The Explanation of the Twelve-Month Caturthī Vrata
विद्यते भुवनेष्वन्यत्तस्मान्नित्यमिति स्थितिः । ऊर्ज्जशुक्लचतुर्थ्यां तु नागव्रतमुदाहृतम् ॥ ५१ ॥
vidyate bhuvaneṣvanyattasmānnityamiti sthitiḥ | ūrjjaśuklacaturthyāṃ tu nāgavratamudāhṛtam || 51 ||
Rien, dans les mondes, n’est véritablement durable ; c’est pourquoi l’on doit demeurer établi dans l’éternel. Ainsi est prescrit le vœu nommé Nāga-vrata, à observer le jour de Caturthī, le quatrième jour lunaire de la quinzaine claire du mois d’Ūrja.
Narada (teaching within a vrata/observance context; framed in the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue tradition)
Vrata: Nāga-vrata
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
It contrasts the impermanence of worldly existence with the need to be established in the eternal (nitya), then links that orientation to a concrete discipline: observing Nāga-vrata on an auspicious tithi.
By directing the practitioner away from transient goals and toward steadiness in the eternal, it frames vrata as a devotional instrument—regular observance that trains remembrance, restraint, and reverence.
Calendar/ritual timing (tithi and lunar fortnight) is emphasized: the vow is specifically fixed on Ūrja month’s Śukla Caturthī, reflecting applied jyotiṣa-style timekeeping for dharmic rites.