Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 57
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 5716 Shlokas

Adhyaya 57: The Observance for Attaining Radiance: The Soma Kānti-Vrata

Kāntivrata-vidhiḥ (Somakānti-prāpti-vrata)

Ritual-Manual (Vrata-vidhi) with Purāṇic Etiology

Agastya ne raja ko bataya ki Soma ko Daksh ki rap se yakshma ho gaya tha. Is vrata se Soma wapas healthy aur sundar ho gaya. Kartik mahine ki dwitiya tithi ko ye vrata karna hai. Raat ko fast rakhna hai aur Balakeshava ki puja karni hai. Baladeva ke charan aur Keshava ke sir ko bhog lagana hai. Phir Soma ko arghya dena hai mantra ke saath. Saal bhar alag alag season mein homa karna hai. Ant mein chandi ka chaand banana hai aur brahman ko dena hai.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīAgastya

Key Concepts

kānti (radiance, restored vitality)vrata-vidhi (ritual discipline)Kārttika-śukla-dvitīyā (lunar timing)nakta (night-only observance/fast)Balakēśava worship (Vaiṣṇava iconography)arghya to Soma (lunar/medicinal symbolism)yakṣmā and śāpa (disease and curse as etiological frame)seasonal/annual ritual cycle (saṃvatsara completion)dāna to brāhmaṇa (ritual economy and closure)oṣadhīnāṃ pati (Soma as lord of medicinal plants)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 57

Shlokas in Adhyaya 57

Verse 1

अगस्त्य उवाच । अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि कान्तिव्रतम् अनुत्तमम् । यत्कृत्वा तु पुरा सोमः कान्तिमान् अभवत् पुनः ॥ ५७.१ ॥

Agastya bolte hain, main ab ek aur vrat batata hoon. Iska naam hai Kaanti-vrat, bahut powerful hai. Som ne kiya tha aur wapas chamakdaar ho gaya.

Verse 2

यक्ष्मणा दक्षशापेन पुराक्रान्तो निशाकरः । एतच्चीर्त्वा व्रतं सद्यः कान्तिमानभवत् किल ॥ ५७.२ ॥

Chandrama bimar ho gaya tha Daksh ke shaap se. Usne yeh vrat kiya aur theek ho gaya. Turant wapas uski chamak aa gayi.

Verse 3

द्वितीयायां तु राजेन्द्र कार्त्तिकस्य सिते दिने । नक्तं कुर्वीत यत्नेन अर्चयन् बलकेशवम् ॥ ५७.३ ॥

Raja, Kartik mahine ki doosri tithi pe yeh vrat karna hai. Din saaf ho, raat ko khana khana hai. Balakeshav ki puja karo, dhyan se sab karo.

Verse 4

बलदेवाय पादौ तु केशवाय शिरोऽर्चयेत् । एवमभ्यर्च्य मेधावी वैष्णवं रूपमुत्तमम् ॥ ५७.४ ॥

Baladev ke charan pujo aur Keshav ka sir pujo. Aise karke bhagwan ki Vishnu roop ki puja ho jaati hai. Yeh sab samajh ke karo.

Verse 5

परस्वरूपं सोमाख्यं द्विकलं तद्दिने हि यत् । तस्यार्घं दापयेद्धीमान् मन्त्रेण परमेष्ठिनः ॥ ५७.५ ॥

Us din Som ke liye arghya dena hai. Yeh do hisson mein banta hai. Parmeshthi ka mantra bol ke yeh offering do.

Verse 6

नमोऽस्त्वमृतरूपाय सर्वौषधिनृपाय च । यज्ञलोकाधिपतये सोमाय परमात्मने ॥ ५७.६ ॥

Hey Soma, tum amrit ho, tum sab dawaiyon ke raja ho. Yagya ke swami ho, paramatma ho. Tumhe namaste.

Verse 7

अनेनैव च मार्गेण दत्त्वार्घ्यं परमेष्ठिनः । रात्रौ सविप्रो भुञ्जीत यवान्नं सघृतं नरः ॥ ५७.७ ॥

Yahi tarika follow karo, arghya do. Phir raat ko pandit ke saath baith ke khana khao. Yeh barley ka khana hai, ghee mila ke.

