Kārtika Vrata

The Kārtika vrata (Kārtika vow) is a practice kept through the whole month of Kārtika, the lunar month that falls roughly in October and November. Every day the devotee bathes early in the morning, lights lamps, offers pūjā to tulasī (the holy basil plant) and gives time to devotion to Vishṇu.

The Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa explains the reason for this vow through the story of the asura Śaṅkha, who stole the Vedas. After killing Śaṅkha, Vishṇu declared that every year the Vedas rest in the waters during Kārtika, and that he too lives in the water in this month. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa is also said to give accounts of the past lives of Satyabhāmā, who in an earlier birth, as the devoted Guṇavatī, kept the Kārtika vow all her life and so received great grace in her next birth. The vow is especially powerful when kept together with the Ekādaśī fasts of the month, the Ramā and Prabodhinī Ekādaśīs.

How the Kārtika Vow Began

The scriptural basis of the Kārtika vow lies in the story of the asura Śaṅkha, son of the Ocean. Śaṅkha stole the Vedas. The devas woke Vishṇu by offering him pūjā on the Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight of Āśvina, and Vishṇu took the form of a fish and killed Śaṅkha. Standing before the gathered devas, Vishṇu declared:

“All the Vedas snatched by Śaṅkha remain in the water. Having killed the Ocean’s son, I shall bring them back. May the Vedas with the basic hymns and sacrifices always rest in water from today in the month of Kārtika every year. From today I also shall remain in water (in Kārtika).”

This declaration, that the Vedas themselves live in the water during Kārtika and that Vishṇu lives there with them, is the root of the practice. To bathe in Kārtika is to bathe in the presence of Vishṇu and the Vedas.

Vishṇu’s Promises to Those Who Keep the Vow

In the same declaration, Vishṇu gave special blessings to those who keep the Kārtika morning bath:

• Indra was told that those who keep the vow and bathe every morning in Kārtika are to be brought by him to Vishṇu’s abode when they die, and always protected from danger
• Varuṇa was told that he must bless them with children, sons and grandsons
• Kubera was told that he must increase their wealth, by Vishṇu’s command
• Those who keep the vow are declared jīvanmuktas, people freed while still alive, who “actually have Vishṇu’s form”

The Power of the Vow: The Example of Guṇavatī

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of the great fruit of keeping the Kārtika vow faithfully for a lifetime. Guṇavatī was the daughter of the brāhmaṇa Devaśarman of Māyāpurī in the Kṛta Yuga. She lost both her father and her husband to a rākshasa in the Himālayan forest. Left alone, she performed their last rites and spent the rest of her life in calm devotion to Vishṇu, faithfully keeping the Ekādaśī and Kārtika vows until her death. At the end of her life, Vishṇu’s own attendants came in a divine vimāna (flying chariot) and took her to Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of Vishṇu.

Because of this merit, Guṇavatī was born again as Satyabhāmā, one of the eight chief queens of Kṛshṇa. The pārijāta tree in her courtyard grew from the tulasī garden she had planted at Kṛshṇa’s door in her past life. Lakshmī stayed steadily in her home because she had offered lamps in Kārtika.

Kārtika and the Ekādaśī Fasts

The month of Kārtika holds two of the most famous Ekādaśīs (the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight):

• Ramā Ekādaśī (the Ekādaśī of the dark fortnight of Kārtika): the story of Candrabhāgā and Śobhana shows the great fruit of this Ekādaśī. Through the merit of this one fast, Śobhana gained a divine city on Mount Mandara.
• Prabodhinī or Haribodhinī Ekādaśī (the Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight of Kārtika): the day on which the devas woke Vishṇu with song and pūjā after the defeat of Śaṅkha. Vishṇu declared this day always worthy of honour and especially dear to him. Cāturmāsya, the four-month period of Vishṇu’s sleep that runs from Devaśayanī to Prabodhinī, ends on this day.

Lighting Lamps in Kārtika (Dīpadāna)

Guṇavatī’s story names the offering of lamps (dīpadāna) in Kārtika as the reason Lakshmī lived permanently in her home in her next birth as Satyabhāmā. This ties the Kārtika tradition of lighting lamps directly to Lakshmī’s grace and to prosperity in future lives.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 88–91
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 53, 60 and 61