Upāṃśu Vrata
Upāṃśu Vrata · upāṃśu-vrata, “the vrata of inner restraint”
Grammar: neuter noun; a compound of upāṃśu (silent, inward) and vrata (a sacred vow): “the inward vow”.
Meaning: a vrata (sacred vow) observed with the senses and the mind kept under control.
In the scriptures: the Brahma Purāṇa tells of Satyavrata, the prince of Ayodhyā, who lived in the forest by his father’s command. There he supported the wife of Viśvāmitra with devotion, compassion and humility, hunting animals and hanging the meat on a tree near the muni’s āśrama. He took the upāṃśu vrata, took a twelve-year dīkshā, and lived in that country. Vasishṭha, the kula-guru, looked after the kingdom of Ayodhyā meanwhile. He knew that Satyavrata would undertake this severe twelve-year dīkshā as prāyaścitta (expiation), and that through it the stain on the family would go; knowing this, he had not opposed his going to the forest (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 8).
Related terms: Vrata · Dīkshā · Prāyaścitta · Indriya-nigraha
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 8