Māsa Vratas (Agni Purāṇa)

Māsa Vrata, “the vows of the months”

The Agni Purāṇa teaches vratas tied to the twelve lunar months (māsa) and to the Cāturmāsya, the four holy months. Chapter 198 gives the rules for each month or longer period: fasts, worship of the deva, foods that are allowed, and dāna. The most intensive vratas end in Vishṇu-sāyujya (union with Bhagavān Vishṇu) or Brahma-pada. Chapters 204 and 207 then teach the thirty-day Māsopavāsa Vrata and the Kaumuda Vrata in full.

Around the month vratas stand the vratas of days and of seasons, told by Agni Deva to Vasishṭha in the chapters on either side. Chapter 197 gives the Tri-rātra Vrata for Janārdana, the Kārtika Vrata, the Ālata Vrata of Caitra, the gifts made while living on milk (the Dhenu and Kalpavṛksha Vratas) and the Māhendra and Bhāskara kṛcchras. Chapter 199 gives the vratas of the seasons: the Agni Vrata, the Sārasvata Vrata, the Vishṇu Vrata of Caitra and the vratas of the saṅkrāntis. Their fruits range from happiness and a kingdom to birth as a brāhmaṇa, svarga, the abode of Brahmā and the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Cāturmāsya: the four holy months

The Agni Purāṇa gives special weight to the four months beginning with Āshāḍha (the rainy season through autumn), known as Cāturmāsya. Many special vratas and disciplines are taken up in this time.

No oil-bath. In the four months from Āshāḍha (Āshāḍhādi-māsa-catushṭaya) one must not take the oil-bath (abhyaṅga-snāna). The phala of this restraint: one becomes endowed with uttama-buddhi (excellent intelligence).

Early morning bath. One who takes the prātaḥ-snāna (bath before dawn) in these four months with niyama (discipline) reaches Vishṇuloka.

Beginning the Cāturmāsya Vrata. Begin on Āshāḍha śukla Ekādaśī with upavāsa (fast). Worship Śrī Mahāvishṇu on the Karkaṭa-saṃkrānti of Āshāḍha (the Sun’s entry into Karkaṭa, Cancer). The saṃkalpa prayer is:

“O Deva! I undertake this vrata before you. O Keśava! May it be accomplished without obstacle (vighna) through your grace. O Devādhideva Janārdana! If I die before this vrata is complete, may it become complete through your kṛpā!”

During the four months the keeper gives up meat, tila oil and other such things. There are further options:

• Fast every alternate day (vikala-upavāsa) and then keep the tri-rātra-vrata, and reach Vishṇuloka.
• Keep cāndrāyaṇa and reach Vishṇuloka.
• Keep mauna-vrata (the vow of silence) and gain moksha.
• Keep prājāpatya-vrata and reach svarga.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 198

Monthly vratas and austerities

Vaiśākha

In Vaiśākha, give up flowers (pushpa) and salt (lavaṇa) and give a cow (go-dāna). Phala: rājya (kingdom, sovereignty).

Bhīma Vrata. Fast for a full month (māsopavasā) and give a cow. By the power of this Bhīma Vrata one reaches Vishṇu-sāyujya.

From Mārgaśīrsha onward: the nakta-vrata series

From Mārgaśīrsha on, one who keeps the nakta-vrata (eating only at night) month by month reaches Vishṇuloka. This is right for all months.

Ekabhukta-vrata. Eating only once a day on each Dvādaśī through the months is recommended, together with the separate Dvādaśī vratas.

Phala Vrata (the fruit vow)

In the four months of Cāturmāsya, give up fruits (phala-tyāga) and give those fruits as phala-dāna. Phala: all things are gained (sarva-prāpti). One who keeps this from Śrāvaṇa through Kārtika gains sarva-phala.

