Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Daśamī-vrata: Observances for the Bright Tenth Day Through the Twelve Months
सनातन उवाच । अथ तेऽहं प्रवक्ष्यामि दशम्या वै व्रतानि च । यानि कृत्वा नरो भक्त्या धर्मराजप्रियो भवेत् ॥ १ ॥
sanātana uvāca | atha te'haṃ pravakṣyāmi daśamyā vai vratāni ca | yāni kṛtvā naro bhaktyā dharmarājapriyo bhavet || 1 ||
Sanātana sprach: Nun will ich euch die Gelübde darlegen, die am Daśamī (dem zehnten Mondtag) zu halten sind; wer sie in Bhakti vollzieht, wird Dharmarāja (Yama), dem Herrn der Rechtschaffenheit, lieb.
Sanātana (Sanatkumāra brother)
Vrata: Daśamī-vrata (set of vows on the tenth lunar day)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It introduces a Daśamī-vrata section and states the core fruit: devotional observance of these vows aligns one with dharma, making the practitioner “dear to Dharmarāja,” i.e., established in righteousness and moral order.
Bhakti is presented as the inner power that makes ritual observance spiritually effective—vows are not mere formalities; when performed with devotion they transform character and karmic standing.
The verse relies on calendrical/ritual timing—observance on the lunar tithi (Daśamī)—which connects to Jyotiṣa (Vedāṅga astrology/astronomy) for determining tithis and to Kalpa (ritual procedure) for vrata performance.