Adhyaya 60: The Rite of the Śāntivrata: A Yearlong Observance with Viṣṇu-on-Śeṣa and Nāga-Anganyāsa Worship
Śāntivrata-vidhiḥ (Ananta-Śeṣa-nāga-pūjā-sahitaḥ)
Ritual-Manual
在《瓦罗诃往世书》瓦罗诃—大地女神（Pṛthivī）的教诲框架中，本章传述圣者阿迦斯提耶（Agastya）对一位国王的开示，阐明“寂安誓”（Śāntivrata）为居家者求得长久安宁（śānti）的实修法门。此誓从迦尔提迦月（Kārttika）明半月第五日（pañcamī）开始，持续一年，饮食上戒除酸味。行者每夜礼拜观想安卧于舍沙（Śeṣa，亦名阿难多 Ananta）之上的哈利（Hari），继而以“安伽尼亚萨”（aṅganyāsa）将特定那伽（nāga）从足至顶依次安置于身，分别供敬。仪轨包括以乳为神沐浴、以乳与芝麻行火供（homa），并在年终供养婆罗门（brāhmaṇa）及施赠金制那伽像。经文将仪轨秩序与社会安定、减轻对蛇的恐惧相连，含示家宅和合与大地安泰相应。
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 60
Verse 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । शान्तिव्रतं प्रवक्ष्यामि तव राजन् शृणुष्व तत् । येन चीर्णेन शान्तिः स्यात् सर्वदा गृहमेधिनाम् ॥ ६०.१ ॥
阿伽斯提亚说道：“大王，请谛听。我将宣说‘寂静誓’（Śānti‑vrata）；由此誓的奉行，居家之人得以恒常生起安宁。”
Verse 2
पञ्चम्यां शुक्लपक्षस्य कार्त्तिके मासि सुव्रत । अरभेद् वर्षमेकं तु भुञ्जीयादम्लवर्जितम् ॥ ६०.२ ॥
在迦尔提迦月的白半月第五日，善誓者啊，当开始此行持；并于整整一年中，以不含酸味之食为生。
Verse 3
नक्तं देवं तु सम्पूज्य हरिं शेषोपरि स्थितम् । अनन्तायेति पादौ तु वासुकायेति वै कटिम् ॥ ६०.३ ॥
于夜间当如法礼敬安住于舍沙（Śeṣa）之上的圣者哈利（Hari）；并以“阿难多”（Ananta）称其足，以“婆苏迦”（Vāsuka）称其腰。
Verse 4
तक्षकाश्येति जठरमुरः कर्कोटकाय च । पद्माय कण्ठं सम्पूज्य महापद्माय दोर्युगम् ॥ ६०.४ ॥
诵“（敬礼）达叉迦”（Takṣaka）以礼敬其腹；诵“（敬礼）迦尔科塔迦”（Karkoṭaka）以礼敬其胸。又以“（敬礼）莲华”（Padma）礼敬其喉，并以“（敬礼）大莲华”（Mahāpadma）礼敬其双臂。
Verse 5
शङ्खपालाय वक्त्रं तु कुटिलायेति वै शिरः । एवं विष्णुगतं पूज्य पृथक्त्वेन च पूजयेत् ॥ ६०.५ ॥
当以“商迦波罗”（Śaṅkhapāla）归属其面（vaktra），并以“俱提罗”（Kuṭila）归属其首（śiras）。如是礼敬归属于毗湿奴（Viṣṇu）之诸分后，亦当分别礼敬之，作为各自殊别的相。
Verse 6
क्षीरेण स्नपनं कुर्यात् तानुद्दिश्य हरेः पुनः । तदग्रे होमयेत् क्षीरं तिलैः सह विचक्षणः ॥ ६०.६ ॥
应以乳行沐浴供献（以此回向于与诃利相关之诸受者）。随后，在该仪式或祭坛之前，明智者当将乳与芝麻同投入火中作供。
Verse 7
एवं संवत्सरस्यान्ते कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणभोजनम् । नागं तु काञ्चनं कुर्याद् ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत् ॥ ६०.७ ॥
如是，于一年终了时，应设供养宴食以款待婆罗门；并应铸作金蛇，奉献给一位婆罗门。
Verse 8
एवं यः कुरुते भक्त्या व्रतमेतन्नराधिपः । तस्य शान्तिर्भवेन्नित्यं नागानां न भयṃ तथा ॥ ६०.८ ॥
如是，噫人中王，凡以虔敬奉行此誓者，恒得安宁；亦复无惧于那伽——诸蛇类神灵。
Inside Adhyaya 60
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame, the chapter introduces a transmitted upadeśa: sage Agastya teaches a rājā a practical vrata meant to establish durable śānti for household life, emphasizing time-bound discipline and correct ritual order.
