Akhaṇḍa Prayer

Akhaṇḍa Prārthanā · akhaṇḍa-prārthanā, “the prayer for wholeness”

The Akhaṇḍa prayer is the prayer of the Akhaṇḍa Dvādaśī vrata, asking Bhagavān Purushottama to make whole every vrata broken in seven births. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches it to Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

The setting

Yudhishṭhira asks what comes of a shortfall in vratas, fasts, dāna or dharma. Śrī Kṛshṇa says that from such shortfall come poverty in a king, blindness or lameness in the fair of form, parting of wife and husband, ill conduct in the well-born, and wealth that cannot be enjoyed. By the Akhaṇḍa Dvādaśī all such faults are removed. On the Mārgaśīrsha śukla dvādaśī the vratī bathes, worships Bhagavān Janārdana with bhakti, fasts, remembers Nārāyaṇa without pause, bathes in water with pañcagavya and gives a brāhmaṇa a vessel of barley and paddy. Then he prays.

The prayer

सप्तजन्मनि यत्किंचिन्मया खण्डव्रतं कृतम्।
भगवन् त्वत्प्रसादेन तदखण्डमिहास्तु मे॥
यथाखण्डं जगत् सर्वं त्वयैव पुरुषोत्तम।
तथाखिलान्यखण्डानि व्रतानि मम सन्तु वै॥

saptajanmani yatkiṃcinmayā khaṇḍavrataṃ kṛtam |
bhagavan tvatprasādena tadakhaṇḍamihāstu me ||
yathākhaṇḍaṃ jagat sarvaṃ tvayaiva purushottama |
tathākhilānyakhaṇḍāni vratāni mama santu vai ||

O Bhagavān Purushottama, whatever shortfall there has been in my vratas in seven births, may all of it be made whole by your grace. As this whole jagat is made whole by you, so may all my vratas be made whole.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 79–81

The pāraṇās and the phala

A pāraṇā is made every four months: after the months from Caitra a vessel of sattu is given, and after the months from Śrāvaṇa, with pūjā of Nārāyaṇa, ghee in a vessel of gold, silver, clay or palāśa leaf. At the end of the year twelve brāhmaṇas are fed with khīr and given cloth and ornaments, forgiveness is asked and the ācārya honoured. For one who keeps the Akhaṇḍa Dvādaśī the vratas of seven births become fully fruitful, and women and men should surely keep it to remove the shortfalls of their vratas.

Sources

• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 79–81