Prayer to the Seven Oceans
Saptasāgara Prārthanā · sapta-sāgara prārthanā, “the prayer to the seven oceans”
The prayer to the seven oceans is the prayer with which the yajamāna gives the seven oceans, seven kuṇḍas each filled with a different substance, in the Saptasāgara-dāna. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa gives it to Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.
The setting
Seven kuṇḍas are made, each with a deity of gold established in it: the first filled with salt, with Brahmā; the second with milk, with Bhagavān Vishṇu; the third with ghee, with Bhagavān Śiva; the fourth with guḍa, with Bhagavān Bhāskara; the fifth with curd, with Surādhipa, the ruler of the devas; the sixth with sugar, with Lakshmī; and the seventh with the pure water of tīrthas, with Pārvatī. All are adorned with ratnas and grain. On the puṇya parva the yajamāna bathes, wears white, makes three pradakshiṇās of the kuṇḍas and recites the prayer.
The prayer
Its meaning, as the text gives it: “Seven oceans, sole refuge of all rivers, you are eternal; namaskāra to you. Namaskāra to the oceans, who give life to all beings. You are full of salt, milk, ghee, the juice of sugarcane, curd, sugar and the water of tīrthas. Givers of honour, destroy my whole mass of pāpa. May Alakshmī go far from my house, and may Lakshmī dwell in it.”
The phala
Saying this, the giver gives the seven oceans to brāhmaṇas. Śrī Kṛshṇa says: “Yudhishṭhira, son of Kuntī, from the house of the giver of the Saptasāgara, Lakshmī does not depart for eight generations. He is honoured in Devaloka for seven manvantaras, and at the end attains Brahmaloka.”
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 182
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 182