Adhyaya 60: The Rite of the Śāntivrata: A Yearlong Observance with Viṣṇu-on-Śeṣa and Nāga-Anganyāsa Worship
Śāntivrata-vidhiḥ (Ananta-Śeṣa-nāga-pūjā-sahitaḥ)
Ritual-Manual
ヴァラーハと大地女神プリティヴィーの教示という枠組みの中で、聖仙アガスティヤが王に語り、家住者が久遠の安寧（śānti）を得るための実践規範としてŚāntivrata（シャーンティ・ヴラタ）を説く。行はカールッティカ月（Kārttika）白分の五日（pañcamī）に始まり一年続き、食戒として酸味のものを避ける。修行者は毎夜、シェーシャ（Śeṣa／アナンタ Ananta）の上に横たわるハリ（Hari）を観想して礼拝し、続いて足から頭頂まで身体の部位に特定のナーガ（nāga）を配当するアṅガニャーサ（aṅganyāsa）によって、それぞれを別々に供養する。儀礼には乳による神沐浴、乳と胡麻のホーマ（homa）、そして年の結びにブラーフマナ（brāhmaṇa）への供食と金製ナーガ像の布施が含まれる。本文は儀礼の秩序が社会の安定と蛇への恐れの軽減に結びつくことを示し、家の和が大地の安泰と響き合うと暗示する。
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 60
Verse 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । शान्तिव्रतं प्रवक्ष्यामि तव राजन् शृणुष्व तत् । येन चीर्णेन शान्तिः स्यात् सर्वदा गृहमेधिनाम् ॥ ६०.१ ॥
アガスティヤは言った。「王よ、よく聞け。私はシャーンティ・ヴラタ（安寧の誓戒）を説こう。これを修すれば、家住者には常に平安が生ずる。」
Verse 2
पञ्चम्यां शुक्लपक्षस्य कार्त्तिके मासि सुव्रत । अरभेद् वर्षमेकं तु भुञ्जीयादम्लवर्जितम् ॥ ६०.२ ॥
カールッティカ月の白分（明るい半月）の第五日に、善き誓いを持つ者よ、これを始め、一年のあいだ酸味を避けた食によって身を支えるべきである。
Verse 3
नक्तं देवं तु सम्पूज्य हरिं शेषोपरि स्थितम् । अनन्तायेति पादौ तु वासुकायेति वै कटिम् ॥ ६०.३ ॥
夜に、シェーシャ（Śeṣa）の上に坐す神なるハリ（Hari）を正しく礼拝し、両足を「アナンタ」（Ananta）と称え、腰を「ヴァースカ」（Vāsuka）と称えるべきである。
Verse 4
तक्षकाश्येति जठरमुरः कर्कोटकाय च । पद्माय कण्ठं सम्पूज्य महापद्माय दोर्युगम् ॥ ६०.४ ॥
「（礼拝）タクシャカ」（Takṣaka）と唱えて腹を敬い、「カルコータカ」（Karkoṭaka）と唱えて胸を敬う。さらに喉を「パドマ」（Padma）として礼拝し、両腕を「マハーパドマ」（Mahāpadma）として礼拝すべきである。
Verse 5
शङ्खपालाय वक्त्रं तु कुटिलायेति वै शिरः । एवं विष्णुगतं पूज्य पृथक्त्वेन च पूजयेत् ॥ ६०.५ ॥
顔（vaktra）は「シャンカパーラ」（Śaṅkhapāla）に属すると定め、頭（śiras）は「クティラ」（Kuṭila）に属すると定める。かくして、ヴィシュヌ（Viṣṇu）に配当された諸部位を礼拝したのち、それぞれを異なる相として別々にも礼拝すべきである。
Verse 6
क्षीरेण स्नपनं कुर्यात् तानुद्दिश्य हरेः पुनः । तदग्रे होमयेत् क्षीरं तिलैः सह विचक्षणः ॥ ६०.६ ॥
乳による沐浴供養（アビシェーカ）を行い、再びハリに関わる彼らに向けてそれを奉献すべきである。次いで、その儀礼・祭壇の前で、識者は乳を胡麻とともに火中に供えよ。
Verse 7
एवं संवत्सरस्यान्ते कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणभोजनम् । नागं तु काञ्चनं कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत् ॥ ६०.७ ॥
このようにして年の終わりに、ブラーフマナたちに食事を施すべきである。また金の蛇を作らせ、それを一人のブラーフマナに献上せよ。
Verse 8
एवं यः कुरुते भक्त्या व्रतमेतन्नराधिपः । तस्य शान्तिर्भवेन्नित्यं नागानां न भयṃ तथा ॥ ६०.८ ॥
このように、人々の王よ、この誓戒を信愛をもって行う者は、常なる安寧を得る。また同様に、ナーガ（蛇身の霊的存在）からの恐れはない。
Inside Adhyaya 60
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame, the chapter introduces a transmitted upadeśa: sage Agastya teaches a rājā a practical vrata meant to establish durable śānti for household life, emphasizing time-bound discipline and correct ritual order.
