Caturdaśī Vratas (Nārada Purāṇa)
Caturdaśī Vrata, simply known as Chaturdashi Vratas, Sanskrit: चतुर्दशी व्रत, Telugu: చతుర్దశి వ్రతాలు, Hindi: चतुर्दशी व्रत.
Caturdaśī is the fourteenth lunar day (tithi) of each fortnight. Here are the vratas of Caturdaśī through the twelve months, as Sanātana Maharshi taught them in the Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, chapter 123. Bhagavān Śiva is the chief deva of the day. Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha, Yama and Durgā also have vratas on it.
Some words used below: upavāsa is a fast, eka-bhukta is one meal a day, dāna is a gift, dakshiṇā is the fee given to a brāhmaṇa, upacāra is an item of offering in pūjā, phala is the fruit of a rite, and bhukti-mukti is enjoyment in this world together with mukti (release).
The vratas month by month
Caitra Śukla Caturdaśī: Mahā-Śiva-pūjā
Worship Bhagavān Śiva with kuṅkuma, agaru, gandha (fragrance), clothes and jewels, and with the complete upacāras. Worship the Mātṛ-devatās (mother devīs) with a canopy (vitāna), flags (dhvaja) and umbrellas (chattra). Keep an upavāsa or eka-bhukta. Phala: the puṇya (merit) of the aśvamedha and other yajñas.
Also do damana-arcana, worship with the damana herb. Bhagavān Śiva should receive the damana on Pūrṇimā as well.
Vaiśākha Bāhula Caturdaśī: Śiva Vrata
Keep an upavāsa. Bathe in the evening (sāyaṃkāla) and wear washed clothes (dhauta-vastra). Worship the Śivaliṅga with gandha and offerings of bilva leaves. This Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī vrata is also prescribed on all Kṛshṇa Caturdaśīs for people who want wealth (dhana) and children (santāna).
Vaiśākha Śukla Caturdaśī: Nṛsiṃha Caturdaśī
Those who are able keep an upavāsa. Those who are not able keep eka-bhukta. In the evening, worship Śrī Nṛsiṃhasvāmī, the destroyer of rākshasas, with the sixteen upacāras (shoḍaśopacāra) and a bath in the five nectars (pañcāmṛta-snāna). Then pray for forgiveness (kshamā):
Suvarṇa-keśa, blazing eyes like fire, nails sharp as vajra: O Nṛsiṃha, salutations.
Lie on the ground. Conquer the senses. Conquer anger. Give up all bhoga (pleasures). Fast as prescribed. Phala: all bhoga in this life; at death, the feet (pada) of Śrī Hari.
Oṃkāreśvara Yātrā. Visit Oṃkāreśvara on this day. Darśana (sight) alone destroys all pāpas. Dhyāna (meditation), pūjā with dhyāna, japa and darśana all give jñāna (knowledge) and moksha.
Liṅga Vrata. Bathe a Śivaliṅga with pañcāmṛta. Worship it with kuṅkuma and all the upacāras. Offer incense, a lamp and naivedya (food offering), fruit, clothes and ornaments. Worship a Śivaliṅga made of piṇḍī (flour). Phala: bhukti-mukti by the grace of Mahādeva.
Jyeshṭha Śukla Caturdaśī: Pañcāgni-Rudra Vrata
Stand in the middle of five fires during the day. At night, worship the Homa-dhenu (the fire-cow). This is the Rudra vrata.
Āshāḍha Śukla Caturdaśī
Worship Bhagavān Śiva with flowers that grow in the time and place proper to the devas (deva-kāla-udbhava-pushpas). One receives all kinds of wealth (sarva-sampadas).
Śrāvaṇa Śukla Caturdaśī: Pavittrāropaṇa
Perform the Pavittrāropaṇa (the putting on of the sacred thread, pavitra) according to one’s own śākhā (branch of the Veda). Have the pavitra-sūtra chanted over with a hundred abhimantras and present it to Devī Umā. Phala for both women and men: bhukti-mukti by the grace of Umādevī.
