Vaishṇava Snāna Vidhi in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

Snāna means bathing, and in Sanātana Dharma a ritual bath is a sacred act that cleanses both body and mind. In Chapters 101 to 108 and 110 of the second part (Dvitīya Khaṇḍa) of the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pushkara gives Paraśurāma a long teaching on special ritual baths.

He describes nine such baths in detail. Each has its own purpose: bringing general prosperity, healing disease, cleansing after pāpa (wrongdoing), or warding off harmful influences of the planets. Together they form a complete Vaishṇava teaching on śuddhi (purification) and pushṭi (nourishment and well-being).

Overview

Each of Pushkara’s nine baths differs in its occasion, materials, how elaborate it is, and its fruit. The simpler ones (the Śravaṇa and Janma-nakshatra baths) need little more than a sacred body of water and pūjā of Vishṇu. The more elaborate ones (the Dikpāla and Purushottama Pādodaka baths) involve drawing a maṇḍala (sacred diagram), herbal mixtures, rites with kalaśas (water pots) and procedures lasting more than one day. All of them end in pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu or of his vyūha forms (his fourfold forms).

The Nine Baths

1. Śravaṇa Nakshatra Snāna (Chapter 101)

When the moon is in the Śravaṇa nakshatra (lunar mansion), one should bathe where two rivers meet, in the ocean, in a river or in a lake. Pūjā is offered to Bhagavān Vishṇu with gandha (sandal paste), mālya (garlands), dhūpa (incense), dīpa (lamp), namaskāra (bowing) and anna (food). Dadhyodana (rice cooked with curd) is offered, and then pāyasa (sweet rice pudding) is offered into the fire with the Purusha-sūkta. Silver is given to a brāhmaṇa. Even without fasting, this bath brings pushṭi. The devotee gains all they wish for, their pāpas are destroyed, and they win great good name.

2. Janma-nakshatra Snāna (Chapter 102)

When the moon is in one’s birth nakshatra, one bathes using a pūrṇa-kalaśa (full water pot) filled with all the herbs. After bathing, pūjā is offered to Vāsudeva together with the deity of the nakshatra (Candra), the Vāruṇa nakshatra, Vāyu, the weapons, the pīṭha (seat), the āyudha (weapon) and the chattra (parasol), each with its own mantra. Ghee is offered. The day is spent in self-restraint. The devotee wears fragrant garlands and ornaments and eats only havishyānna (simple pure food). Even without upavāsa (fasting), this bath removes pāpa, purifies and fulfils every wish.

3. Bārhaspatya Snāna (Chapter 103)

This elaborate bath is performed on a pūrṇimā (full moon) during uttarāyaṇa (the sun’s northward half of the year) when the moon is in Pushya, Aśvinī, Hasta or Śravaṇa. A square maṇḍala eight cubits across is set up to the east or north of the town. Two vedikās (raised platforms) are built, one for bali (food offerings) and one for the fire. The maṇḍala is decorated with flags, parasols, fans, garlands, darbha grass, nakshatrālu (star-shaped grains) and puffed rice. Seven kalaśas filled with water from holy rivers are placed around the maṇḍala. Each holds a different set of substances: all herbs, navadhānyāni (nine grains), dhānya (grain), ratnas (gems), sprouts, flowers, fruits and sugandhadvyāyu (fragrant substances).

The person to be bathed sits on a seat of hide suited to their varṇa (social group): bull-hide for a brāhmaṇa, lion-hide for a kshatriya, tiger-hide for a vaiśya. The wife sits on the left. The person is bathed with water containing mustard seed, without crown or tiara, while brāhmaṇas chant svastivācana (blessings) and blow śaṅkhas (conches), and the puṇyāhaghosha (proclamation of an auspicious day) is raised. A gold vessel with holes in it (like a net) is held over the head, and water from the kalaśas is poured through it with the proper mantras.

After the bath, the patron looks at his face in ghee and in a mirror, and then offers pūjā to Vishṇu. Homa (fire offering) is done with Vishṇu mantras. The ācārya (teacher) marks the forehead with gorocana (a sacred yellow pigment) with the mantra “Gandhadvārām”, and performs mārjana (sprinkling) from head to foot with the tips of kuśa grass. Dakshiṇā (offering to the teacher) of gold, silver, gems, garlands and ghee is given, with gold to the guru.

