Adhyaya 206
Agastyārghyadāna-kathana (On the Giving of the Agastya Honor-Offering)
Dalam adhyaya ini, Bhagavan Agni menetapkan suatu pemujaan bergaya vrata yang berpusat pada Agastya, yang dinyatakan sebagai wujud Viṣṇu, sehingga terkait dengan soteriologi Vaiṣṇava (pencapaian Hari). Selama tiga hari, sebelum matahari terbit, pelaku berpuasa, bersembahyang, dan mempersembahkan arghya kepada Agastya. Pada waktu pradoṣa, arca dari bunga kāśa dipasang dalam kendi/kalasa berisi air, lalu dilakukan berjaga malam (prajāgara). Pagi harinya arghya dipersembahkan di dekat perairan, dengan pujian yang mengingatkan kisah-kisah Agastya (mengeringkan samudra; membinasakan Ātāpi–Vātāpi) serta permohonan anugerah dan kebahagiaan alam baka. Disebutkan bahan-bahan ritual dan pola dana: cendana, rangkaian bunga, dupa, kain, beras/bijian, buah, emas, serta hadiah kendi kepada seorang brāhmaṇa, disertai jamuan dan dakṣiṇā (sapi, pakaian, emas). Ada variasi resensi mantra; bagi perempuan dan Śūdra, upacara dilakukan tanpa mantra Weda. Observansi jangka panjang (tujuh tahun arghya) dikatakan memberi kemakmuran menyeluruh—putra bagi yang tanpa anak dan suami raja bagi seorang gadis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Fasting and worship precede the arghya; at pradoṣa a kāśa-flower image is placed in a ghaṭa/kumbha, followed by night vigil; in the morning the arghya is offered near water, then tyāga (grain, fruit, libation) and charitable gifts/feeding of brāhmaṇas conclude the rite.
Sandalwood, garlands, incense, cloth, rice/grains, fruits, gold (and in an expanded description: five gems, gold and silver, seven grains, curd, sandalwood), plus a pot-gift to a brāhmaṇa and dakṣiṇā including cow, garments, and gold.
The rite explicitly aims at attaining Hari through Agastya-worship (mukti-oriented devotion) while also promising dharma-anchored prosperity—health, fortune, desired boons, lineage, and marital success—thus integrating dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa.
It states that for women and Śūdras the rite is ‘non-Vedic,’ i.e., performed without Vedic mantras, indicating an inclusive procedural adaptation while preserving the devotional and charitable structure.
By giving the arghya for seven years, ‘all obtain everything’: a childless woman gains sons and good fortune, and a maiden gains a husband of royal birth; the arghya is also described in some readings as imperishable and mind-fulfilling.