Māgha Tṛtīyā or Caitra Tṛtīyā: Guḍa Vrata

On either Māgha Tṛtīyā or Caitra Tṛtīyā, give a guḍa-dhenu (a cow made of jaggery). This is the Guḍa Vrata, a mahāvrata. Phala: the keeper becomes Śiva-svarūpa (gains oneness with Bhagavān Śiva).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 198

Kaumuda Vrata (chapter 198)

This vrata is kept on Āśvayuja śukla Dvādaśī.

• On Ekādaśī: fast.
• On Dvādaśī: apply candana and other anulepana (anointing pastes) to the body of Śrī Mahāvishṇu. Worship with utpala (blue lotus) and other flowers. Offer a lamp of tila oil (taila-dīpa). Offer ghṛta-pakva-anna (food cooked in ghee) as naivedya. Also offer mālatī flowers to Śrī Mahāvishṇu.
• Say “Oṃ Namo Vāsudevāya” and end the vrata.

Phala: dharma, artha, kāma and moksha all come under one’s control.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 198

Māsopavasā Vrata (chapter 198)

One who fasts for a whole month (māsa-upavāsa) while worshipping Śrī Mahāvishṇu gains sarva (everything).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 198

Dietary rules for Cāturmāsya

The Agni Purāṇa also gives several kṛcchra-vratas (hard vows) of diet for the Cāturmāsya:

• Śāka-mūla-phala-āhāra kṛcchra: eating only vegetables, roots and fruits. The keeper reaches Vaikuṇṭha.
• Yava-āhāra (giving up māṃsa and rasa): the keeper reaches Śrī Mahāvishṇu-sānnidhya (the nearness of Bhagavān Vishṇu).
• Kṛcchra-vrata with sattu (roasted grain flour) and yava (barley), drinking milk (kshīra) and pañcagavya: one reaches svarga.
• Tri-rātra-vrata with vikala-upavāsa: Vishṇuloka.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 198

Tri-rātra Vrata: the three-night vrata

The Agni Purāṇa treats this at length as one of the highest vratas. It is kept for Janārdana, and one who keeps it reaches Vaikuṇṭha together with a hundred generations (kula) of his line. The text says it begins from Mārgaśīrsha śukla Navamī, and through it one does japa of the mantra “Oṃ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya” a thousand times, or a hundred times.

• On Ashṭamī: ekabhukta (eat once).
• On Navamī, Daśamī and Ekādaśī: full upavāsa.
• On Dvādaśī: worship Śrī Mahāvishṇu.

The vrata is kept in the month of Kārtika. At the end, feed brāhmaṇas and give: vastra (cloth), śayyā (bed), āsana (seat), chattra (umbrella), yajñopavīta (sacred thread) and pātra (vessel). The keeper says to the brāhmaṇas: “Whatever faults arose in this difficult vrata through my fault, may they all be removed through your anugraha (grace).”

Phala: In this world the keeper enjoys bhoga (pleasures). After death he reaches the nearness (sānnidhya) of Śrī Mahāvishṇu.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 197

Kārtika Vrata

This vrata gives both bhukti and mukti.

• On Daśamī: take pañcagavya-prāśana.
• On Ekādaśī: full upavāsa.
• On Kārtika śukla Dvādaśī: worship Śrī Mahāvishṇu.

Phala: The keeper rises to svarga in a divine vimāna and becomes a deva.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 197

Ālata Vrata (Caitra)

Keep this vrata in Caitra: eat only at night (nakta-bhojana). At the end of the vrata, give five goats. Phala: sukhavān (full of happiness).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 197

Payo-vrata and the Kalpavṛksha Vrata (chapter 197)

Among the vratas of days, the Agni Purāṇa joins the payo-vrata (living on milk alone) to a great gift:

• Dhenu Vrata. One who gives an ubhayamukhī cow (a cow in the act of calving) with a heap of gold, and keeps the payo-vrata for one day, gains the paramapada (the supreme abode).
• Kalpavṛksha Vrata. One who gives a golden kalpavṛksha (wish-granting tree) and keeps the payo-vrata for three days gains Brahma-pada, the abode of Brahmā.
• The gift of the golden earth. One who makes the earth (pṛthivī) of more than ten palas of gold and gives it, keeping the payo-vrata for two days, is blessed; one who keeps this vrata only by day reaches Rudraloka.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 197

