Agni Purāṇa

190 - Mode of practising Akhandadvādasi vrata

Agni said:

1-6. Ishall describe the (mode of performing) Akhandadvādaši vrata (unbroken twelfth day), that is complementary to all vows. The performershould worship lord Vishnu on the twelfth day in the bright (fortnight) in the (month of) margasirsha (December-January) after fasting and bathing in water mixed with five things got from a cow and drinking the same. Heshould give to a brahmin a vessel with barley and rice on the twelfth day. “O Lord! that vow which has been broken by me in the (past) seven births let it now get complete for me by your grace. O Excellent Being! Just as you are the unbroken entire world, in the same way let all my vows get completed.” It is laid down for every month in the same way for four months. Otherwise (it may be practised) in the months of chaitra (April-May) etc. Vessel (filled) with fourshould be given as a gift. If the vow is begun in the (months of) Sravana (August-September) etc., oneshould break it at the end of kárttika (November-December). The deficiency in the vows (practised) in the seven (past) births gets fruitful by the performance (of this). One would get long life, health, fortune, kingdom and pleasures.

Summary of chapter 190 of the Agni Purāṇa is as follows:

The Akhaṇḍa-dvādaśī vrata performed on Mārgaśīrṣa-śukla-dvādaśī is described as the remedy for all previously undertaken vratas that were interrupted, incomplete, or improperly observed. Agni prescribes upavāsa, Viṣṇu pūjā, and pāraṇa with pañcagavya the following morning. The distinctive prayer states: "For seven births my vratas have been left incomplete—O Puruṣottama, make them whole by your grace." The vrata is also performed as a four-month discipline from Āṣāḍha to Āśvayuja with the giving of a saktu-pātra (container of roasted grain) monthly. It bestows āyus, ārogya, saubhāgya, and rājya upon the performer.