Bhādrapada Śukla Caturdaśī: Ananta Vrata
Worship Ananta (Bhagavān Vishṇu) with an offering of wheat flour (godhūma-piṇḍi), sugar (śarkarā) and ghee, mixed and cooked. Offer it with gandha and present it as naivedya to Ananta. Tie a new kaṅkaṇa (sacred thread): make a thread with fourteen knots, in cotton or leather. Remove the old one and throw it into water. The new kaṅkaṇa is tied on the right arm of men and the left arm of women. Cook pindivantālu, give it with dakshiṇā to a brāhmaṇa, and eat only a little. Keep the vrata for fourteen years, and then perform the udyāpana.
Udyāpana. The concluding rite goes in this order:
- Make a Sarvatobhadra-maṇḍala.
- Install a copper kalaśa.
- Place a golden pratimā of Ananta on a pīṭha covered with cloth.
- Worship with all sixteen upacāras.
- Worship Gaṇeśa, the Mātṛkās, Kheṭa and the Lokapālas, each separately.
- Perform homa with pūrṇāhuti (the final offering).
- Give the guru an adorned bed (śayyā) with a cow, and the golden pratimā.
- Feed fourteen brāhmaṇas and give dakshiṇā.
Phala: the grace of Ananta; bhukti-mukti.
Rambhā Vrata (also on Bhādrapada Śukla Caturdaśī). Worship the banana tree (rambhā-vṛksha) in a garden (upavana) with gandha, flowers, grain, sprouts, curd, dūrvā grass and unbroken rice (akshata), with lamps, clothes and cooked food (pakvānna). Pray:
O Rambhā, worshipped by the apsarases and the nāga maidens, give me health of body (śarīra-ārogya) and beauty (lāvaṇya).
Then feed four kanyakās (unmarried girls) or sumaṅgalīs (married women). Give them gifts of cloth (aṃśuka), sindūra, kajjala (eye-black) and ornaments, and bow to them. Phala: excellent saubhāgya (good fortune); at death, one boards a vimāna and reaches svarga-loka.
Āśvayuja Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī: śrāddha for those who died by violence
Perform ekoddishṭa śrāddha for those who died by poison (visha), weapon (śastra), water (ambhu), fire (agni), a snake (sarpa), a beast, or lightning (vajra), and for the brahma-ghātikas. Feed brāhmaṇas with sweet cooked food (mishṭa-pakvānna). Perform tarpana, give a morsel to a cow (go-grāsa), and make the bali offering for crows and dogs. Do ācamana (sipping water) and eat with relatives. Phala: moksha of the pitṛs and attainment of the eternal deva-loka.
Āśvayuja Śukla Caturdaśī: Dharmarāja Pūjā
Worship Dharmarāja with gandha and the upacāras. Feed a brāhmaṇa and give gold (svarṇa). Phala: the protection of Dharmarāja. The giver enjoys the best bhoga in bhūloka and, by the command of Dharmarāja, reaches svarga.
Kārtika Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī: Tarpana for Yama and Yama-dīpa
At the time of moonrise (candrodaya-kāla), anoint the body with oil and bathe (taila-abhyaṅga). Worship Dharmarāja. One receives abhaya (freedom from fear) from naraka. At pradosha-kāla (evening twilight), place oil-lamps (tūla-dīpa) with care outside the house, at a crossroads or on the threshold, for the pleasure (prīti) of Yama Dharmarāja, saying: “May Yama be pleased.” Phala: no affliction from Yama (Yama-pīḍā).
Kārtika Śukla Caturdaśī: Viśveśvara’s Pāśupata Vrata, Brahma-kūrca Vrata and Pāshāṇa Vrata
Viśveśvara’s Pāśupata Vrata (Hemalamba). In the Hemalamba saṃvatsara (year), Viśveśvara bathed himself at Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha with vibhūti (sacred ash) and tripuṇḍra (three lines) and kept the Pāśupata vrata. So on this day, worship a Śivaliṅga with gandha, droṇa flowers, bilva leaves, jillēḍu flowers, ketaka flowers, fruit, sweet food (mishṭānna), cooked food (pakvānna) and various naivedyas. Keep eka-bhukta. Phala: all one’s wishes (abhīshṭas) in this world and the next.
