Adhyaya 63: Procedure for the Son-Obtaining Vow (Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī Observance)
Putraprāptivrata (Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī-vrata) vidhiḥ
Ritual-Manual (Vrata-vidhi)
ヴァラーハとプリティヴィーの教示という枠組みの中で、本章の儀礼内容はアガスティヤの口から説かれ、バードラパダ月（Bhādrapada）暗半のクリシュナ・アシュタミー（Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī）を中心とする求子の誓戒（putraprāpti-vrata）の簡潔な作法が示される。サシュティー（Ṣaṣṭhī）に誓願（saṅkalpa）を立て、サプタミー（Saptamī）に礼拝し、アシュタミー（Aṣṭamī）には夜明けの清浄なプージャーと断食（upavāsa）を行う。供物としては大麦（yava）と黒胡麻（kṛṣṇa-tila）に酥油（ghṛta）と凝乳（dadhi）を添えて火供（homa）し、その後、布施（dakṣiṇā）を伴ってバラモン（brāhmaṇa）に施食する。断食後の食事はビルヴァ（bilva）から始めると説く。さらに、ヒマーラヤで苦行したシュūrasena王の物語が儀礼の正当性を裏づけ、ヴァスデーヴァ（Vasudeva）へ至る系譜の結びつきへと至る。章末では年末の施与（dāna）を指示し、罪（pāpa）の広い消滅を約して、規律ある儀礼が家の継続と社会秩序を支えるダルマの実践であり、プリティヴィーの安寧にも関わることを示唆する。
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 63
Verse 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । अथापरं महाराज पुत्रप्राप्तिव्रतं शुभम् । कथयामि समासेन तन्मे निगदतः शृणु ॥ ६३.१ ॥
アガスティヤは言った。「さらにまた、大王よ、子を得るための吉祥なる誓戒を要約して語ろう。私が述べるのを聞きなさい。」
Verse 2
मासे भाद्रपदे या तु कृष्णपक्षे नरेश्वर । अष्टम्यामुपवासेन पुत्रप्राप्तिव्रतं हि तत् ॥ ६३.२ ॥
人々の主よ、バードラパダ月の कृष्ण पक्ष（下弦の半月）において、第八日アシュタミーに断食して行うこの誓戒こそ、まさに子（男児）を得るためのヴラタである。
Verse 3
षष्ठ्यां चैव तु संकल्प्य सप्तम्यामर्चयेद् हरिम् । देवक्युत्सङ्गगं देवं मातृभिः परिवेष्टितम् ॥ ६३.३ ॥
第六日にサンカルパ（誓願）を立て、第七日にハリを礼拝すべし—デーヴァキーの膝に坐し、諸母神（マートリ）に囲まれた神を。
Verse 4
प्रभाते विमलेऽष्टम्यामर्चयेत् प्रयतो हरिम् । प्राग्विधानॆन गोविन्दमर्चयित्वा विधानतः ॥ ६३.४ ॥
清浄なる暁、月の第八日アシュタミーにおいて、修めた心をもってハリを礼拝すべきである。先に定められた作法に従いゴーヴィンダを供養したのち、正しい規定に則って行ずるべし。
Verse 5
ततो यवैः कृष्णतिलैः सघृतैर्होमयेद्दधि । ब्राह्मणान् भोजयेद् भक्त्या यथाशक्त्या सदक्षिणान् ॥ ६३.५ ॥
次に、大麦（yava）と黒胡麻（kṛṣṇa-tila）を清浄なるギー（ghṛta）に和え、さらに凝乳（dadhi）を添えてホーマ（火供）を修すべし。さらに信愛をもってブラーフマナを供養し、力に応じて相応のダクシナー（布施）を授けよ。
Verse 6
ततः स्वयं तु भुञ्जीत प्रथमं बिल्वमुत्तमम् । पश्चाद् यथेष्टं भुञ्जीत स्नेहैः सर्वरसैर्युतम् ॥ ६३.६ ॥
次いで、自らまず最上のビルヴァ果（bilva）を食すべし。その後は望むままに、滋養ある油脂の食と、あらゆる味を具えた食をともにして食すべし。
Verse 7
प्रतिमासमानेनैव विधिनोपोष्य मानवः । कृष्णाष्टमीमपुत्रोऽपि लभेत् पुत्रं न संशयः ॥ ६३.७ ॥
定められた作法により斎戒（ウパヴァーサ）を修し、毎月同じ規律をもって行ずるなら、たとえ子なき者であっても、クリシュナ・アシュタミー（Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī）を守ることにより子（男子）を得るであろう。疑いはない、と経は説く。