Verse 8

फाल्गुनादिचतुष्के तु पायसं भोजयेच्छुचिः । शालिहोमं तु कुर्वीत कार्त्तिके तु यवैस्तथा ॥ ५७.८ ॥

Phalgun se shuru hone wale chaar mahine mein kheer ka bhog lagao. Isme chawal se havan karo. Kartik mahine mein jau se havan karo.

Verse 9

आषाढादिचतुष्के तु तिलहोमं तु कारयेत् । तद्वत् तिलान्नं भुञ्जीत एष एव विधिक्रमः ॥ ५७.९ ॥

Ashadh se shuru hone wale chaar mahine mein til se havan karwao. Til se bana khana khao. Yehi sahi tarika hai.

Verse 10

ततः संवत्सरे पूर्णे शशिनं कृतराजतं । सितवस्त्रयुगच्छन्नं सितपुष्पानुलेपनम् । एवमेव द्विजं पूज्य ततस्तं प्रतिपादयेत् ॥ ५७.१० ॥

Jab saal poora ho jaye to chaand ki moorti chandi ki banao. Uspe safed kapda daalo aur safed phool lagao. Brahman ko puja ke baad yeh moorti de do.

Verse 11

कान्तिमानपि लोकेऽस्मिन् सर्वज्ञः प्रियदर्शनः । त्वत्प्रसादात् सोमरूपिन् नारायण नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ५७.११ ॥

Tumhari kripa se insaan chamakdaar ho jata hai. Woh sab jaan lete hain aur sabko achha lagta hai. Narayan, tum chaand jaise ho, tumhe pranam.

Verse 12

अनेन किल मन्त्रेण दत्त्वा विप्राय वाग्यतः । दत्तमात्रे ततस्तस्मिन् कान्तिमान् जायते नरः ॥ ५७.१२ ॥

Is mantra se brahman ko kuch de do. Jab tak dete ho tab tak chup raho. Jaise hi do, insaan chamak uthata hai.

Verse 13

आत्रेयेणापि सोमेन कृतमेतत् पुरा नृप । तस्य व्रतान्ते सन्तुष्टः स्वयमेव जनार्दनः । यक्ष्माणमपनीयाशु अमृताख्यां कलां ददौ ॥ ५७.१३ ॥

Raja, pehle Atri ke vansh mein Soma ne yeh vrat kiya tha. Jab uska vrat poora hua, toh Janardan khush ho gaye. Unhone uski bimari jaldi door kar di. Aur usse amrit naam ki ek cheez di.

Verse 14

तां कलां सोमराजोऽसौ तपसा लब्धवानिति । सोमत्वं चागमत सोऽस्य ओषधीनां पतिर् बभौ ॥ ५७.१४ ॥

Log kehte hain ki Soma raja ne tapasya karke woh amrit pa liya. Phir woh Soma ban gaya. Aur saari dawaon aur podhon ka malik ban gaya.

Verse 15

द्वितीयामश्विनौ सोमभुजौ कीर्त्येते तद्दिने नृप । तौ शेषविष्णू विख्यातौ मुख्यपक्षौ न संशयः ॥ ५७.१५ ॥

Raja, dusre din Ashwin bhaiyon ki tareef hoti hai. Woh dono Soma peete hain. Yeh dono Shesh aur Vishnu ke roop mein mashhoor hain. Yeh sabse bade hain, koi shak nahi.

Verse 16

न विष्णोर्व्यतिरिक्तं स्याद् दैवतं नृपसत्तम । नामभेदेन सर्वत्र संस्थितः परमेश्वरः ॥ ५७.१६ ॥

Raja, Vishnu ke alawa koi bhagwan nahi hai. Parameshwar har jagah hai. Bas naam alag-alag hain, wohi ek bhagwan hai.

Inside Adhyaya 57

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī upadeśa frame, the chapter shifts into a vrata-vidhi delivered through Agastya’s authoritative voice to a royal addressee, introducing “kānti” (radiance/health/beauty) as a recoverable state when life is aligned to lunar and seasonal order.

  2. Central event

    Prescription of the Soma Kānti-vrata beginning on Kārttika śukla-dvitīyā: nakta observance, worship of Bāla-Keśava with differentiated offerings to Baladeva (feet) and Keśava (head), arghya to Soma with a specified mantra, and a year-long regimen of food/homa cycles keyed to seasonal quartets (phālgunādi, āṣāḍhādi) using payasa/śāli/yava/tila.

