Āditya Śayana Vrata
Āditya Śayana Vrata, simply known as Aditya Shayana Vrata, Sanskrit: आदित्य शयन व्रत, Telugu: ఆదిత్య శయన వ్రతం, Hindi: आदित्य शयन व्रत.
The Āditya Śayana Vrata is a vrata of fourteen years. In it Bhagavān Śiva is worshipped in his śayana (reclining) form on the day of each nakshatra, using the twenty-five names (nāmas) of Sūrya. Bhagavān Śiva taught it to Nārada. It is given in the Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 55.
Why it was taught
Nārada asked Bhagavān Śiva for a vrata for people who cannot keep a strict fast every day (upavāsa). Bhagavān Śiva then gave the Āditya Śayana Vrata. It is a worship of Bhagavān Śiva by nakshatra, using the names of Sūrya, and it rests on the truth that Āditya and Śambhu are not two. It allows a person to eat only at night (nakta-bhojanā). It is told as an easier way than the Nakshatra Purusha Vrata.
Āditya and Śiva are one
Ravi and Bhagavān Śiva are not different. So the devotee worships a mūrti or a liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva, using the twenty-five names of Sūrya.
A household should not keep a pratimā (image) of Sūrya and a Śivaliṅga together. It should keep only one of them, in honour of the fact that they are not different.
The nakshatras, the names and the limbs
On the day of each nakshatra, the devotee worships the matching limb of Bhagavān Śiva with the matching name of Sūrya.
| Nakshatra | Nāma of Sūrya | Limb worshipped |
|---|---|---|
| Hasta | Sūrya | Pādau (feet) |
| Citrā | Arka | Gulphau (ankles) |
| Svātī | Purushottama | Jaṅghe (calves) |
| Viśākhā | Dhātṛ | Jānunī (knees) |
| Anurādhā | Sahasrabhānu | Ūru (thighs) |
| Jyeshṭhā | Anaṅga-Indra | Hṛd (heart) |
| Mūla | Soma | Kaṭi (waist) |
| Pūrvāshāḍhā / Uttarāshāḍhā | Tvashṭṛ / Saptaturaṅga | Nābhi (navel) |
| Śravaṇa | Tīkshṭāṃśu | Kukshi (belly) |
| Dhanishṭhā | Vikartana | Pṛshṭha (back) |
| Śatabhisha | Dhvāntavināśana | Vakshaḥsthala (chest) |
| Pūrvābhādrā / Uttarābhādrā | Caṇḍakara | Bāhu (arms) |
| Revatī | Sāmnāmadhīśa | Hasta (hands) |
| Aśvinī | Saptāśvadhurāndhara | Nakhāni (nails) |
| Bharaṇī | Karadhāman | Kaṇṭha (throat) |
| Kṛttikā | Divākara | Grīvā (neck) |
| Rohiṇī | Āmbujośa | Adhara (lower lip) |
| Mṛgaśīrā | Ravi | Dantāni (teeth) |
| Ārdrā | Savitṛ | Nāsikā (nose) |
| Punarvasu | Ambhoruha-vallabha | Lalāṭa (forehead) |
| Pushya | Vedaśarīradhāriṇe | Alaka (locks of hair) |
| Āśleshā | Ebudhapriya | Śiraḥ (head) |
| Maghā | Grahagaṇeśa | Karṇa (ears) |
| Pūrvaphalgunī | Gobrahmaṇanandana | Netre (eyes) |
| Uttaraphalgunī | Viśveśvara | Bhujau (shoulders) |
How long it lasts, and the dāna
The vrata is kept for fourteen years. In the seventh year, a pair of garments is added to the usual dāna.
At the end of the fourteenth year, a gold padma (lotus) of eight aṅgulas (finger-breadths) is made, with eight petals set with padmarāga gems. It is placed on a bed of good quality with all its things: pillows, fans, a parasol, a mirror, ornaments, fruits and garments. A kapilā cow with her calf is added, her horns covered with gold and her hooves with silver. All this is given to a worthy brāhmaṇa before midday.
The mantra for the gift, in meaning, is:
O Āditya! As your bed is always bright and full of glory and joy, may the same plenty come to me also. No devatā thinks anyone other than you more worthy of worship, so lift me out of this ocean of saṃsāra.
The phala
Men or women who keep this vrata live in Śivaloka for seven hundred kalpas, free from sorrow and illness. Their pitṛs (ancestors) rise to svarga. Those who hear or read the account of this vrata also reach Vishṇuloka.
Sources
- Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 55