Adhyaya 60: The Rite of the Śāntivrata: A Yearlong Observance with Viṣṇu-on-Śeṣa and Nāga-Anganyāsa Worship
Śāntivrata-vidhiḥ (Ananta-Śeṣa-nāga-pūjā-sahitaḥ)
Ritual-Manual
Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, a received instruction is presented in which the sage Agastya addresses a king and sets forth the Śāntivrata as a practical discipline for householders to secure lasting peace (śānti). It begins on the fifth lunar day (pañcamī) of the bright fortnight in Kārttika and continues for one year, with dietary restraint that excludes sour foods. Each night the practitioner worships Hari envisioned as resting upon Śeṣa (Ananta), then offers distinct veneration to specific nāgas by ritually placing them on bodily locations from the feet up to the head (aṅganyāsa). The rite includes bathing the deity with milk, a milk-and-sesame homa, and, at the year’s end, feeding brāhmaṇas and gifting a golden nāga image. The text links ritual order with social stability and reduced fear of serpents, implicitly aligning domestic harmony with the well-being of the earth.
Primary Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 60
Verse 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । शान्तिव्रतं प्रवक्ष्यामि तव राजन् शृणुष्व तत् । येन चीर्णेन शान्तिः स्यात् सर्वदा गृहमेधिनाम् ॥ ६०.१ ॥
Agastya said: “O king, listen. I shall expound the Śānti-vrata, the vow of peace; by observing it, peace arises always for householders.”
Verse 2
पञ्चम्यां शुक्लपक्षस्य कार्त्तिके मासि सुव्रत । अरभेद् वर्षमेकं तु भुञ्जीयादम्लवर्जितम् ॥ ६०.२ ॥
On the fifth lunar day of the bright fortnight in the month of Kārttika, O you of good vows, one should begin and, for a full year, subsist on food that excludes sour items.
Verse 3
नक्तं देवं तु सम्पूज्य हरिं शेषोपरि स्थितम् । अनन्तायेति पादौ तु वासुकायेति वै कटिम् ॥ ६०.३ ॥
At night, having duly worshipped Hari, the divine one stationed upon Śeṣa, one should address the feet as “Ananta” and indeed the waist as “Vāsuka.”
Verse 4
तक्षकाश्येति जठरमुरः कर्कोटकाय च । पद्माय कण्ठं सम्पूज्य महापद्माय दोर्युगम् ॥ ६०.४ ॥
Uttering “(obeisance) to Takṣaka,” one should venerate the belly; and “to Karkoṭaka,” the chest. Having worshipped the throat with “to Padma,” one should venerate the pair of arms with “to Mahāpadma.”
Verse 5
शङ्खपालाय वक्त्रं तु कुटिलायेति वै शिरः । एवं विष्णुगतं पूज्य पृथक्त्वेन च पूजयेत् ॥ ६०.५ ॥
One should assign the face (vaktra) to Śaṅkhapāla, and indeed the head (śiras) to Kuṭila. Thus, having worshipped what is apportioned to Viṣṇu, one should also worship each separately, as distinct aspects.
Verse 6
क्षीरेण स्नपनं कुर्यात् तानुद्दिश्य हरेः पुनः । तदग्रे होमयेत् क्षीरं तिलैः सह विचक्षणः ॥ ६०.६ ॥
One should perform a milk-ablution, again dedicating it to those intended recipients in relation to Hari. Then, before that rite or altar, the discerning person should offer milk into the fire together with sesame seeds.
Verse 7
एवं संवत्सरस्यान्ते कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणभोजनम् । नागं तु काञ्चनं कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत् ॥ ६०.७ ॥
Thus, at the end of the year, one should arrange a meal for brāhmaṇas; and one should have a golden serpent made and present it to a brāhmaṇa.
Verse 8
एवं यः कुरुते भक्त्या व्रतमेतन्नराधिपः । तस्य शान्तिर्भवेन्नित्यं नागानां न भयṃ तथा ॥ ६०.८ ॥
Thus, O ruler of men, whoever performs this vow with devotion attains constant peace; and likewise, there is no fear from the nāgas, the serpent-beings.
Frequently Asked Questions
The text frames peace (śānti) as a household virtue cultivated through disciplined, time-bound observance: regulated diet, regular worship, and socially redistributive acts (brāhmaṇa-bhojana and dāna). The underlying logic links ritual order and self-restraint to sustained domestic stability and the mitigation of harms symbolized by nāgas.
The observance begins on pañcamī (the fifth tithi) of the śuklapakṣa (bright fortnight) in the month of Kārttika and is performed for one full year (saṃvatsara). The worship is specified as nakta (night-time) devotion.
While not explicitly ecological in vocabulary, the chapter employs nāga symbolism—often associated with subterranean waters, land stability, and liminal terrestrial forces—within a protective and harmonizing rite. By prescribing non-violent, regulated conduct and offerings that culminate in communal feeding and gifting, the text can be read as aligning household practice with the maintenance of social and terrestrial equilibrium.
The speaker identified in the transmitted instruction is the sage Agastya, addressing a rājā (king). No dynastic genealogy is specified in these verses, but the presence of Agastya situates the instruction within a sage-to-king didactic model common to Purāṇic legal-ritual discourse.