  3. Climax resolution

    The etiological exemplar culminates in Soma’s cure from yakṣmā after Dakṣa’s curse through Janārdana/Nārāyaṇa’s grace, mirrored ritually by the votary’s completion of the saṃvatsara cycle and the concluding dāna: a silver moon-image and gifts to a brāhmaṇa, sealing restored kānti as a fruit of disciplined rhythm.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    A phala-logic is implied rather than expansively enumerated: faithful completion yields kānti (bodily radiance, vigor, beauty), relief from disease/affliction (yakṣmā-model), and auspiciousness through Vaiṣṇava devotion and properly timed charity; explicit verse-style phalaśruti is not provided in the excerpt.

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms are provided in this excerpt. The setting is primarily calendrical and cosmological (Kārttika; lunar Soma; seasonal quartets phālgunādi and āṣāḍhādi), with ecological resonance through Soma’s association with oṣadhi (medicinal flora).

Tirtha focus

  • Pilgrimage MeritThis adhyāya is not tirtha-centered; merit is framed as vrata-sādhana rather than place-based pilgrimage—kānti and health arise from calendrical correctness (tithi, saṃvatsara) and regulated offerings rather than from bathing/visiting a named kṣetra.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualSoma Kānti-vrata (Kānti-vrata) commencing on Kārttika śukla-dvitīyā with nakta discipline, Bāla-Keśava worship, Soma-arghya, and seasonally keyed homa/feeding for one year, concluding with silver-candra-dāna and brāhmaṇa-bhojana/dakṣiṇā.
  • BenefitRestoration and enhancement of kānti (radiance, complexion, vitality), modeled on Soma’s recovery from yakṣmā; mitigation of disease/affliction and stabilization of well-being through disciplined alignment with lunar tithi and seasonal cycles, culminating in auspicious merit via dāna.

The narrative frame

  • Varāha (primary frame) with the vrata taught through Agastya’s transmitted instruction (secondary authoritative voice).Pṛthivī (frame listener) and a royal addressee (rājendra/nṛpa) within the embedded instructional setting. · Didactic and procedural (ritual-manual register) with etiological validation: a healing myth (Soma’s yakṣmā) is used to authorize the vrata’s efficacy.

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (devotional composure) with a supporting current of Ārogya-āśā (hope for healing) and mild Adbhuta (wonder at divine restoration).
  • Emotional ProgressionConcern over decline (yakṣmā/curse) → confidence through precise vidhi and calendrical order → reassurance via Soma’s exemplar → quiet fulfillment at saṃvatsara completion and dāna-based closure.

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot place-specific; feasible as a home/temple-based vrata wherever Vaiṣṇava worship and homa (or a simplified substitute per local custom) can be performed under guidance. If performed in a temple, coordinate with priests for tithi-based scheduling and concluding dāna.
  • Best SeasonKārttika (especially śukla-dvitīyā) for commencement; the observance spans a full year, with attention to phālgunādi and āṣāḍhādi seasonal segments.
  • Related FestivalKārttika observances in Vaiṣṇava calendars (general Kārttika-vrata month); dvitīyā associations may be locally linked to Aśvinī-related healing motifs, though the chapter’s focus is specifically Soma Kānti-vrata.

Frequently Asked Questions

The text frames well-being and social order through disciplined observance aligned with calendrical and seasonal rhythms: regulated fasting, worship, offerings, and charitable gifting are presented as a structured means to restore “kānti,” linking personal health and social duty to cyclical terrestrial time.

The vrata begins on Kārttika śukla-dvitīyā (the bright fortnight’s second lunar day in Kārttika), includes a nightly observance (nakta), and runs for a full saṃvatsara (year). It specifies seasonal quartets: phālgunādi-catuṣka with payasa feeding and śāli-homa, Kārttika with yava offerings, and āṣāḍhādi-catuṣka with tila-homa and tila-based food.

While not explicitly ecological in modern terms, the chapter encodes an ethic of terrestrial balance by emphasizing seasonal regularity (grain/seed offerings tied to time), Soma’s identity as oṣadhīnāṃ pati (lord of medicinal plants), and the idea that health and vitality are sustained through harmonizing human practice with annual and lunar cycles.

The narrative references Agastya (as transmitter of the vrata), Soma (as exemplar), Dakṣa (as the source of the curse), Janārdana/Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu (as the divine agent removing yakṣmā), and the Aśvinau (named in connection with dvitīyā). A royal addressee (“rājendra,” “nṛpa”) is also invoked as the audience for the instruction.

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