Māhendra and Bhāskara Kṛcchras (chapter 197)

Two hard vows of diet are kept in the bright half of Kārtika:

• Māhendra kṛcchra. From Kārtika śukla Shashṭhī, for three days one drinks only milk, and then fasts for three days.
• Bhāskara kṛcchra. A pañcarātra (five-night) vrata begun on Kārtika śukla Ekādaśī: on the first day one takes only milk, on the second day only curd, and from the third day one fasts for three days.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 197

Vratas of the seasons (chapter 199)

Agni Deva says: “Now I shall tell the ṛtu vratas (vratas of the seasons), which give bhukti and mukti.”

Agni Vrata

In the seasons of Varshā (the rains), Śarad (autumn), Hemanta (early winter) and Śiśira (late winter) one gives firewood, and at the end of the vrata gives a ghṛta-dhenu (a cow made of ghee). Phala: one who keeps the Agni Vrata in this way is born a brāhmaṇa in the next birth.

Sārasvata Vrata

For one month the keeper observes mauna (silence) at the time of sandhyā. At the month’s end he gives a brāhmaṇa a pot of ghee, tila, a bell (ghaṇṭā) and cloths. Phala: he becomes happy.

Vishṇu Vrata (Caitra)

From Caitra Ekādaśī the keeper eats only at night (nakta), and at the end of Caitra he gives a golden image of Bhagavān Vishṇu to a brāhmaṇa who is a Vishṇu-bhakta. Phala: one who keeps this excellent Vishṇu Vrata gains Vishṇu-pada, the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The saṅkrānti vratas

• One who keeps jāgaraṇa (a night vigil) on a saṅkrānti (the sun’s passage into a new sign) gains svarga.
• When a saṅkrānti falls on an Amāvāsyā, one who worships Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Sūrya gains svarga.
• On the Makara-saṅkrānti one bathes at dawn and worships Keśava. At the udyāpana (completion), one who gives thirty-two palas of gold is freed from every pāpa.
• At the vishuvat (equinox) and the other such yogas, one who bathes Śrī Mahāvishṇu with dūrvā grass mixed with ghee gains everything.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 199

The year in one table

Māsopavāsa Vrata (chapter 204)

Chapter 204 of the Agni Purāṇa gives the Māsopavāsa Vrata as the best of all vratas (sarveshām uttama). Agni declares it to Vasishṭha as a full discipline of thirty days that gives both bhukti (worldly enjoyment) and mukti (moksha) to the sincere keeper.

Who may keep it, and the preparation

The Māsopavāsa Vrata is meant for three kinds of people: the vānaprastha (forest-dweller of the third āśrama), the saṃnyāsin (renunciant) and the widow (vidhavā strī). Before taking up this vrata one must first perform a Vaishṇava-yajña, take the permission of the ācārya (teacher), and test one’s strength through kṛcchra-vrata disciplines.

The saṃkalpa and the length

On Āśvayuja śukla Ekādaśī the keeper fasts (upavāsa) and takes this saṃkalpa for thirty days:

“O Mahāvishṇu! From this day I shall fast without food for thirty days until your uṭṭhāna (awakening). O Hari who pervades all! From Āśvayuja śukla Ekādaśī until your awakening on Kārtika śuddha Ekādaśī, even if I die before it is complete, may my vow remain unbroken through your kṛpā.”

The vrata runs from Āśvayuja śukla Ekādaśī to Kārtika śukla Ekādaśī (the Utthāna Ekādaśī, when Bhagavān Vishṇu wakes from his cosmic sleep), exactly thirty days.

