Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
द्वादशमासेषु अष्टमी-व्रत-कथनम्
Account of the Aṣṭamī Vow Across the Twelve Months
सनातन उवाच । शुक्लाष्टम्यां चैत्रमासे भवान्याः प्रोच्यते जनिः । प्रदक्षिणशतं कृत्वा कार्यो यात्रामहोत्सवः ॥ १ ॥
sanātana uvāca | śuklāṣṭamyāṃ caitramāse bhavānyāḥ procyate janiḥ | pradakṣiṇaśataṃ kṛtvā kāryo yātrāmahotsavaḥ || 1 ||
সনাতন ক’লে—চৈত্ৰ মাহৰ শুক্ল অষ্টমীত ভবানীৰ জন্ম ঘোষণা কৰা হয়। এশ প্ৰদক্ষিণা কৰি দেৱীৰ যাত্ৰা-মহোৎসৱ কৰা উচিত।
Sanātana (one of the Sanatkumāra brothers)
Vrata: Bhavānī-janma/Śuklāṣṭamī observance (festival-vrata context)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It sanctifies a specific sacred time—Caitra Śuklāṣṭamī—as auspicious for honoring Bhavānī’s manifestation, linking devotion to disciplined ritual acts (pradakṣiṇā) and communal celebration (yātrā-mahotsava).
Bhakti is expressed through embodied reverence—circumambulating (pradakṣiṇā) as an act of surrender and then celebrating the deity publicly via yātrā, turning personal devotion into a shared dhārmic festival.
It uses calendrical ritual precision—identifying the lunar tithi (Śuklāṣṭamī) in the month of Caitra—reflecting Jyotiṣa-based timing applied to vrata and utsava observances.