Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 46
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 4616 Shlokas

Adhyaya 46: The Rite of the Āṣāḍha Bright-Fortnight Dvādaśī Fast and the Installation (Nyāsa) of the Fourfold Manifestation

Āṣāḍha-śukla-dvādaśī-vrata-vidhiḥ caturvyūha-nyāsaś ca

Ritual-Manual with Etiological Narrative (vrata-māhātmya)

Varaha Bhagwan Prithvi ko batate hain ki Ashadh mahine ki dvadashi ka vrat kaise karna hai. Durvasa rishi ne yeh vidhi batayi thi jisme insaan apne sharir ke hisson par phool aur ittr se puja karta hai. Iske baad sone ki murti banake usme Vasudev aur charon roop sthapit karte hain. Ek paani bhara kalash bhi puja ke samne rakhna padta hai. Yeh sab karne ke baad vedi padhe brahman ko woh murti daan mein deni chahiye. Kahani mein Prithvi ne shikayat ki ki bojh bada raha hai, toh dev log Narayan ke paas gaye. Narayan ne kaha main ek aurat ke roop mein aunga jo yeh vrat karti hai. Vasudev aur Devaki ne bhi yeh dvadashi vrat kiya tha. Unhone isse dhan aur santan dono paye.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīDurvāsasNāradaPṛthivī (as petitioner)Nārāyaṇa

Key Concepts

Āṣāḍha-śukla-dvādaśī-vrata (seasonal fast-observance)Caturvyūha (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha)Aṅga-nyāsa through divine nāmāni (mapping epithets to body parts)Dāna to vedavādin brāhmaṇa (ritual gifting and textual authority)Pṛthivī-bhāra (Earth’s burden as ecological-political imbalance)Incarnation logic as response to terrestrial distress
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 46

Shlokas in Adhyaya 46

Verse 1

दुर्वासा उवाच । आषाढेऽप्येवमेवं तु संकल्प्य विधिना नरः । अर्चयेत् परमं देवं गन्धपुष्पैरनेकशः ॥ ४६.१ ॥

Durvasa ne kaha, Ashadh mahine mein bhi yahi karo. Pehle niyam se soch lo, phir bhagwan ki puja karo. Itar aur phool se baar-baar puja karo.

Verse 2

वासुदेवाय पादौ तु कटिं संकर्षणाय च । प्रद्युम्नायेति जठरं अनिरुद्धाय वै उरः ॥ ४६.२ ॥

Vasudev ke liye paanv, Sankarshan ke liye kamar. Pradyumn ke liye pet, Aniruddh ke liye chhaati.

Verse 3

चक्रपाणयेति भुजौ कण्ठं भूपतये तथा । स्वनाम्ना शङ्खचक्रौ तु पुरुषायेति वै शिरः ॥ ४६.३ ॥

Chakrapani ke liye dono baazu, Bhoopati ke liye gala. Shankh aur chakra ke apne naam, Purush ke liye sir.

Verse 4

एवमभ्यर्च्य मेधावी प्राग्वत्तस्याग्रतो घटम् । विन्यस्य वस्त्रसंयुक्तं तस्योपरि ततो न्यसेत् । काञ्चनं वासुदेवं तु चतुर्व्यूहं सनातनम् ॥ ४६.४ ॥

Puja karne ke baad, buddhi wala insaan pehle jaise hi aage ek ghada rakhe. Uske upar kapda bichha ke, uske oopar sone ka Vasudev ki murti rakh de. Yeh chaaron roop wala sanatan bhagwan hai.

Verse 5

तमभ्यर्च्य विधानॆन गन्धपुष्पादिभिः क्रमात् । प्राग्वत् तं ब्राह्मणे दद्यात् वेदवादिनि सुव्रते । एवं नियमयुक्तस्य यत्पुण्यं तच्छृणुष्व मे ॥ ४६.५ ॥

Phir us Vasudev ki vidhi ke hisaab se puja karo. Gandh aur phool se, sab kuch sahi order mein. Phir us murti ko ek aise brahmin ko de do jo Veda padhta hai aur acche niyam follow karta hai. Ab suno, aise vrat rakhne wale ko kitna punya milta hai.

Verse 6

वसुदेवोऽभवद् राजा यदुवंशविवर्धनः । देवकी तस्य भार्या तु समानव्रतधारिणी ॥ ४६.६ ॥

Vasudev ek raja bana. Woh Yadu vansh ko badha rahe the. Devaki unki patni thi. Dono pati-patni same vrat aur niyam follow karte the.