Daily practice

Through the thirty days the keeper bathes three times a day. He worships Śrī Mahāvishṇu at three junctures, prātaḥkāla (morning), madhyāhna (noon) and sāyaṃkāla (evening), with fragrant substances and flowers. Devotional songs on Him (tat-saṃbandhī-gāna), dhyāna and japa go on without a break. The keeper must avoid idle talk (vyarthālāpa), give up greed fully (dhanāśa-parityāga), not touch those who are in a state of impurity, not urge others to conduct that the śāstra forbids (śāstra-nishiddha), and live inside the temple (devālaya) for the whole thirty days.

Ending on Dvādaśī

On Kārtika śukla Dvādaśī the keeper does Vishṇu-pūjā, feeds brāhmaṇas, gives them dakshiṇā, and then breaks the fast (pāraṇa). The Purāṇa also says that if the keeper falls unconscious during the vrata, ghee mixed with milk may be given to drink without breaking the vow. Some things are named as not breaking the vrata: havis taken with a brāhmaṇa’s permission, oshadhi (medicine) taken with the ācārya‘s sanction, and fruits and roots. The faith that Śrī Mahāvishṇu himself is mahaushadhi-svarūpa (the form of the greatest medicine) carries the keeper through any difficulty.

Gifts after the vrata, and the phala

When the vrata is complete, a Vaishṇava-yajña is performed and thirteen brāhmaṇas are fed. One brāhmaṇa then receives a full set of gifts:

• thirteen uttarīya (upper garments);
• thirteen adhovastra (lower garments);
• a pātra (vessel);
• an āsana (seat);
• an umbrella (chatra);
• a pavitra (purifying cloth);
• pādukā (sandals);
• a yoga-paṭṭa;
• a yajñopavīta (sacred thread);
• a golden Vishṇu-pratimā (image of Bhagavān Vishṇu);
• a śayyā (ritual bed).

The brāhmaṇas say: “O devātmaka! Go to Vishṇuloka, free of disease and sorrow, and shine there in the form of Vishṇu in a divine vimāna.” The keeper bows to the brāhmaṇas and gives the śayyā to the ācārya.

One who keeps this vrata for thirteen months (māsopavāsa repeated over thirteen consecutive cycles) gains both bhukti and mukti. The land where a Māsopavāsa keeper lives becomes free of pāpa (sin). Even his whole family line is raised up and led to Vishṇuloka.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 204

Kaumuda Vrata (chapter 207)

Chapter 207 of the Agni Purāṇa gives the Kaumuda Vrata as a one-month observance begun in Āśvayuja śukla paksha, starting with a full upavāsa on Ekādaśī. It runs to the next Ekādaśī, called Devajāgaraṇī (the day Bhagavān Vishṇu wakes). The keeper takes this saṃkalpa:

“I shall eat only once a day in Āśvayuja śukla paksha, chanting the mantra of Śrī Nārāyaṇa, and I shall keep the Kaumuda Vrata for one month for the gaining of bhukti and mukti.”

When the month is complete, the keeper fasts fully on Ekādaśī. On Dvādaśī the image of Śrī Mahāvishṇu is anointed with candana, agaru and kesara, and worshipped with kamala, utpala, kahlāra and mālatī flowers. With control of speech (vāk-saṃyama), a lamp filled with oil is lit. Pāyasa, apūpa (rice-flour cakes) and laḍḍu are offered as naivedya at both the morning and the evening worship. The twelve-syllable mantra (dvādaśākshara-mantra) “Oṃ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya” is chanted without a break. Brāhmaṇa-bhojana is given, and the vrata is ended with kshamā-prārthanā (a prayer for forgiveness of any fault).

The Agni Purāṇa declares that the Kaumuda Vrata, though it needs only ekabhukta (one meal a day) and not a full nirāhāra (fast without food), gives a phala greater than even the full Māsopavāsa of chapter 204. The length of both vratas is the same: one month, ending on Devajāgaraṇī Ekādaśī.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 207

Sources

• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 197–199, 204, 207