Saṅkalpa

Saṅkalpa · sam-kalpa, “resolve”

Kāma has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kāma.

Grammar: masculine noun, from sam (together) and the root kḷp (to form, to arrange): “a forming in the mind, a resolve”.

Meaning: the resolve made in the mind and spoken before a vrata, a pūjā or a dāna, naming the time, the place, the act and its aim. The kośa of the Agni Purāṇa defines saṅkalpa as a mental act (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 360).

In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa gives the words of the saṅkalpa for vratas and for dāna.

The saṅkalpa of a vrata. In the Śravaṇa Dvādaśī vrata, kept in Bhādrapada śukla paksha, Agnideva gives the saṅkalpa: “Fasting on dvādaśī, I shall worship the golden mūrti of Vāmana set on a kalaśa filled with water, and I shall do the pāraṇa of the vrata on trayodaśī.” Then Vāmana is invoked on the kalaśa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 189). In the Śāmbhavāyanīya vrata, in which Śrī Mahāvishṇu is worshipped in Kārttika with Kṛttikā and in Mārgaśīrsha with Mṛgaśiras, the saṅkalpa is: “On the pūrṇimā of Kārttika joined with Kṛttikā I shall worship Śrī Hari, who is in the month and in the nakshatra. I shall keep the Śāmbhavāyanīya vrata, which gives bhukti and mukti.” Then Acyuta is invoked (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 196).

The saṅkalpa of dāna. In the rules of dāna, Agnideva teaches that the giver should give while saying his own name and the receiver’s name, and in kanyādāna (the giving of a daughter in marriage) this is done three times. After snāna, pūjā and the like, the giver takes water in his hand and makes the saṅkalpa. At the time of giving he first names the thing, then says “dadāmi” (I give), and releases the saṅkalpa water into the receiver’s hand. The receiver says: “Vishṇu is the giver; Vishṇu is the thing given; I receive this dāna. May this pratigraha, which is in keeping with dharma, bring auspiciousness” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 209).

The same chapter gives the full saṅkalpa. The giver, intending a worthy recipient, makes it in his mind and releases water on the ground: “Today, at the time of a solar eclipse, or a lunar eclipse, or a saṅkrānti, in a tīrtha-region of great puṇya such as Gaṅgā, Gayā or Prayāga, to so-and-so Śarmā of such-and-such gotra, a knower of the Veda and the Vedāṅgas, a mahātmā and a worthy recipient, I give such-and-such a thing, belonging to Vishṇu, or to Śiva, or to another devatā, for the gaining of fame, learning, the wishes of my heart, saubhāgya, health and the like, for the calming of all pāpas, and for bhukti and mukti. May Śrī Mahāvishṇu, who destroys all the portents of the sky, the mid-air and the earth, be gracious and grant me dharma, artha, kāma and moksha, and give me Brahmaloka.” Then he says: “For this dāna to bear fruit, I give a dakshiṇā of gold to the brāhmaṇa so-and-so Śarmā of such-and-such gotra.” In this way all dānas are to be made (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 209).

In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Brahmā tells Nārada that when he made the first yajña from the limbs of the Purusha, he gathered with it the names of the rites from Agnishṭoma, the āhuti-mantras from svāhākāra, the dakshiṇās from cows, the vratas from Payovrata, the names of the devatās in order, the kalpa-sūtras and the saṅkalpa (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 6). When Śiva asked to see the Mohinī form, Śrī Hari told him that from saṅkalpa arises kāma, and that the form which kindles kāma is prized by those full of desire (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 12). When the kanyās of Gokula kept the Kātyāyanī vrata, Śrī Kṛshṇa told them: “I know your resolve to worship me. I approve it; it deserves to come true” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 22).

In the Bhavishya Purāṇa: kāmanā is born from saṅkalpa, and yajñas, niyamas and dharmic vratas all come from saṅkalpa (Brahma Parva, Chapter 7). Sūta teaches that vrata, devārcana, yāga and such acts are to be done with a saṅkalpa, and that one who practises dharma without saṅkalpa gains no fruit (Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapters 17–18).

Related terms: Vrata · Dāna · Dakshiṇā · Pāraṇa · Āvāhana · Saṅkrānti

Sources

• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 189, 196, 209, 360
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 6; Skandha 8, Chapter 12; Skandha 10, Chapter 22
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 7; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapters 17–18