- Central event
Agastya details the Śāntivrata beginning on Kārttika śuklapakṣa pañcamī and continuing for one year: nakta (night) worship of Hari visualized as reclining on Ananta/Śeṣa, coupled with nāga-aṅganyāsa—mapping specific nāgas onto bodily loci from feet to head—and regular offerings including kṣīra-snāna and a milk-and-sesame homa.
- Climax resolution
At the completion of the year, the observance culminates in social and apotropaic closure: brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding brāhmaṇas) and kāñcana-nāga-dāna (gifting a golden serpent image), sealing the vow’s protective and pacifying intent and aligning household order with reduced fear of serpents and broader stability.
- Closing phalashruti
The rite is presented as conferring sustained peace (śānti), domestic harmony, and protection—especially mitigation of nāga-related fear and harm—through disciplined observance, proper worship, and concluding dāna and communal feeding.
Geographical context
No explicit toponyms or regional ecologies are named in these verses. The chapter’s setting is ritual-temporal (Kārttika; śuklapakṣa; pañcamī) rather than geographic; its ecological referent is indirect through nāga symbolism and the household’s harmony with terrestrial forces.
Ritual instructions
- Primary RitualŚāntivrata: a yearlong peace-making vow with nightly Viṣṇu-on-Śeṣa worship and nāga-aṅganyāsa veneration.
- BenefitCultivation of enduring śānti in household life through regulated conduct and worship; apotropaic protection (notably reduction of fear and harm associated with serpents/nāgas); reinforcement of social stability via concluding feeding and gifting.
The narrative frame
- Varāha (as overarching teacher) transmitting Agastya’s instructionPṛthivī (primary listener); within the transmitted discourse, Agastya addresses a rājā · Didactic and procedural (ritual-manual style), with an ethical subtext linking self-restraint, correct order, and social peace.
The emotional journey
- Dominant RasaŚānta
- Emotional ProgressionFrom concern for lasting peace and protection, to steady confidence through disciplined nightly worship and bodily nāga-mapping, culminating in reassurance and communal harmony through brāhmaṇa-feeding and dāna.
Planning a pilgrimage
- Visit FeasibilityNot tirtha-specific in this adhyāya; the observance is primarily home-based (gṛhamedhin) and can be performed wherever a household shrine and homa arrangement are feasible, optionally supplemented by visits to local Viṣṇu or Nāga shrines.
- Best SeasonKārttika (start), with continuity through the year; Kārttika is especially suitable for initiating the vow due to its strong Vaiṣṇava devotional associations.
- Related FestivalKārttika observances in general (month-long Vaiṣṇava devotion); the chapter specifically anchors to Kārttika śuklapakṣa pañcamī rather than a named pan-Indian festival.
Frequently Asked Questions
The text frames peace (śānti) as a household virtue cultivated through disciplined, time-bound observance: regulated diet, regular worship, and socially redistributive acts (brāhmaṇa-bhojana and dāna). The underlying logic links ritual order and self-restraint to sustained domestic stability and the mitigation of harms symbolized by nāgas.
The observance begins on pañcamī (the fifth tithi) of the śuklapakṣa (bright fortnight) in the month of Kārttika and is performed for one full year (saṃvatsara). The worship is specified as nakta (night-time) devotion.
While not explicitly ecological in vocabulary, the chapter employs nāga symbolism—often associated with subterranean waters, land stability, and liminal terrestrial forces—within a protective and harmonizing rite. By prescribing non-violent, regulated conduct and offerings that culminate in communal feeding and gifting, the text can be read as aligning household practice with the maintenance of social and terrestrial equilibrium.
The speaker identified in the transmitted instruction is the sage Agastya, addressing a rājā (king). No dynastic genealogy is specified in these verses, but the presence of Agastya situates the instruction within a sage-to-king didactic model common to Purāṇic legal-ritual discourse.
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