Shloka 29

व्यपोहनस्तवनिरूपण-प्रसङ्गे नक्तभोजन-शिवव्रतविधिः (वार्षिक-प्रतिमास-क्रमः)

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणान् भोजयेच्चैव निरृतेः स्थानमाप्नुयात् वैशाखे च तथा मासे कृत्वा वै नक्तभोजनम्

Transliteration

brāhmaṇān bhojayeccaiva nirṛteḥ sthānamāpnuyāt vaiśākhe ca tathā māse kṛtvā vai naktabhojanam

Translation

Se, no mês de Vaiśākha, alguém observa o voto de comer apenas à noite e também alimenta os brāhmaṇas, alcança a morada de Nirṛti — isto é, um estado alinhado à deidade que preside a dissolução e a retribuição kármica. Em termos do Śaiva Siddhānta, vrata e dāna, quando feitos sem a orientação correta para Pati (Śiva), podem levar a destinos limitados, vinculados a deidades, e não à libertação suprema que corta o pāśa do paśu.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brāhmaṇas

• भोजयेत्: should feed (offer a meal)

• च एव: and indeed

• निरृतेः: of Nirṛti (deity of dissolution/inauspicious quarter)

• स्थानम्: abode/state/realm

• आप्नुयात्: attains

• वैशाखे: in (the month of) Vaiśākha

• च तथा: and likewise/indeed

• मासे: in the month

• कृत्वा: having performed/undertaken

• वै: certainly

• नक्तभोजनम्: night-eating (taking food only at night, a vrata).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Nirṛti
• Brahmanas

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It highlights that fasting-vows (like naktabhojana) and charity (feeding Brāhmaṇas) generate specific karmic results (phala). For Linga worshippers, it serves as a caution: without dedicating the act to Pati (Śiva) and seeking bondage-cutting grace, one may gain only a limited realm rather than Śiva’s liberating state.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Indirectly: by showing a destination bound to a particular deity (Nirṛti), it contrasts deity-conditioned results with Śiva-tattva as the transcendent Pati who alone can sever Pāśa and free the Pāśu beyond all loka-based attainments.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The practice is a Vaiśākha-vrata: naktabhojana (eating only at night) combined with dāna in the form of feeding Brāhmaṇas—an austerity-and-charity discipline aimed at producing a defined karmic fruit.