- Central event
Agastya details the Śāntivrata beginning on Kārttika śuklapakṣa pañcamī and continuing for one year: nakta (night) worship of Hari visualized as reclining on Ananta/Śeṣa, coupled with nāga-aṅganyāsa—mapping specific nāgas onto bodily loci from feet to head—and regular offerings including kṣīra-snāna and a milk-and-sesame homa.
- Climax resolution
At the completion of the year, the observance culminates in social and apotropaic closure: brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding brāhmaṇas) and kāñcana-nāga-dāna (gifting a golden serpent image), sealing the vow’s protective and pacifying intent and aligning household order with reduced fear of serpents and broader stability.
- Closing phalashruti
The rite is presented as conferring sustained peace (śānti), domestic harmony, and protection—especially mitigation of nāga-related fear and harm—through disciplined observance, proper worship, and concluding dāna and communal feeding.
Geographical context
No explicit toponyms or regional ecologies are named in these verses. The chapter’s setting is ritual-temporal (Kārttika; śuklapakṣa; pañcamī) rather than geographic; its ecological referent is indirect through nāga symbolism and the household’s harmony with terrestrial forces.
Ritual instructions
- Primary RitualŚāntivrata: a yearlong peace-making vow with nightly Viṣṇu-on-Śeṣa worship and nāga-aṅganyāsa veneration.
- BenefitCultivation of enduring śānti in household life through regulated conduct and worship; apotropaic protection (notably reduction of fear and harm associated with serpents/nāgas); reinforcement of social stability via concluding feeding and gifting.
The narrative frame
- Varāha (as overarching teacher) transmitting Agastya’s instructionPṛthivī (primary listener); within the transmitted discourse, Agastya addresses a rājā · Didactic and procedural (ritual-manual style), with an ethical subtext linking self-restraint, correct order, and social peace.
The emotional journey
- Dominant RasaŚānta
- Emotional ProgressionFrom concern for lasting peace and protection, to steady confidence through disciplined nightly worship and bodily nāga-mapping, culminating in reassurance and communal harmony through brāhmaṇa-feeding and dāna.
Planning a pilgrimage
- Visit FeasibilityNot tirtha-specific in this adhyāya; the observance is primarily home-based (gṛhamedhin) and can be performed wherever a household shrine and homa arrangement are feasible, optionally supplemented by visits to local Viṣṇu or Nāga shrines.
- Best SeasonKārttika (start), with continuity through the year; Kārttika is especially suitable for initiating the vow due to its strong Vaiṣṇava devotional associations.
- Related FestivalKārttika observances in general (month-long Vaiṣṇava devotion); the chapter specifically anchors to Kārttika śuklapakṣa pañcamī rather than a named pan-Indian festival.
Frequently Asked Questions
The text frames peace (śānti) as a household virtue cultivated through disciplined, time-bound observance: regulated diet, regular worship, and socially redistributive acts (brāhmaṇa-bhojana and dāna). The underlying logic links ritual order and self-restraint to sustained domestic stability and the mitigation of harms symbolized by nāgas.
The observance begins on pañcamī (the fifth tithi) of the śuklapakṣa (bright fortnight) in the month of Kārttika and is performed for one full year (saṃvatsara). The worship is specified as nakta (night-time) devotion.
While not explicitly ecological in vocabulary, the chapter employs nāga symbolism—often associated with subterranean waters, land stability, and liminal terrestrial forces—within a protective and harmonizing rite. By prescribing non-violent, regulated conduct and offerings that culminate in communal feeding and gifting, the text can be read as aligning household practice with the maintenance of social and terrestrial equilibrium.
The speaker identified in the transmitted instruction is the sage Agastya, addressing a rājā (king). No dynastic genealogy is specified in these verses, but the presence of Agastya situates the instruction within a sage-to-king didactic model common to Purāṇic legal-ritual discourse.
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