How this bath began: Bṛhaspati, teacher of the devas, performed it for Indra after Indra committed brahmahatyā (the killing of a brāhmaṇa) by slaying Vṛtra, who was a brāhmaṇa by nature. By this bath Indra was freed of that pāpa, and so Indra gave the bath great power. The devotee gains what they wish for in this world and goes to Indraloka afterwards.

4. Dikpāla Snāna (Chapter 104)

This is the great śānti (peace-bringing) bath. It is prescribed for a wide range of troubles: rājayakshma (wasting disease, consumption), vishamajvara (irregular fever), chāyonmāda (“shadow madness”), possession by the Vināyaka-graha (an obstructing spirit), dullness of mind, failure in studies, failure of crops, family troubles, failure in business, repeated defeat in battle, miscarriage, the death of infants, menstrual disorders, infertility, quarrels between husband and wife, and estrangement from relatives.

Different places are set for different troubles:

  • For possession and fever: near a place visited by tapasvīs (ascetics) or in a temple
  • For shadow madness and epilepsy: near a place where munis live, or at a tīrtha (holy place)
  • For the Vināyaka-graha: where good people live
  • For defeat in war: in a great forest, an udyāna (garden) or a tīrtha
  • For constant quarrels: where three roads meet or where rivers join
  • For miscarriage: at a lotus pond
  • For the death of infants: near aśoka trees
  • For infertility: near fruit trees
  • For menstrual problems: at the seashore

A square maṇḍala with eight petals is drawn and made beautiful with flags, toraṇas (decorated gateways), four doors and four prākāras (enclosing walls). At the centre Vishṇu is drawn, dark as a rain cloud (meghaśyāma), wearing pītāmbara (yellow silk), with the kaustubha jewel, śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus) and gadā (mace). In the southern petal Brahmā is drawn in the colour of a lotus. Rudra is drawn on the western left, wearing a tiger skin and holding the triśūla (trident). Around the maṇḍala the eight Dikpālas (guardians of the directions) are painted in their own forms and colours, with their vehicles, weapons and the colours of their directions.

A long list of herbs is given for both the ubṭana (paste applied before the bath) and the water in the kalaśas. It includes more than sixty herbs: punarnavā, gorocana, śatāhvā, guruṇī, kṛshṇāgaru, tvak, yashṭimadhu, rajanī-dvaya, tagara, nāgakeśara, sarshapa, kushṭha, kuṅkuma, bahupatrikā (tulasī), balā, indrāhasī, brāhmī, sarasvatī, maṇḍūkaparṇī and many others.

An equally long list of twenty kinds of mṛttikā (clay or soil) to be mixed into the water is given: white, red, yellow-green and black soils; earth from anthills dug up with an ox’s horn; soil from temples, from cowherd settlements (gopāla) and from agnihotra-śālās (halls of the sacred fire); soil dug up by elephant tusks; earth from a courtesan’s house; earth from the royal gate and the city gate; earth from a well; earth from a house of giving; potter’s earth; and soil from places where rivers meet, from lotus ponds, from puddles and from crossroads.

Homa is performed with particular kinds of wood: pippala, udumbara, plaksha, bilva, śvetārka, śamī, devadāru, maruvā, mānipasupa, uttareṇu, moduga, yavaka, yavas, vaṃśikā, aśvagandhā, kadamba, arjuna and āsana. All are cut into sticks one span long and smeared with ghee.

The eight kalaśas, one for each direction, are named Bhadra, Subhadra, Siddhārtha, Pushṭivardhana, Akumoka, Citrabhānu, Parjanya and Sudarśana. The offerings to each Dikpāla are set out, with their own foods and colours. Homa is done with the call of svāhā. After the bath, the patron goes home facing north, carrying fruit and tāmbūla (betel). This bath gives every wish in this world, and svarga afterwards.

5. Vināyaka Snāna (Chapter 105)

This bath is for those troubled by the Vināyaka-graha, an obstructing spirit. Its signs are described: dreaming again and again of going down into water, seeing a shaven-headed person in ochre robes, riding fierce animals, keeping company with caṇḍālas, donkeys and camels, feeling chased, an unsteady mind, doing pointless things, and weeping without cause. For a king, this graha keeps him from gaining the kingdom. For a woman, it keeps her from a husband, from womanhood and from children. For a student, it blocks Vedic learning. For a merchant, it blocks profit.

