Ānantarya Tṛtīyā Vrata
Ānantarya Tṛtīyā Vrata · ānantarya tṛtīyā vrata, “the vow of the unbroken tṛtīyās”
Śubhā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śubhā.
The Ānantarya Tṛtīyā Vrata is a vrata of one full year, kept on the tṛtīyā (third lunar day) of both pakshas of twelve months, twenty-four tithis in all. It begins on the śukla tṛtīyā of Mārgaśīrsha and ends on the kṛshṇa tṛtīyā of Kārttika. On each tithi Devī Pārvatī receives pūjā under a name of her own, from Umā to Svadhā, with her own naivedya (food offering), and the vratī takes a prāśana (a small sacred taste of a named substance) and honours a brāhmaṇa couple the next morning.
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches it to Mahārāja Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, Chapter 29. The vrata closes with an udyāpana (concluding rite) on the next Mārgaśīrsha śukla tṛtīyā, with golden images of Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Pārvatī and the gift of a red milch cow to the guru. A woman or man who keeps it goes by divine vimāna through the higher lokas to Śivaloka, and is then born on earth as a mighty cakravartī king; his wife who kept the vrata becomes his chief queen. The list of vratas in Uttara Parva, Chapter 208 also names the Ānantarya Tṛtīyā.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 29, 208
How it came to be told
Mahārāja Yudhishṭhira said that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa had told him many śukla tṛtīyā vratas, and he asked the nature of the Ānantarya vrata. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa answered that Brahmā, Vishṇu and Maheśa had told the devas that this vrata is most secret. Even so, he said, he would tell it.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 29
The rule of each tṛtīyā
The vrata starts on the śukla tṛtīyā of Mārgaśīrsha. On that first tithi the vratī first keeps a vrata in the night of the dvitīyā (second lunar day), then fasts on the tṛtīyā, offers gandha (fragrance), flowers and the other offerings to Devī Pārvatī as Umā, and sleeps at night. In the morning the vratī feeds a brāhmaṇa couple with bhakti. Every other tṛtīyā follows the same pattern, each with its own name of the Devī, its naivedya, its prāśana, its conduct, its morning act and its phala (fruit).
The twenty-four tṛtīyās
The tithis are given here in the order of the text. In the “morning” column the couple is a brāhmaṇa with his wife.
| Tṛtīyā | Name of Devī Pārvatī | Naivedya | Prāśana | Conduct | In the morning | Phala |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mārgaśīrsha śukla | Umā | Śarkarā and pūrī | Curd | Fast, after a vrata in the night of the dvitīyā; pūjā with gandha, flowers and the like; sleep at night | Feed the couple with bhakti | The fruit of a complete aśvamedha yajña (said of a woman who keeps it) |
| Mārgaśīrsha kṛshṇa | Kātyāyanī | Coconut | Milk | Give up kāma and krodha; sleep at night | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of many yajñas |
| Pausha śukla | Gaurī | Laḍḍuka | Ghee | Fast; sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of a great yajña |
| Pausha kṛshṇa | Pārvatī | Naivedya, not named | Pūrī and gomaya (cow dung), at night | Not stated | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of an aśvamedha yajña |
| Māgha śukla | Suranāyikā | Khāṇḍa and bilva | Kuśodaka (kuśa water) | Keep the senses controlled; sleep on the ground | Feed the couple | The fruit of a gift of gold |
| Māgha kṛshṇa | Āryā | Bhakshya foods | Honey | Be pure; sleep before the Devī | Next day, do pūjā of the couple with bhakti | The fruit of a vājapeya yajña |
| Phālguna śukla | Bhadrā | Kāsāra | Śarkarā | Be pure; fast; sleep at night | Feed the couple | The fruit of a sautrāmaṇi yāga |
| Phālguna kṛshṇa | Viśālākshī | Pūrī; water and rice also offered | None stated | Sleep on the ground | Feed the couple | The fruit of an agnishṭoma yajña |
| Caitra śukla | Śrī | Vaṭaka (dahībaḍā) | Bilva leaf | Senses controlled and pure; rest in dhyāna of the Devī | Do pūjā of the couple with bhakti | The fruit of a rājasūya yajña |
| Caitra kṛshṇa | Kālī | Apūpa | Pīṭhī (ground pulse paste) | Rest at night | Feed the couple | The fruit of an atirātra yajña |
| Vaiśākha śukla | Caṇḍikā | Madhuka | None stated | Senses controlled; fast; anoint with śrīkhaṇḍa sandal; rest before the Devī | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of the cāndrāyaṇa vrata |
| Vaiśākha kṛshṇa | Kālarātri | Food made of ghee and barley flour | Sesame | Free of envy; fast; pūjā with gandha, flowers, dhūpa and dīpa; sleep at night | Feed the couple | The fruit of the atikṛcchra vrata |
| Jyeshṭha śukla | Śubhā | Mango | Āmalaka | Fast; sleep in comfort in dhyāna of Gaurī | Feed the couple | The fruit of a tīrthayātrā |
