Varaha Purana 39.56: Adhyaya 39, Shloka 56
Discrimination of the Three Bodies and the Dharaṇī Vow: A Manual for Dvādaśī Observance
Pūrva Bhāga · Dāna-vidhi and Dvādaśī-vrata (Vaiṣṇava observance)
एवं दत्त्वा विधानॆन द्वादश्यां विष्णुमर्च्य च । विप्राणां भोजनं कुर्याद् यथाशक्त्या सदक्षिणम् ॥ ३९.५६ ॥
evaṃ dattvā vidhānena dvādaśyāṃ viṣṇum arcya ca | viprāṇāṃ bhojanaṃ kuryād yathāśaktyā sadakṣiṇam || 39.56 ||
evaM dattvA vidhAnena dvAdashyAM viShNumarchya cha | viprANAM bhojanaM kuryAd yathAshaktyA sadakShiNam || 39.56 ||
ఇలా విధానప్రకారం దానమిచ్చి, ద్వాదశీ రోజున విష్ణువును ఆరాధించి, తన శక్తి మేరకు దక్షిణతో కూడిన బ్రాహ్మణ భోజనాన్ని నిర్వహించాలి।
Sandhi Notes
- विष्णुमर्च्य = विष्णुम् + अर्च्य
- यथाशक्त्या = यथा + शक्त्या (अव्ययीभाव)
- सदक्षिणम् = स + दक्षिणम् (समासरूप)
Varāha
True worship culminates in generosity and service; devotion is validated by dharmic action.
On Dvādaśī (especially in Vaiṣṇava practice), combine Viṣṇu-arcana with feeding and appropriate gifts, scaled to one’s means.
Feeding vipras after Viṣṇu-pūjā externalizes devotion into social dharma; the Lord is served through His embodiments—Veda-knowers and guests—linking bhakti with yajña.
Bhojana as anna-yajña; dakṣiṇā as yajña-completion; Viṣṇu as the inner recipient (antaryāmin) of offerings given in His name.
Iśvara-arpana: offering action and its fruits to Viṣṇu purifies the doer; capacity-based giving reduces ego and fosters sattva.
On Dvādaśī, after giving the prescribed gift properly and worshipping Viṣṇu, feed learned brāhmaṇas and give dakṣiṇā according to capacity.
Observance brings Viṣṇu’s pleasure and accruing puṇya through dāna and anna-dāna; neglect reduces the rite’s completion and merit.
Pleasing Viṣṇu and gaining enhanced religious merit through properly completed worship and charity.
39.39.52-55 (krama, guru-dakṣiṇā, mantra transmission, guru-ethics)
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic synthesis of ritual devotion (Viṣṇu-arcana) with social ethics (feeding and gifting to learned recipients), paralleling norms also discussed in Dharmaśāstra traditions.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; it focuses on calendrical timing (Dvādaśī) and ritual-charitable procedure.
To integrate worship with generosity: after performing the prescribed observance, one should feed learned persons and offer an appropriate honorarium in proportion to one’s means.
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