Adhyaya 63: Procedure for the Son-Obtaining Vow (Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī Observance)
Putraprāptivrata (Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī-vrata) vidhiḥ
Ritual-Manual (Vrata-vidhi)
वराह–पृथ्वी संवादात अगस्त्य भाद्रपद कृष्णपक्षातील कृष्णाष्टमीकेंद्रित पुत्रप्राप्ति-व्रताची संक्षिप्त विधी सांगतात। षष्ठीला संकल्प, सप्तमीला पूजन, आणि अष्टमीला शुद्ध प्रातःपूजा व उपवास; यव व कृष्णतिळ घृत-दहीसह होम, नंतर ब्राह्मणभोजन व दक्षिणादान असा विधी आहे। उपवासानंतर भोजनाची सुरुवात बिल्वाने करावी असे सांगितले आहे। हिमालयात राजा शूरसेनाच्या तपश्चर्येचा दृष्टांत देऊन व्रताची प्रमाणिकता व महिमा मांडली असून वसुदेवापर्यंत वंशसंबंध जोडला आहे। वर्षाअखेरीस दानविधी व सर्वसाधारण पापनाशाचे फल सांगून गृहस्थधर्म, कुलस्थैर्य व पृथ्वीहित सूचित केले आहे।
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 63
Verse 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । अथापरं महाराज पुत्रप्राप्तिव्रतं शुभम् । कथयामि समासेन तन्मे निगदतः शृणु ॥ ६३.१ ॥
अगस्त्य म्हणाले—हे महाराज, आता मी पुत्रप्राप्तीचे शुभ व्रत संक्षेपाने सांगतो; माझे कथन ऐका.
Verse 2
मासे भाद्रपदे या तु कृष्णपक्षे नरेश्वर । अष्टम्यामुपवासेन पुत्रप्राप्तिव्रतं हि तत् ॥ ६३.२ ॥
हे नरेश्वर, भाद्रपद महिन्यात कृष्णपक्षात अष्टमीला उपवास करून जे व्रत केले जाते, तेच पुत्रप्राप्तीचे व्रत आहे.
Verse 3
षष्ठ्यां चैव तु संकल्प्य सप्तम्यामर्चयेद् हरिम् । देवक्युत्सङ्गगं देवं मातृभिः परिवेष्टितम् ॥ ६३.३ ॥
षष्ठीला संकल्प करून सप्तमीला हरिचे पूजन करावे—देवकीच्या मांडीवर विराजमान, मातृगणांनी वेढलेल्या त्या देवाचे.
Verse 4
प्रभाते विमलेऽष्टम्यामर्चयेत् प्रयतो हरिम् । प्राग्विधानॆन गोविन्दमर्चयित्वा विधानतः ॥ ६३.४ ॥
निर्मळ प्रभाती अष्टमीला संयमाने हरिचे पूजन करावे. पूर्वविधानाप्रमाणे गोविंदाचे अर्चन करून, पुढे विधिपूर्वक करावे.
Verse 5
ततो यवैः कृष्णतिलैः सघृतैर्होमयेद्दधि । ब्राह्मणान् भोजयेद् भक्त्या यथाशक्त्या सदक्षिणान् ॥ ६३.५ ॥
त्यानंतर जौ व काळे तीळ घृतासह मिसळून, दह्यासहित होम करावा। मग भक्तीने ब्राह्मणांना भोजन घालून, यथाशक्ती दक्षिणा द्यावी।
Verse 6
ततः स्वयं तु भुञ्जीत प्रथमं बिल्वमुत्तमम् । पश्चाद् यथेष्टं भुञ्जीत स्नेहैः सर्वरसैर्युतम् ॥ ६३.६ ॥
मग स्वतः प्रथमं उत्तम बिल्वफळ खावे। त्यानंतर इच्छेनुसार, स्निग्ध पदार्थांसह व सर्व रसांनी युक्त असे भोजन करावे।
Verse 7
प्रतिमासमानेनैव विधिनोपोष्य मानवः । कृष्णाष्टमीमपुत्रोऽपि लभेत् पुत्रं न संशयः ॥ ६३.७ ॥
मनुष्याने प्रत्येक महिन्यात त्याच विधीने उपवास केला, तर कृष्णाष्टमी व्रताने अपुत्रालाही पुत्रप्राप्ती होते—यात संशय नाही।
Verse 8
श्रूयते च पुरा राजा शूरसेनः प्रतापवान् । स ह्यपुत्रस्तपस्तेपे हिमवत्पर्वतोत्तमे ॥ ६३.८ ॥
असेही ऐकिवात आहे की प्राचीन काळी शूरसेन नावाचा प्रतापी राजा होता. तो अपुत्र असल्याने हिमवत् या श्रेष्ठ पर्वतावर तप करू लागला.
Verse 9
तस्यैवं कुर्वतो देवो व्रतमेतज्जगाद ह । सोऽप्येतत्कृतवान् राजा पुत्रं चैवोपलभ्धवान् ॥ ६३.९ ॥
तो असे करीत असता देवाने हे व्रत सांगितले. त्या राजानेही ते केले आणि त्यालाही पुत्रप्राप्ती झाली.
Verse 10
वासुदेवं महाभागमनेकक्रतুযाजिनम् । तं लब्ध्वा सोऽपि राजर्षिः परं निर्वाणमापतवान् ॥ ६३.१० ॥
महाभाग, अनेक यज्ञ करणारा वासुदेव यांना प्राप्त करून त्या राजर्षीनेही त्यांना लाभून परम निर्वाणपद (मोक्ष) प्राप्त केले।
Verse 11
एवं कृष्णाष्टमी राजन् मया ते परिकीर्तिता । संवत्सरान्ते दातव्यं कृष्णयुग्मं द्विजातये ॥ ६३.११ ॥
हे राजन्, अशा प्रकारे मी तुला कृष्णाष्टमी-व्रत सांगितले. वर्षाच्या शेवटी द्विजात्यास कृष्णाशी संबंधित एक युग्म दान द्यावे।
Verse 12
एतत् पुत्रव्रतं नाम मया ते परिकीर्तितम् । एतत् कृत्वा नरः पापैः सर्वैर् एव प्रमुच्यते ॥ ६३.१२ ॥
‘पुत्रव्रत’ नावाचे हे व्रत मी तुला सांगितले आहे. हे केल्याने मनुष्य सर्व पापांपासून मुक्त होतो।
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.
Ask anything about Adhyaya 63 of the Varaha Purana
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.