Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36
पुत्रहीना च या नारी काकवन्ध्या च या भवेत् । विधवा या करोत्येतद्व्रतमेवं समाहिता । तस्यास्तुष्टो जगन्नाथः कायशुद्धिं प्रयच्छति
putrahīnā ca yā nārī kākavandhyā ca yā bhavet | vidhavā yā karotyetadvratamevaṃ samāhitā | tasyāstuṣṭo jagannāthaḥ kāyaśuddhiṃ prayacchati
പുത്രഹീനയായ സ്ത്രീയോ, ‘കാകവന്ധ്യ’യായവളോ, വിധവയോ—ഇങ്ങനെ ഏകാഗ്രമായി ഈ വ്രതം അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചാൽ, ജഗന്നാഥൻ പ്രസന്നനായി അവൾക്ക് കായശുദ്ധി നൽകുന്നു.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within the Jalaśāyī-upākhyāna)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A widowed or grieving woman, modestly dressed, performs the vow with focused devotion before Jagannātha/Nārāyaṇa; a soft aura of purification surrounds her body, signifying kāya-śuddhi.
FAQs
No social condition blocks grace: sincere vrata-observance invites the Lord’s compassion and purification.
The vow is praised within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya (Nāgara Khaṇḍa) setting.
Women in various life circumstances are explicitly included as eligible to perform the Aśūnyaśayana-vrata with samādhāna (focused intent).