Varāha Mahā Purana
54 - Vrata for attaining the best husband
Bhadräshva said:
1. O sage, be pleased to tell me who should be worshipped by a person desirous of getting knowledge and how he should be worshipped.
Agastya said:
2. Lord Vishnu alone is to be worshipped by all always, even by Devas. I shall tell you the means by which one can get boons from him.
3. He is the ultimate truth conveyed by the Vedas and sought by sages and the common people, and He is the Supreme God. Worshipping him will never be in vain.
4. The vrata to propitiate told by the great Nárada to the Apsarases is well known.
Apsarases said:
5. O divine sage, son of Brahma, we wish to have husbands. Please tell us how we can get Lord Näräyana as our husband.
Närada said:
6. It is the rule that a question like this should be asked after respectful prostration, but you did not observe it because of your pride of youth.
7. Still, since you have uttered the name of the great Vishnu and what you seek is to attain him as husband, I feel you have made some amends for your fault.
8. I shall now tell you about the vrata by which Vishnu will give boons on his own and become the husband of the seekers. Närada said:
9. On the auspicious Dvädašhi day in the šhuklapaksha Vasanta (spring season), one should fast and worship Vishnu at night in the prescribed manner.
10. A circle of red flowers should be made (round the idol) and the whole night should be spent without sleep and with dance and song, vocal and instrumental.
11. The (lord’s) head should be worshipped as Bhava, the waist as Anañga, the hands as Käma, the belly as Sušhästra, the feet as Manmatha, and the whole body as Hari.
12. The devotee should then bow in all directions.
13. In the morning gifts should be given to a Vaidik Brahmin who is free from bodily defect.
14. After propitiating the Brahmins, the vrata should be concluded. If you observe all this, Vishnu will certainly become your husband.
15. The lord should also be worshipped with fine sugarcane juice and flowers like jasmine.
16. Since your pride you did not bow to me before asking me about this, you have shown me an insult and you cannot escape (fully) from its effect.
17. Therefore in this very lake here you stand now, you will happen to laugh at sage and incur his curse.
18-19. You will get the great Hari as your husband, but you will face the insult of being carried away by the cowherds. But the lord will still be your husband.
Agastya said:
20. After saying this, the divine sage Närada disappeared. They performed all that they were told to do, and Vishnu became pleased with them.
Summary of chapter 54 of the Varāha Mahā Purana is as follows:
Witnessing his grandson King Bali's growing ambition to conquer the three worlds through Vedic sacrifices, the saintly devotee Prahlāda imparts profound spiritual counsel regarding the transient nature of worldly power. Prahlāda reminds Bali that royal sovereignty, wealth, and earthly empires are fleeting manifestations of Māyā, whereas true eternal joy lies solely in unshakeable devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu. He urges King Bali to govern with complete humility, maintain strict truthfulness, and never allow royal pride to obscure his devotion to the Supreme Divine.