a set cycle. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55)
The yearly cycle of the vrata
The first period (from Mārgaśīrsha). From the first day (pratipat) of the bright half of Mārgaśīrsha, the follower takes only one meal a day. He keeps this through the daśamī (tenth day). On the afternoon of daśamī he bathes, worships Bhagavān Vishṇu, and makes the formal vow (saṃkalpa) for the dvādaśī vrata. He stays in this way through ekādaśī. On dvādaśī he performs the worship and gives barleycorn (yava) as dāna to a worthy brāhmaṇa. During the worship, the fire offering (homa) and the ritual worship (arcana), Hari is praised with the mantra:
Oṃ namaḥ kṛshṇāya.
Caitra to Āshāḍha (the second four months). After the first four months the observance begins again in Caitra and goes on for four more months. In this time the dāna is puffed rice (pēla piṇḍi) and gold coins, given to the best Veda scholars. The fast on ekādaśī and the breaking of the fast (pāraṇa) on dvādaśī are the same.
Śrāvaṇa onward (the third four months). In the months beginning with Śrāvaṇa, rice is given as dāna. The cycle ends when it comes round to Kārtika, in the same pattern. In the Kārtika observance, on dvādaśī, the Earth (Bhū-devī) is honoured in a special way. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55)
The worship of Bhū-devī on dvādaśī
On the dvādaśī of the last month the follower decorates the ground with care. He sets up an image of Bhū-devī before Hari by the bhūmi-nyāsa method. The image has golden limbs, with figures of Pātāla and of the kula-parvatas (the seven great mountain ranges). It is wrapped in two white cloths and filled with seeds of every kind. Bhū-devī is worshipped with five gems and is addressed as “Priya-dattā” (the dearly given one).
That night a vigil (jāgara) is kept. The next morning twenty-four brāhmaṇas are invited. To each is given one cow, one bull, a pair of garments, a ring, earrings, golden kuṇḍalas and one village as dāna. Among them a poor brāhmaṇa receives a special gift of ornaments and two garments, the best of all. A golden image of the Earth is made and given, with two cows and two garments. On every bright and dark dvādaśī through the year, pairs of cows and ornaments are given. A silver image of Bhū-devī may also be made, as far as one can afford, and given to brāhmaṇas with food, sandals, footwear and an umbrella. The closing mantra is:
May Kṛshṇa, Dāmodara, Viśvarūpa and Hari always be pleased with me.
(Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55)
The king at the mango tree and the origin of Kubja-kāmra
In the first age (ādi-yuga) there was a king firm in his vratas and deeply learned in the Vedas. He wished for a son and went to Brahmā, who taught him this same vrata. The king kept it faithfully. When it was complete, Bhagavān Vishṇu, the self (ātmā) of all, was pleased and appeared before him: “O king, ask for the best vara (boon).”
The king asked:
“Give me a son who knows the Vedic mantras, is skilled in yajñas, devoted to yajña, famous, long-lived, of countless virtues, like Brahmā himself, and wholly without fault.”
He also asked: “And after my death give me the auspicious place that the munis long for, the place where sorrow does not arise.”
Bhagavān Vishṇu granted both and vanished. The son born to the king was named Vatśaśrī. He knew the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, performed yajñas, and was famous over the whole earth.
After he had enjoyed his kingdom, the king gave it to Vatśaśrī. He gave up all dualities, set his mind on tapas, and went to the beautiful Himavat range. There he gave up all food, held his senses in check, and praised and worshipped Hari without a break.
His stotra (hymn of praise) to Janārdana rang out beneath a vast mango tree. He called Bhagavān Vishṇu the one who rests on the milk-ocean, the bearer of the earth, the highest goal of all embodied beings, beyond the senses, without form and yet the bearer of the universe, the ancient Purushottama, the wielder of the conch (śaṅkha), mace (gadā) and sword (khaḍga). He praised all the avatāras: Kūrma, Matsya, Varāha, Narasiṃha, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, the destroyer of Rāvaṇa, Vāsudeva, Buddha and Kalkī. He called Vishṇu the very form of yajña, of the offering, of the animal offered, and of the result of the yajña.
While the king praised him from beneath the great mango tree, Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased. He came there in a small dwarf form (gujju-rūpa, a short or shrunken form). The moment he arrived, the huge mango tree shrank and became small. The king was amazed and said: “Why has this great tree shrunk?” Then he saw that the little brāhmaṇa before him was none other than Purushottama himself. The king bowed to the ground and begged to see his divine form. Bhagavān Vishṇu showed himself with the conch, the discus (cakra) and the mace, and said: “O king, because I came here and this great mango tree became kuñcita (bent, small), this tīrtha will from now on be known as Kubja-kāmra.” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55)
The promise of Kubja-kāmra tīrtha
Bhagavān Vishṇu said: “From the lowest creature to the highest brāhmaṇa, anyone who leaves the body at this tīrtha will have five hundred divine vimānas (heavenly chariots) come for him. For yogins, liberation (mukti) itself will be the reward, straight away.”
The king asked only for moksha. Janārdana touched him with the tip of his conch, and by that one touch the king reached the highest state (paramapada), nirvāṇa. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55)
The fruit of the vrata
The text ends by saying that the result of keeping this vrata, of giving dāna, and of feeding the brāhmaṇas as taught, cannot be told even in a thousand years. One who keeps this holy vrata enjoys every kind of prosperity and at the end merges into that Paramātman. Whoever reads or hears this account every day on waking gains the fruit of dharma and liberation. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55)
Sources
- Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 55