Vamana Purana — Akhanda Ekadashi Vrata, Shloka 17
Akhaṇḍa-Ekādaśī Vrata and the Vaiṣṇava Protective Hymn; Prelude to the Kātyāyanī–Mahiṣāsura Narrative
सिद्धार्तकैस्तिलैर्वापि तेनैवोद्वर्तनं स्मृतम् हविषा पद्मनाभस्य स्नानमेव समाचरेत् होमे तदेव गदितं दाने शक्तिर्निजा द्विज
siddhārtakaistilairvāpi tenaivodvartanaṃ smṛtam haviṣā padmanābhasya snānameva samācaret home tadeva gaditaṃ dāne śaktirnijā dvija
With siddhārtaka (mustard) and/or sesame, that very substance is prescribed for the body-scrub (udvartana). One should perform the bath for Padmanābha using haviṣ, a pure offering substance. The same is stated for the homa; and in giving (dāna), O twice-born, one should act according to one’s own capacity.
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FAQs
Ritual detail is paired with an ethical principle: charity must be proportional to capacity (yathā-śakti). The teaching discourages both negligence and performative excess, emphasizing sincerity and sustainable dharma.
Like many Purāṇas, the Vāmana Purāṇa includes extensive vrata-kalpa alongside narrative. This verse is dharma-anuśāsana (prescriptive ritual/ethical instruction), outside the strict pañcalakṣaṇa core.
Mustard/sesame scrubbing symbolizes removal of subtle impurities (mala) through deliberate effort (udvartana), while haviṣ and homa signal transformation—offering the purified self into sacred fire and sacred order.