Verse 7

सा त्वपुत्राऽभवत् साध्वी पतिधर्मपरायणा । तस्य कालेन महता नारदोऽभ्यगमद् गृहम् ॥ ४६.७ ॥

Devaki ke koi beta nahi tha. Woh bahut acchi aur pati ke dharam mein lagi hui thi. Bahut time ke baad Narad unke ghar aaye.

Verse 8

वासुदेवेनासौ भक्त्या पूजितो वाक्यमब्रवीत् । वासुदेव शृणुष्व त्वं देवकार्यं ममानघ । श्रुत्वैतां च कथां शीघ्रमागतोऽस्मि तवान्तिकम् ॥ ४६.८ ॥

Vasudev ne Narad ki bahut bhakti se puja ki. Tab Narad ne kaha, Vasudev, tum mein koi dosh nahi, meri baat suno. Dev ka kaam hai, isliye main jaldi tumhare paas aaya hoon.

Verse 9

पृथिवी देवसमितौ मया दृष्टा यदूत्तम । गत्वा च जल्पती भारं न शक्ताऽऽहितुं सुराः ॥ ४६.९ ॥

Yadu vansh ke sabse bade, maine dekha ki dharti deviyon ki sabha mein aayi thi. Wah gayi aur apni takleef batayi. Usne kaha ki devi us bojh ko nahi utha pa rahe the.

Verse 10

सौभकंसजरासन्धाः पुनर्नरक एव च । कुरुपाञ्चालभोजाश्च बलिनो दानवाः सुराः । पीडयन्ति समेतां मां तान् हनध्वं सुरोत्तमाः ॥ ४६.१० ॥

Saubha, Kans, Jarasandh aur Naraka bhi. Kurav, Panchal aur Bhoj sab milkar the. Yeh sab bade balwan the aur daanav jaise the. Sab milkar mujhe pareshan kar rahe the. Deviyon mein sabse bade, inko maaro.

Verse 11

एवमुक्ताः पृथिव्या ते देवा नारायणं गताः । मनसा स च देवेशः प्रत्यक्षस्तत्क्षणात् बभौ ॥ ४६.११ ॥

Dharti ne yeh sab kaha to devi Narayan ke paas gaye. Unhone mann se Narayan ko yaad kiya. Aur wah deviyon ke guru usi waqt wahan aa gaye.

Verse 12

उवाच च सुरश्रेष्ठः स्वयं कार्यमिदं सुराः । साधयामि न सन्देहो मर्त्यं गत्वा मनुष्यवत् ॥ ४६.१२ ॥

Deviyon ke sabse bade ne kaha ki main khud yeh kaam karunga. Koi shak nahi. Main insaan ki duniya mein jaunga aur insaan ki tarah rahunga.

Verse 13

किंत्वाषाढे शुक्लपक्षे या नारी सह भर्तृणा । उपोष्यति मनुष्येषु तस्या गर्भे भवाम्यहम् ॥ ४६.१३ ॥

Lekin Ashadh mahine ke shukla paksh mein jo aurat apne pati ke saath vrat rakhegi. Uske pet mein main aa jaunga.

Verse 14

एवमुक्त्वा गतो देवः स्वयं चाहमिहागतः । उपदिष्टं तु भवतोऽपुत्रस्य विशेषतः । उपोष्य लभते पुत्रं सहभार्यो न संशयः ॥ ४६.१४ ॥

Bhagwan yeh keh ke chale gaye. Phir main khud yahan aa gaya. Yeh baat maine tumhare liye kahi hai kyunki tumhara koi beta nahi hai. Vrat rakhne se beta milta hai, biwi ke saath, koi shak nahi.

Verse 15

एतां च द्वादशीं कृत्वा वासुदेवस्तथाप्तवान् । महतिं च श्रियं प्राप्तः पुत्रपौत्रसमन्वितः ॥ ४६.१५ ॥

Vasudev ne bhi yahi dwadashi ka vrat kiya. Unhone bahut badi sampatti paayi. Unke bete aur potte bhi hue.

Verse 16

भुक्त्वा राज्यश्रियं सोऽथ गतः परमिकां गतिम् । एष ते विधिरुद्दिष्ट आषाढे मासि वै मुने ॥ ४६.१६ ॥

Rajya ki khubsurti ka maza le ke woh aage badh gaye. Unhone sabse badi jagah paayi. Hey muni, yeh tarika maine tumhare liye bataya hai Ashadh mahine ke liye.

