Adhyaya 200
Dīpadāna-vrata (The Vow of Offering Lamps)
अग्निर्भगवान् दीपदानव्रतं भुक्तिमुक्तिफलप्रदं शिक्षयति। देवालये ब्राह्मणगृहे वा संवत्सरपर्यन्तं दीपप्रदीपनं सर्वसमृद्धिदं, विशेषतः चातुर्मास्ये कार्त्तिके च अतिश्रेष्ठपुण्यकरं, विष्णुलोकप्राप्तिं स्वर्गभोगांश्च ददाति। ततः ललितोपाख्याने विष्णुमन्दिरे दीपसम्बद्धोऽनिच्छया कृतोऽपि कर्मविशेषो महाफलदः, सा राजकुले पुनर्जन्म लब्ध्वा दाम्पत्यसमृद्धिं चावाप। दीपचौर्यं निन्द्यते—मूकजडजन्म तथा तमो-नरकपातहेतुः। इन्द्रियासक्तिं दुष्टकामं परदारगमनं च गर्हयित्वा हरिनामजपं सरलोपहारं दीपदानं चोपदिशति। अन्ते दीपदानं सर्वव्रतफलवर्धकं, एतत् श्रवणानुष्ठानाभ्यां ऊर्ध्वगतिः सिध्यतीति पुनरुक्तम्।
Shlokas
No shlokas available for this adhyaya yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Offer a lamp—ideally sustained as a yearly practice—in a deity’s shrine (especially Viṣṇu’s) or a brāhmaṇa’s home; the act is taught as a high-merit vrata granting prosperity, longevity, clarity of sight, and higher worlds, ultimately supporting liberation.
Kārttika is presented as a peak season of ritual potency: lamp-giving then is said to yield exceptional heavenly results, surpassing ordinary times and amplifying vrata-fruit.
It demonstrates that even an unpremeditated or indirect contribution to a lamp-offering in a Viṣṇu temple can generate powerful puṇya, underscoring the vow’s efficacy and the sacredness of temple-based offerings.
The chapter condemns dīpa-theft with severe karmic outcomes and uses hell imagery to caution against negligence, sense-addiction, and sexual misconduct (adultery), redirecting the practitioner toward dharmic restraint and Hari-nāma.