Nakta

Nakta · nakta, “the night meal”

Grammar: neuter noun, from nakta (night): “at night”.

Meaning: the rule of eating one meal only at night, kept as part of a fast or vrata.

In the scriptures: the Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa says that some hold that nakta is at the sight of the stars, and others at the end of the day less one muhūrta; Brahmā holds that it is at the sight of the stars. On the day of Āditya, a nakta meal with japa of the Āditya Hṛdaya before it gives health here and Sūryaloka after (Brahma Parva, Chapter 82).

One who keeps nakta upavāsa on Bhadrā, the shashṭhī of Bhādrapada śukla paksha, goes on a haṃsa vehicle to Sūryaloka (Chapter 83), and one who takes up the nakta vrata and worships Sūryadeva on the Saumya day, a Sunday with Rohiṇī, reaches Sūryaloka (Chapter 84). The pūjā is done either with upavāsa or by the nakta rule (Chapter 85). The upavāsa and nakta vratas, with the snāna, dāna and japa done that day, give a hundredfold fruit (Chapter 86). Under the nakta vrata one goes to the Sūrya mandira and recites the Āditya Hṛdaya one hundred and eight times (Chapter 90). In the Ānantarya vrata of the Uttara Parva, the tṛtīyā of Kārttika kṛshṇa gives the fruit of the nakta vrata (Uttara Parva, Chapter 29).

Related terms: Naktavrata · Ekabhakta · Upavāsa

Sources

• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 82–86, 90; Uttara Parva, Chapter 29