Verse 8
श्रूयते च पुरा राजा शूरसेनः प्रतापवान् । स ह्यपुत्रस्तपस्तेपे हिमवत्पर्वतोत्तमे ॥ ६३.८ ॥
また伝承によれば、古えに勇猛なる王シュūrasena（シュūrasena）がいたという。彼は子を得られず、山々の最勝たるヒマヴァット（Himavat）においてタパス（苦行・修行）を修した。
Verse 9
तस्यैवं कुर्वतो देवो व्रतमेतज्जगाद ह । सोऽप्येतत्कृतवान् राजा पुत्रं चैवोपलभ्धवान् ॥ ६३.९ ॥
彼がそのように行じていると、神はまことにこの誓戒（ヴラタ）を宣示した。その王もまたこれを修し、さらに一子を得た。
Verse 10
वासुदेवं महाभागमनेकक्रतুযाजिनम् । तं लब्ध्वा सोऽपि राजर्षिः परं निर्वाणमापतवान् ॥ ६३.१० ॥
多くの祭祀を修する大いなる福徳者ヴァースデーヴァにまみえ、その王仙は彼に到達することにより、最上の涅槃へと至った。
Verse 11
एवं कृष्णाष्टमी राजन् मया ते परिकीर्तिता । संवत्सरान्ते दातव्यं कृष्णयुग्मं द्विजातये ॥ ६३.११ ॥
かくして王よ、私は汝にクリシュナーシュタミーの誓戒を説き示した。年の終わりには、クリシュナに結びつく一対の供物を二度生まれ（ドヴィジャ）に施すべきである。
Verse 12
एतत् पुत्रव्रतं नाम मया ते परिकीर्तितम् । एतत् कृत्वा नरः पापैः सर्वैर् एव प्रमुच्यते ॥ ६३.१२ ॥
これこそ「プトラ・ヴラタ（子を得る誓戒）」と名づけられるものとして、私は汝に説き明かした。これを修する者は、あらゆる罪より解き放たれる。
Inside Adhyaya 63
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, the observance is introduced through Agastya’s authoritative voice as a concise, repeatable vrata-vidhi aimed at putra-prāpti and household stability, anchored to Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī in Bhādrapada kṛṣṇapakṣa.
- Central event
Stepwise vrata procedure is laid out across Ṣaṣṭhī (saṅkalpa and readiness), Saptamī (preparatory worship), and Aṣṭamī (purified dawn-pūjā with strict upavāsa), culminating in homa offerings using yava and kṛṣṇa-tila with ghṛta and dadhi, followed by brāhmaṇa-bhojana with dakṣiṇā and a regulated fast-breaking beginning with bilva.
- Climax resolution
A legitimizing exemplum narrates King Śūrasena’s heirless distress and tapas in Himavat; the rite’s efficacy is confirmed through the resulting lineage-fruition culminating in the celebrated connection to Vasudeva, presenting the vrata as a proven dharmic ‘technology’ for progeny and continuity.
- Closing phalashruti
The chapter closes by prescribing a concluding dāna at the end of a year of observance and asserts broad pāpa-kṣaya (sin-remission) alongside the primary fruit of putra-prāpti, framing disciplined ritual, charity, and restraint as socially stabilizing dharma.
