Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43
The Explanation of the Twelve-Month Caturthī Vrata
कपर्दिगणनाथोऽसौ प्रीयतां तैः समर्पितैः । चतुर्थ्यां कार्तिके कृष्णे करकाख्यं व्रतं स्मृतम् ॥ ४३ ॥
kapardigaṇanātho'sau prīyatāṃ taiḥ samarpitaiḥ | caturthyāṃ kārtike kṛṣṇe karakākhyaṃ vrataṃ smṛtam || 43 ||
वे अर्पण किए गए द्रव्यों से कपर्दी गणनाथ प्रसन्न हों। कार्तिक मास के कृष्ण पक्ष की चतुर्थी को ‘करक’ नामक व्रत स्मरण किया गया है।
Narada (teaching in a vrata-vidhi context to the Sanatkumara tradition)
Vrata: Karakā (Karaka) vrata
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It links devotion expressed through properly timed offerings with a specific sacred calendar observance—Karaka-vrata on Kārttika kṛṣṇa-caturthī—emphasizing that vrata and arpaṇa (dedicated offering) are means to invoke divine grace.
Bhakti is shown as reverent dedication: offerings are not merely ritual acts but conscious samarpana (presentation) meant to please the deity—here Śiva as Kapardī, the Gaṇanātha.
It highlights calendrical and lunar-day discipline (tithi and pakṣa observance)—a practical application aligned with Jyotiṣa-style timekeeping used to schedule vratas accurately.