Brahma-kūrca Vrata. On this day, those who seek advancement keep an upavāsa at night, with mastery of the senses (indriya-jaya), and drink pañcagavya, the mixture of five things from the cow:
- urine of a kapilā (tawny) cow (kapilā-go-mūtra)
- dung of a black cow (kṛshṇa-gomaya)
- milk of a white cow (śveta-go-kshīra)
- curd of a red cow (rakta-go-dadhi)
- ghee of a variegated cow (kurbura-go-ghṛta)
Next morning, bathe with water and darbha grass. Perform sura-tarpana (tarpana to the devas) and satisfy brāhmaṇas. Eat in silence. Phala: the pāpas of childhood (bālya), youth (kaumāra) and old age (vārdhakya) are destroyed at once. This Brahma-kūrca upavāsa destroys all grave pāpas (sarva-pātaka-nāśana).
Pāshāṇa Vrata. Keep an upavāsa day and night. Make a flour cake in the shape of a stone (pāshāṇa-ākāra-pishṭa), cooked in ghee. Worship Gaurī-devī with gandha and the upacāras and offer the cake as naivedya. Phala: aiśvarya (wealth and power), saukhya (comfort), saubhāgya and saundarya (beauty).
Mārgaśīrsha Śukla Caturdaśī: Śiva Vrata
Keep eka-bhukta or nirahāra (no food). Worship a golden bull (vṛshabha) and give it to a brāhmaṇa. Next day at dawn, bathe. Worship Umā-Maheśvara with lotus flowers, gandha, garlands and ointments. Feed brāhmaṇas with sweet food (mishṭānna) and give dakshiṇā. This is the Śiva vrata. Phala: bhukti-mukti. The same phala reaches the one who performs it, the one who teaches it, the one who helps, and the one who approves.
Pushya Śukla Caturdaśī: Virūpāksha Vrata
Bathe in deep water. Meditate on Virūpāksha (Śiva) and worship him. Offer gandha, garlands, a bow (namaskāra), incense, a lamp, food and wealth, and give a gift to a brāhmaṇa. Phala: joy in svarga like the devas.
Māgha Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī: Yama Tarpana
Before sunrise, bathe. Perform tarpana to Yama with fourteen nāmas, using water with sesame (tila) and darbha grass. Then feed brāhmaṇas with sesame food (tila-anna) and eat that same food in silence. Phala: all pāpas are destroyed.
Phālguna Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī: Mahā Śivarātri
Keep an upavāsa without even water (nirajala). Worship a self-born liṅga (svayambhū-liṅga) or a liṅga made of clay (pārthiva-liṅga) through the day and night, with gandha and the upacāras, water, bilva leaves, incense, a lamp and naivedya, and with recitation of stotras and japa (stotrapāṭha-japa). Next morning, worship again with the upacāras. Feed brāhmaṇas with sweet food and give dakshiṇā. Phala: the devas honour the worshipper; one enjoys divine bhoga (divya-bhoga); one has the phala of Śivarātri for life.
Phālguna Śukla Caturdaśī: Durgā Vrata
Worship Durgā-devī with gandha and the upacāras, with bhakti (devotion). Feed brāhmaṇas and keep eka-bhukta. Phala: all one’s wishes in this world and the next.
Caitra Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī
Keep an upavāsa. Drink Kedārodaka, the water of Kedāra tīrtha. Phala: the fruit of the aśvamedha yāga.
General udyāpana for Caturdaśī vratas
Install fourteen kalaśas filled with areca nut (pūga), akshata and modaka sweets, with dakshiṇā and cloth (aṃśuka), in new vessels of copper or clay. Place fourteen bamboo staffs (daṇḍas), pavitras, seats (āsanas), vessels (pātras) and sacred threads (yajña-sūtras). The rest follows the standard udyāpana, done without kapaṭa (deception or omission).
The chapter closes by saying that all these vratas give bhukti-mukti by the grace of Bhagavān Śiva.
Sources
- Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 123