Geographical context
Himavat (Himālaya) is explicitly mentioned as the site of Śūrasena’s tapas; the narrative implies a royal North Indian milieu via the name Śūrasena (a historically attested region/lineage association), though no city or river is directly named in these verses.
Tirtha focus
- Associated RegionHimavat (Himalaya); implied Śūrasena-region milieu (North India)
- Pilgrimage MeritNo discrete tīrtha-māhātmya is foregrounded; merit is framed primarily as vrata-phala (putra-prāpti and pāpa-kṣaya), with Himavat functioning as an ascetic validation landscape rather than a pilgrimage itinerary.
Ritual instructions
- Primary RitualPutraprāpti-vrata centered on Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī (Bhādrapada kṛṣṇapakṣa), repeated monthly with a year-end concluding gift
- BenefitPrimary: putra-prāpti (obtaining a son/offspring, i.e., lineage continuity). Secondary: pāpa-kṣaya (general remission of sins) through disciplined fasting, worship, homa, and charitable redistribution.
The narrative frame
- Agastya (within the broader Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame)Pṛthivī (as the principal recipient in the Varāha–Pṛthivī discourse frame) · Didactic and procedural (vrata-manual style), reinforced by exemplary narrative authority
The emotional journey
- Dominant RasaŚānta (devotional discipline and composure) with a strong undercurrent of Karuṇa (heirless anxiety) resolving into Harṣa (fulfilled hope)
- Emotional ProgressionAnxiety over continuity → resolve through saṅkalpa and restraint → intensified devotion via dawn-pūjā, upavāsa, and homa → communal reciprocity through feeding and gifts → reassurance through exemplum and promised fruits.
Planning a pilgrimage
- Visit FeasibilityModerate: the chapter is vrata-centric rather than site-centric; a modern practitioner can observe the rite at home or in a local Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa temple. If one wishes to echo the exemplum’s ascetic geography, Himalayan pilgrimage is optional and symbolic rather than required by the text.
- Best SeasonBhādrapada (Aug–Sep) for the core observance; for Himalayan travel, post-monsoon (Sep–Nov) is generally safer and clearer.
- Modern Location NameHimalayan region (broadly; no single fixed site specified).
- Related FestivalKṛṣṇāṣṭamī / Janmāṣṭamī season (observance aligned by tithi, though this chapter emphasizes the vrata-vidhi and progeny-oriented intent).
Frequently Asked Questions
The text frames disciplined vrata-practice—fasting, regulated worship, offering, and charitable feeding—as a dharmic technology for household continuity (putra-prāpti) and moral purification (pāpa-kṣaya). In a broader social-ethical sense, it promotes ordered reciprocity (dāna, brāhmaṇa-bhojana) and self-restraint (upavāsa) as stabilizing norms that indirectly support communal well-being and, by extension, Pṛthivī’s sustainable social ecology.
The rite is assigned to Bhādrapada māsa, kṛṣṇapakṣa, specifically Aṣṭamī with upavāsa. Preparations include saṅkalpa on Ṣaṣṭhī, worship on Saptamī, and a dawn (prabhāte) worship on Aṣṭamī. The procedure is to be repeated monthly (pratimāsam), with a concluding gift (dāna) prescribed at the end of a year (saṃvatsara-ante).
Environmental stewardship is not explicit as a doctrinal topic in these verses; however, the vrata’s emphasis on regulated consumption (upavāsa), careful ritual use of agricultural substances (yava, tila, ghṛta, dadhi), and redistribution through feeding and gifting can be read as a Purāṇic model of restraint and circulation of resources—an indirect ethic compatible with Pṛthivī-centered balance in the wider Varāha–Pṛthivī discourse framework.
The chapter references the sage Agastya as the immediate instructor within the narrative layer, King Śūrasena as an exemplum of an heirless ruler performing tapas, and Vasudeva as the resulting celebrated figure connected to the rite’s success. The mention of Himavat situates Śūrasena’s austerities in a recognized North Indian sacred geography.
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