Adhyaya 234

Pārvatī asks Mahādeva (Śiva) for the proper procedure of the Dvādaśī observance and the worship of Viṣṇu, and requests an explanation of Ekādaśī’s power to destroy sin. Śiva, along with embedded instructional verses, praises Ekādaśī fasting as greater than major Vedic sacrifices and as the foremost safeguard against wrongdoing. The chapter then lays down practical vrata rules: avoid tithi-mixture (Daśamī/Ekādaśī), observe aruṇodaya duties, and perform pāraṇa on Dvādaśī even if only a small portion remains. It details the rites—Daśamī restraint, bathing with āmalakī, night worship and vigil, tulasī offerings, Lakṣmī–Nārāyaṇa worship, 108-fold ārati, naivedya of kṣīra/pāyasa, homa with 108 oblations using the Puruṣa and Lakṣmī Sūktas, feeding brāhmaṇas, and scriptural recitation—concluding that Viṣṇu swiftly grants boons.