| Jyeshṭha kṛshṇa | Skandamātā | Bhoga, not named | Pañcagavya | A suvāsinī woman fasts; sleep before the Devī | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of kanyādāna |
| Āshāḍha śukla | Satī | Curd | Gośṛṅga water (water from a cow’s horn) | Sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of kanyādāna |
| Āshāḍha kṛshṇa | Kūshmāṇḍī | Saktu with guḍa and ghee | Kuśodaka | Sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of a gift of a thousand cows |
| Śrāvaṇa śukla | Candraghaṇṭā | Kulmāsha (kulathī) | Flower water | Fast; sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of abhayadāna |
| Śrāvaṇa kṛshṇa | Rudrāṇī | Siddha piṇḍa and the like | Tilakuṭa | Not stated | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of ishṭāpūrta yajña |
| Bhādrapada śukla | Himādrijā | Godhūma (wheat) | White sandal and gandhodaka | Sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of planting hundreds of gardens |
| Bhādrapada kṛshṇa | Durgā | Pishṭa with guḍa, and fruit | Gomūtra (cow’s urine) | Sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of sadāvarta |
| Āśvina (paksha not named) | Nārāyaṇī | Palān | Red sandal | Fast; sleep at night | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of an agnihotra yajña |
| Āśvina kṛshṇa | Svasti | Śāli rice with guḍa | Kusumbha seeds | Rest at night | Feed the couple | The fruit of gavāhnika (serving cows a full day with grain, grass and the like) |
| Kārttika śukla | Svāhā | Ghee, khāṇḍa and kshīra | Kuṃkuma and kesar | Sleep | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of the ekabhukta vrata |
| Kārttika kṛshṇa | Svadhā | Mūṅga khicaḍī | Ghee | Sleep at night | Do pūjā of the couple | The fruit of the nakta vrata |
One who keeps the vrata and its rites on the tṛtīyā of each month and each paksha through the year is freed of all pāpa (sin) and made pure.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 29
The udyāpana
The vrata is closed on the śukla tṛtīyā of Mārgaśīrsha.
- Fast, and build a maṇḍapa (pavilion) by the rule of the śāstra.
- Have golden images of Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Pārvatī made. Set pearl and nīlam in their eyes and coral in the lips, and put jewelled kuṇḍalas in the ears.
- Adorn Bhagavān Śaṃkara with a yajñopavīta and Devī Pārvatī with a necklace. Dress them in white and red cloth respectively.
- Adorn them with catuḥsama, a fragrance of equal parts of kastūrī, sandal, kuṃkuma and camphor.
- Do their pūjā in the maṇḍala with gandha, flowers, dhūpa and the other upacāras, and offer agaru in homa. In this, do archanā of Bhagavatī Aparājitā.
- Take mṛttikā (earth), and keep jāgaraṇa through the night with song, dance and festival. Do japa until sunrise.
- In the morning make an excellent maṇḍala and install the images of Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Pārvatī on a śayyā (couch) in it. Adorn the maṇḍapa with a canopy, flags, garlands, kiṅkiṇīs (small bells), mirrors and the like, and then do the pūjā of both.
- Satisfy a brāhmaṇa with his wife with food and other gifts. Offer pān and pray: “O Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Pārvatī, be pleased with me, both of you.” Then purify the place of the leftover food.
- Take a pradakshiṇā of a red milch cow with her horns covered in gold and her hooves in silver, with a bronze milking vessel, a red covering, and a bell and other ornaments. Give her to the guru with dakshiṇā, along with shoes, wooden sandals, an umbrella and many kinds of food.
- Bow again to Bhagavān Śiva and Devī Pārvatī, bow at the feet of the guru, and ask forgiveness.
So the Ānantarya vrata is closed. The Madhyama Parva names Aparājitā among the Mahāśaktis whose images receive pratishṭhā (installation), with Vārāhī, Tripurādevī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Mahāmāyā, Ambikā, Kāmākshī and Indrākshī.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 29; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 3, Chapters 18–19
The phala
A woman or man who keeps this vrata goes in a divine vimāna to Gandharvaloka, Yakshaloka, Devaloka and Vishṇuloka. After long enjoying excellent bhogas there, that person reaches Śivaloka, and is then born on earth as a mighty cakravartī king.
His wife who kept the vrata becomes his chief queen (paṭarānī). As Devī Pārvatī abides with Bhagavān Śiva, Śacī with Indra, Arundhatī with Vasishṭha, Lakshmī with Bhagavān Vishṇu and Sāvitrī with Brahmā, so that woman enjoys happiness with her husband birth after birth. A woman who keeps this vrata is never parted from her husband, and she gets sons, grandsons and everything else.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 29
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 3, Chapters 18–19; Uttara Parva, Chapters 29, 208