Inside Adhyaya 46

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Varāha instructs Pṛthivī in a niyama-yukta seasonal vrata taught by Durvāsas: the Āṣāḍha bright-fortnight Dvādaśī observance, framed as a remedy for disorder when Earth is overburdened (pṛthivī-bhāra).

  2. Central event

    A stepwise ritual manual is given: fasting and pūjā with gandha-puṣpa, aṅga-nyāsa by assigning divine epithets to body-parts (pāda, kaṭi, jaṭhara, uraḥ, bhuja, kaṇṭha, śiraḥ), installation of a golden Vāsudeva together with the eternal caturvyūha, and placement of a clothed water-pot (ghaṭa) before the worship space, culminating in gifting the worshipped image to a Veda-reciting brāhmaṇa.

  3. Climax resolution

    The vrata’s efficacy is etiologically grounded: Pṛthivī complains of oppressive burdens; the gods appeal to Nārāyaṇa; Nārāyaṇa resolves to incarnate through a woman who observes the Āṣāḍha-śukla upavāsa with her husband—illustrated by Vasudeva and Devakī attaining prosperity and descendants through Dvādaśī observance.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    Implied phala: prosperity, progeny, and restoration of dharmic balance; the rite is presented as both personally fruitful (śrī-santāna) and cosmically corrective (relief of pṛthivī-bhāra) when performed with correct vidhi and dāna.

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms are stated in this adhyāya. The narrative setting is cosmological and political: Pṛthivī (Earth) approaches a deva-samiti (assembly of gods). Dynastic reference: Yaduvaṃśa (Yadu lineage) through Vasudeva and Devakī.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualĀṣāḍha-śukla Dvādaśī vrata with aṅga-nyāsa and installation (nyāsa/pratiṣṭhā) of Vāsudeva with the caturvyūha, followed by dāna to a vedavādin brāhmaṇa.
  • BenefitSecures prosperity and descendants (as in Vasudeva–Devakī), strengthens embodied devotion through nyāsa, and participates in restoring cosmic-terrestrial equilibrium by addressing pṛthivī-bhāra through disciplined observance and dāna.

The narrative frame

  • Varāha (with the vrata attributed to Durvāsas as authoritative source within the discourse)Pṛthivī · Didactic and prescriptive (vrata-vidhi), reinforced by etiological-cosmological justification (māhātmya).

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (devotional-ritual composure) with undertones of Karuṇa (Earth’s distress) resolving into Ādbhuta (divine intervention).
  • Emotional ProgressionTerrestrial strain and complaint (burden) → divine consultation and assurance → disciplined ritual clarity (nyāsa/vrata) → hopeful fruition (prosperity, progeny, restored order).

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot tirtha-specific; best approached as a home/temple vrata. If desired, it can be observed at any Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa temple with provision for Dvādaśī worship and brāhmaṇa-dāna.
  • Best SeasonĀṣāḍha (June–July), especially śukla-pakṣa Dvādaśī.
  • Related FestivalĀṣāḍha-śukla Dvādaśī (often aligned with regional Viṣṇu-Dvādaśī observances; local temple calendars may pair it with Viṣṇu/Ananta-related Dvādaśīs).

Frequently Asked Questions

The text presents disciplined ritual observance (niyama-yukta vrata) as a means of restoring order when Earth is overburdened by oppressive power. It links personal restraint (upavāsa), correct procedure (vidhi), and socially embedded redistribution (dāna to a vedavādin brāhmaṇa) to broader terrestrial stability, using Pṛthivī’s complaint as an ethical prompt to address imbalance.

The observance is specified for Āṣāḍha (Āṣāḍhe), particularly the śukla-pakṣa (bright fortnight). The narrative emphasizes fasting/observance by a woman together with her husband during this period, and the chapter highlights Dvādaśī as the key tithi through the statement that performing “etāṃ ca dvādaśīm” yields results.

It frames imbalance as Pṛthivī-bhāra—Earth’s inability to bear accumulated burdens caused by powerful destructive forces and rulers. The gods’ consultation and Nārāyaṇa’s decision to intervene translate terrestrial distress into a moral-ecological problem: when governance and power become excessive, corrective action (here, ritual discipline and divine intervention) is narrated as restoring equilibrium.

The chapter references the Yadu lineage (Yaduvaṃśa) through King Vasudeva and his wife Devakī, presented as exemplars of the vrata’s efficacy. It also names Nārada as the messenger who conveys the Earth-burden narrative, Durvāsas as the ritual instructor, and Nārāyaṇa as the divine agent responding to the crisis.

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