Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 61
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 6112 Shlokas

Adhyaya 61: The Observance for the Fulfilment of Desires: Worship of Keśava in the Form of Guha (Kumāra)

Kāmavrata (Guha-rūpeṇa Keśava-pūjā) Vidhiḥ

Ritual-Manual (Vrata-vidhi) / Royal-Ethics (Kingship restoration motif)

En el marco didáctico Varāha–Pṛthivī, este adhyāya expone un vrata enseñado por el sabio Agastya a un mahārāja/nṛpa para obtener los frutos deseados (kāma-siddhi). Se prescribe una disciplina de un año: alimentación regulada a base de frutos (phala-āśana), control del habla o silencio (vāg-yata) y observancia calendárica según los tithi de la quincena luminosa de Pauṣa. El rito se centra en el agni-kārya y en la adoración de Keśava concebido “en la forma de Guha”, con una letanía de nombres vinculados a Ṣaṇmukha/Skanda/Kārttikeya. Al final se ordena alimentar a los brāhmaṇas y donar un icono de oro de Ṣaṇmukha, seguido de una dádiva acompañada de mantra. Ejemplos como Nala y otros reyes depuestos presentan el vrata como medio para restaurar prosperidad, linaje y estabilidad política, vinculando la conducta ordenada con el equilibrio social de Pṛthivī.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīAgastyaMahārāja (unnamed king)

Key Concepts

kāmavrata (desire-fulfilment observance)tithi-based ritual calendrics (ṣaṣṭhī, caturthī, saptamī)phala-āhāra (fruit-based dietary restraint)vāg-yama (speech restraint)agni-kārya (fire-rite)Keśava as Guha (syncretic/identificatory worship)dāna and brāhmaṇa-bhojana (gift and feeding as completion rites)royal restoration narrative (rājya-prāpti motif)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 61

Shlokas in Adhyaya 61

Verse 1

अगस्त्य उवाच । कामव्रतं महाराज शृणु मे गदतोऽधुना । येन कामाः समृद्ध्यन्ते मनसा चिन्तिता अपि ॥ ६१.१ ॥

Agastya dijo: «Oh gran rey, escucha ahora mientras expongo el kāma-vrata, por el cual los deseos, incluso los concebidos solo en la mente, llegan a plena realización».

Verse 2

षष्ठ्यां फलाशनो यस्तु वर्षमेकं व्रतं चरेत् । पौषमाससिते पक्षे चतुर्थ्यां कृतभोजनः ॥ ६१.२ ॥

Quien, en el sexto día lunar (ṣaṣṭhī), se sustenta con frutos y observa este voto durante un año entero, y quien, en la quincena oscura del mes de Pauṣa, toma alimento en el cuarto día lunar (caturthī): tal es la disciplina prescrita.

Verse 3

षष्ठ्यां तु पारयेद् धीमान् प्रथमं तु फलं नृप । ततो भुञ्जीत यत्नेन वाग्यतः शुद्धमोदनम् ॥ ६१.३ ॥

En el sexto día, el sabio debe concluir la observancia, oh rey, tomando primero fruto; después, con esmero y con la palabra refrenada, debe comer arroz cocido purificado.

Verse 4

ब्राह्मणैः सह राजेन्द्र अथवा केवलैः फलैः । तमेेकं दिवसं स्थित्वा सप्तम्यां पारयेन्नृप ॥ ६१.४ ॥

Oh rey de reyes, ya sea junto con los bráhmanas o bien sólo con frutos; habiendo mantenido esa observancia por un solo día, debe concluirse en la saptamī, el séptimo día lunar, oh soberano.

Verse 5

अग्निकार्यं तु कुर्वीत गुहारूपेण केशवम् । पूजयित्वाभिधानॆन वर्षमेकं व्रतं चरेत् ॥ ६१.५ ॥

Debe realizarse el rito del fuego; y, tras adorar a Keśava en la forma llamada por nombre “Guharūpa”, debe practicarse el voto (vrata) durante un año entero.

Verse 6

षड्वक्त्र कार्त्तिक गुह सेनानी कृत्तिकासुत । कुमार स्कन्द इत्येवं पूज्यो विष्णुः स्वनामभिः ॥ ६१.६ ॥

Con los epítetos “Ṣaḍvaktra, Kārttika, Guha, Senānī, Kṛttikāsuta, Kumāra y Skanda”, así debe honrarse a Viṣṇu mediante sus propios nombres sagrados.

Verse 7

समाप्तौ तु व्रतस्यास्य कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणभोजनम् । षण्मुखं सर्वसौवर्णं ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत् ॥ ६१.७ ॥

Al concluir este voto, debe ofrecerse una comida a un bráhmana; y debe presentarse a un bráhmana una imagen de Ṣaṇmukha, de seis rostros, hecha enteramente de oro.

Verse 8

सर्वे कामाः समृद्ध्यन्तां मम देव कुमारक । त्वत्प्रसादादिमं भक्त्या गृह्यतां विप्र माचिरम् ॥ ६१.८ ॥

Que todos mis deseos se cumplan, oh joven divino. Por tu favor, oh brāhmaṇa, acepta esto con devoción, sin demora.

Verse 9

अनेन दत्त्वा मन्त्रेण ब्राह्मणाय सयुग्मकम् । ततः कामाः समृद्ध्यन्ते सर्वे वै इह जन्मनि ॥ ६१.९ ॥

Habiendo entregado (la ofrenda), junto con su par, a un brāhmaṇa mediante este mantra, entonces se dice que todos los fines deseados prosperan aquí, en esta misma vida.

