Kṛttikā Dāna Mantra
Kṛttikā Dāna Mantra, “the mantra of the gift to the Kṛttikās”
The Kṛttikā Dāna Mantra is the mantra the yajamāna says when he gives the images of the six Kṛttikās to a brāhmaṇa in the Kṛttikā vrata. Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches it to Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, after the account of Queen Kaliṅgabhadrā.
The setting
Queen Kaliṅgabhadrā, wife of Mahārāja Dilīpa, took up the Kṛttikā vrata in Kārtika but died of a serpent’s bite before it was complete. Born as a she-goat, she remembered her former birth and kept the vrata again; Atri Ṛshi freed her from bonds and taught her yoga. Born next as Yogalakshmī, daughter of Gautama and Ahalyā and wife of Śāṇḍilya, she was asked by Atri Muni how many the Kṛttikās are. She remembered and said, “They are six,” and Atri taught her the mantra and the vrata again, by which she gained long happiness and moksha.
When Kārtika pūrṇimā falls in Kṛttikā nakshatra on a Thursday or Monday, it is the Mahākārtikī; but one should fast on every Kārtikī pūrṇimā. In the morning the vratī takes nakta or upavāsa, bathes at a tīrtha such as Pushkara, Prayāga, Kurukshetra or Naimisha, or at home, and worships the devatās, ṛshis, pitṛs and guests. In the evening images of the six Kṛttikās, of gold, silver, gems, butter, grain and flour, are set in six vessels of ghee and milk, wound with red thread and worshipped with sindūra, kuṅkuma, sandal, jasmine, dhūpa, dīpa and naivedya.
The mantra
Giving the images to a brāhmaṇa, the yajamāna says, in meaning: “Wives of the seven ṛshis, beloved of Agni, joined together under Brahmā‘s protection, true mothers of Kumāra, content: may they be most gracious to me too.”
The brāhmaṇa, receiving them, answers: “May these Nakshatra-mothers give dharma and give what is desired. May the Kṛttikās carry the family of us both across the hard saṃsāra.” He takes the materials home, and the yajamāna follows him for six steps.
The phala
A man who keeps the Kṛttikā vrata so goes to Nakshatraloka in a vimāna bright as the Sun. A woman who keeps it goes there with her husband and enjoys divine happiness for a long time.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 103
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 103