Adhyaya 208

Lord Agni lays out a concise yet systematic scheme of vows (vrata) and gifts (dāna), arranging observances by ritual time-markers—tithi (lunar day), vāra (weekday), nakṣatra (asterism), saṅkrānti (solar ingress), yoga—and by special occasions such as eclipses and Manv-ādi days. He then gives a unifying theology: both “time” (kāla) and “substance/offerings” (dravya) are presided over by Viṣṇu, while Sūrya, Īśa, Brahmā, and Lakṣmī are taught as Viṣṇu’s vibhūtis, keeping diverse rites doctrinally coherent. The chapter supplies a liturgical worship-sequence (āsana, pādya, arghya, madhuparka, ācamana, snāna, vastra, gandha, puṣpa, dhūpa, dīpa, naivedya) and a standard donation formula naming the recipient brāhmaṇa and gotra. The donor’s aims are listed—from sin-pacification and health to lineage, victory, wealth, and finally saṃsāra-mukti—ending with a phalaśruti promising bhukti and mukti to regular readers/hearers, and warning that regulated worship of Vāsudeva and related forms must follow one consistent rule, not mixed procedures.