Verse 10

अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रमधनो लभते धनम् । भ्रष्टराज्यो लभेद्राज्यं नात्र कार्या विचारणा ॥ ६१.१० ॥

Quien no tiene hijo obtiene un hijo; quien es pobre obtiene riqueza; y quien ha perdido su reino recobra la soberanía: aquí no hay lugar para duda alguna.

Verse 11

एतद् व्रतं पुरा चीर्णं नलेन नृपसत्तम । ऋतुपर्णस्य विषये वसता व्रतचर्यया ॥ ६१.११ ॥

Oh el mejor de los reyes, este voto fue observado antaño por Nala, cuando moraba en el dominio de Ṛtuparṇa, practicando la disciplina del voto.

Verse 12

तथा राज्यच्युतैरन्यैर्बहुभिर्नृपसत्तमैः । पौराणिकं व्रतं चैव सिद्ध्यर्थं नृपसत्तम ॥ ६१.१२ ॥

Del mismo modo, oh mejor de los reyes, muchos otros reyes excelentes que habían caído de la soberanía emprendieron también este voto «Paurāṇika» para alcanzar el logro.

Inside Adhyaya 61

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, the discourse turns to a pragmatic royal question: how a ruler (or any seeker) may regain stability, prosperity, and desired ends through disciplined observance. Agastya is introduced as the authoritative transmitter of a kāma-siddhi vrata to an unnamed mahārāja/nṛpa.

  2. Central event

    Agastya lays out a year-long vrata structured by (1) regulated diet (phala-āhāra), (2) restraint of speech (vāg-yama), and (3) tithi-governed observance in the bright fortnight of Pauṣa. The ritual core is an agni-kārya and worship of Keśava identified with Guha/Kumāra, accompanied by a litany of Ṣaṇmukha/Skanda names that function as praise and invocation.

  3. Climax resolution

    The observance culminates in a formal completion (pāraṇa/pārayet) around the specified tithis (notably ṣaṣṭhī with transitions through caturthī and saptamī), followed by brāhmaṇa-bhojana and dāna. The climactic gift is a golden Ṣaṇmukha icon, sealed by a mantraic donation—marking the transfer of merit and the social reintegration of the vow’s fruits.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    The chapter’s stated fruit is kāma-siddhi broadly construed—restoration of rājya, prosperity, lineage-continuity, and political steadiness. Exempla (Nala and other rājya-cyuta kings) serve as an implicit phalaśruti: those who were displaced regain fortune and standing through this vrata.

Geographical context

Cultural-historical setting references include the narrative association with Nala and Ṛtuparṇa (Itihāsa-linked royal milieu).

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualKāma-siddhi vrata: worship of Keśava in the form of Guha (Kumāra/Ṣaṇmukha) with agni-kārya, year-long restraints, and concluding dāna/brāhmaṇa-bhojana.
  • BenefitFulfilment of desired aims (kāma-siddhi), with emphasis on royal restoration: recovery of kingdom/fortune, stabilization of rule, prosperity, and lineage/security; additionally, personal steadiness through restraint and merit through dāna.

The narrative frame

  • Varāha (in the overarching Varāha–Pṛthivī frame); within the adhyāya, Agastya functions as the instructing authority for the vrata.Pṛthivī (Earth) as principal listener; within the embedded instruction, an unnamed mahārāja/nṛpa receives Agastya’s teaching. · Didactic and procedural (vrata-manual), with a royal-ethical undertone linking personal discipline to public order.

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (disciplined composure) with supportive Vīra (royal recovery/steadfastness).
  • Emotional ProgressionAnxiety of loss/instability → resolve through rule-bound practice → focused devotion in fire-rite and name-litany → relief and confidence at completion through feeding and gifting → restored equilibrium (personal and political).

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityText does not anchor the vrata to a specific tīrtha; practice is feasible as a home/temple observance with access to a fire-rite setting and a Skanda/Guha shrine or Vaiṣṇava temple accommodating the syncretic form.
  • Best SeasonPauṣa (Dec–Jan) for the highlighted śukla pakṣa tithis; generally winter is conducive for vrata discipline and fire-rites in many regions.
  • Related FestivalSkanda Ṣaṣṭhī (as a culturally resonant ṣaṣṭhī observance), and broader Pauṣa-month Vaiṣṇava/temple calendars depending on locale.

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter frames disciplined self-regulation (dietary restraint, controlled speech, and calendrically ordered practice) as a means to stabilize personal aims and social order; it further presents dāna and feeding brāhmaṇas as completion acts that redistribute resources, supporting communal equilibrium understood as beneficial to Pṛthivī’s sustained order.

The vrata is to be observed for one year (varṣam ekaṃ). Specific tithis are named: ṣaṣṭhī (as a key fasting/fruit regimen day and also as a concluding marker), caturthī in the śukla pakṣa of Pauṣa (Pauṣamāsa-site pakṣe) with kṛta-bhojana, and saptamī as a completion/transition point (pārayet).

Although it does not explicitly discuss landscapes or ecology in the provided verses, the text implicitly links Pṛthivī’s balance to human conduct: regulated consumption (phala-āhāra), restraint (vāg-yama), and structured giving (dāna, brāhmaṇa-bhojana) are presented as practices that reduce excess, formalize resource circulation, and reinforce social stability—an indirect model of terrestrial stewardship within the Purāṇic ethic.

Agastya appears as the instructing sage. The exemplum cites King Nala (nṛpa-sattama) and mentions Ṛtuparṇa (as the ruler in whose domain Nala resided), along with a generalized reference to other kings who had lost their kingdoms (rājya-cyuta) and sought success through the vrata.

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