The Caturmasya Observances and the Rite of Vishnu’s Sleep (Aśūnya-Śayana) and Shiva’s Monthly Vows
धूपं केसरनिर्यासं नैवेद्यं मधुसर्पिषी प्रीयतां मे विरूपाक्षस्त्वित्युच्चार्य च दक्षिणाम् विप्राय दद्यान्नैवेद्यं सहिरण्यं द्विजोत्तम
dhūpaṃ kesaraniryāsaṃ naivedyaṃ madhusarpiṣī prīyatāṃ me virūpākṣastvityuccārya ca dakṣiṇām viprāya dadyānnaivedyaṃ sahiraṇyaṃ dvijottama
Nên dâng hương làm từ nhựa kesara, và phẩm vật cúng (naivedya) gồm mật ong cùng bơ sữa (ghee). Rồi xướng rằng: “Nguyện Virūpākṣa hoan hỷ với con”, sau đó dâng dakṣiṇā; và hãy bố thí phẩm cúng ấy kèm vàng cho một bà-la-môn, hỡi bậc tối thắng trong hàng nhị sinh.
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Devotion is coupled with generosity: worship culminates in dakṣiṇā and gifts to brāhmaṇas, framing ritual as both vertical (to the deity) and horizontal (supporting dharma and the religious community).
It is vrata-vidhi/dharma-anuśāsana material—an instructional layer frequently interwoven with Purāṇic narrative, rather than one of the core pañcalakṣaṇa genealogical/cosmogonic units.
Honey and ghee signify sweetness and nourishment (sāttvika sustenance), while incense represents the subtle offering of fragrance—intention rising upward. The epithet Virūpākṣa underscores Śiva’s all-seeing, unconventional transcendence, pleased not merely by objects but by sincerity and dharmic giving.