Prayer for a Happy Year
Saṃvatsara Prārthanā · saṃvatsara-prārthanā, “the prayer to the year”
The prayer for a happy year is the prayer said to Saṃvatsara, the year, on the first day of the year, Caitra śukla pratipadā, in the Tilaka vrata. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches it to Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, saying that Bhagavān Śaṅkara taught him this vrata long ago.
The setting
On Caitra śukla pratipadā a woman or man bathes at a river, a pond or at home and offers tarpaṇa to the devatās and pitṛs. At home a mūrti of Saṃvatsara in the form of a man is made of flour and worshipped with candana, flowers, dhūpa, dīpa and naivedya. Naming the ṛtus and the months, the vratī bows and prays to Saṃvatsara, recites the Vedic mantra saṃvatsaro’si parivatsaro’si, wraps the image in cloth and offers fruit, flowers and modakas. Then, with joined hands, the vratī prays.
The prayer
To Saṃvatsara: “By your grace may my year be auspicious and pass happily.”
After the prayer
The vratī gives dakshiṇā to a brāhmaṇa, and from that day on marks the forehead with candana every day. By the power of this vrata a woman or man gains excellent fruit, and bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, grahas, ḍākinīs and enemies flee on seeing the tilaka. Queen Citralekhā, wife of King Śatruñjaya, was the first to take it, and when a mad elephant killed the king and their son died, the Yamadūtas who came for them turned back at the sight of her tilaka, and the king and the son were restored. One who keeps it with bhakti enjoys the joy of the world for a long time and at the end reaches Brahmaloka.
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 8