The bath is done on an auspicious day (śubha-divasa) when the moon is in Hasta, Pushya, Aśvinī, Mṛgaśiras or Śravaṇa, in the mitra or brahma muhūrta (auspicious time periods). The person sits on a red bull’s hide on a bhadra-āsana (auspicious seat). Brāhmaṇas chant svastivācana while an ubṭana of white mustard paste is applied. After bathing with four kalaśas, a special homa is done with the Vināyaka mantra and tila (sesame). The purohita (priest) offers bali at the catushpathas (crossroads) with items including fish, raw and cooked meat, vaṭī-rice with blood, and three kinds of surā (fermented drinks). Prārthanās are offered to Ambikā, the mother of Vināyaka. After the bath the patron wears white garlands and gandha, feeds brāhmaṇas and gives the guru a pair of cloths. This bath removes all troubles from rākshasas and unseen beings (raksha-bādhas), all vighnas (obstacles), diseases and enmities.

6. Maheśvara Snāna (Chapter 106)

This bath was taught by Śukrācārya, teacher of the asuras, to King Bali Cakravartin. It is done before sunrise. A kalaśa of gold, silver or clay is filled with the waters of rivers and oceans. Herbs are ground in equal parts and placed in the kalaśa, including jayā (nellikāya, Indian gooseberry), vijayā (turmeric), drākshā (grapes) and other small fruits, praśanna-mukhānanda, navadhānyālu (nine grains), bhāṇḍīra flowers, ākku leaves, udumbara, rāvi, jillēḍu and others. After the bath the patron looks at his face in ghee, and then offers pūjā to both Vishṇu and Śiva in the same session. This bath is said to give dhanyatā (good fortune), yaśas (fame), āyushya (long life) and śatrukshaya (the defeat of enemies).

7. Nānāvidha Snāna: More Than Twenty Special Baths (Chapter 107)

This chapter lists more than twenty kinds of special bath using unusual materials, including:

  • Ghee bath (ghṛta-snāna)
  • Cow-dung bath (gomaya-snāna)
  • Darbha-grass bath
  • Gem bath
  • Earth bath (mṛttikā-snāna)
  • Jewel bath
  • Flower bath
  • Fruit bath
  • Grain bath
  • Sesame bath

Each has its own ritual purpose, linked to health, prosperity or the removal of troubles.

8. Purushottama Pādodaka Snāna (Chapter 108)

This is the most sacred of all the baths. The bath water is gathered by washing the feet of the four vyūha mūrtis of Bhagavān Vishṇu: Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Saṃkarshaṇa and Vāsudeva, in that rising order of holiness. This pādodaka (water from the feet) is collected and used for abhisheka (ritual pouring) over two days. The reason given is that the whole universe was created from Vishṇu’s body, so water that has touched his feet purifies everything. No pāpa survives this bath. The devotee is freed from all pāpa and reaches Vishṇu’s own abode. It is a two-day rite that needs prior śauca (cleanliness), brahmacarya (celibacy) and full attention.

9. Bhagavad Anulepana Snāna (Chapter 110)

This is a special healing bath, in which particular Vaishṇava bathing mixtures are set for particular diseases:

  • For rakta-pitta (disorders of blood and bile): a bath with a particular mix of herbs while chanting the Vishṇu Sahasranāma (thousand names of Vishṇu)
  • For atīsāra (diarrhoea): a bath with cooling herbs
  • For kushṭha (skin disorders): a bath with particular purifying mixtures
  • For vāta-roga (disorders of the vāta humour): particular warming mixtures
  • For general disorders: the general Vishṇu bath

The idea behind it is that disease grows weaker near Bhagavān Vishṇu’s tejas (radiance), and that water used in the pūjā of Vishṇu carries healing power beyond physical explanation.

General Principles

Pushkara states several general rules for these baths:

  • Each bath rests on an account of how it began (for example, the Bārhaspatya bath comes from Indra’s purification, and the Dikpāla bath from the universal śānti of the Vedic tradition)
  • Most baths work even without upavāsa, if they are done with śraddhā (faith)
  • The purohita’s role is essential: he chooses the muhūrta (auspicious time), recites the mantras and oversees the setting up of the kalaśas
  • Every bath ends in pūjā of Vishṇu. The bath cleanses the body, and Vishṇu’s grace cleanses the jīva (soul).

Sources

  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Uttarārdha (Dvitīya Khaṇḍa), Chapters 101–108 and 110
  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Volume 5