Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 8 Chapter 16:15-30

Book 8: Chapter 16

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 8: Chapter 16: Verses 15-30 The procedure of (observing the vow of) Payovrata disclosed to Aditi Therefore, O lord of holy vows, (pray,) consider what is good to me, your servant. (Kindly) protect us, whose wealth has been usurped and whose abode has been taken possession of by the enemy, O my master ! Having been exiled by the foes, I, Aditi, am plunged in an ocean of misery. My fortune, splendour, glory and abode have (all) been usurped by the mighty ones. (Therefore,) by your (sound) judgment, O most beneficent one, (kindly) devise some salutary means by which my sons (the gods) may (be enabled to) retrieve them (their fortune and so on), O pious soul I Sri Suka continued: Thus entreated by Aditi, the sage Kasyapa said to her as though smiling, "Wonderful is the might of the delusive potency of Lord Visnu, due to which this animate creation is bound by (ties of) affection l How widely divergent are the material body, which is other than the Spirit, and the Spirit, which lies beyond (the realm of) Prakrti (Matter)! Who and whose are the husband, son and others? Ignorance alone is the root of (one's) attachment to them. (Therefore,) worship Lord Vasudeva (the all-pervading Visnu), the supreme Person, solicited by (all) the people, and dwelling in the heart of all created beings, the Preceptor of the universe. The selfsame Lord Sri Hari, who, compassionates the miserable, will fulfil your desires. Devotion to the Lord (alone) is unfailing in its results, but not so devotion to others: such is my conviction." Aditi submitted: By what method, O holy Brahmana, shall i wait upon the Ruler of the universe, so that the said Lord of true resolve may accomplish my object ? (Pray,) tell me, O chief of the Brahmanas, the method of propitiating Him, whereby the Lord may be quickly pleased with me, suffering as I am with my darlings. The sage Kasyapa replied: I shall (presently) speak to you about the following sacred vow, intended to propitiate Lord Kesava (the Ruler even of Brahma and Siva), of which the worshipful Brahma (the lotus-born) told me when questioned by me, desirous of progeny. Full of supreme devotion and subsisting on milk (alone), one should worship Lord Visnu (of lotus eyes) for twelve days during the bright fortnight of (the month of) Phalguna. Besmearing his body with the earth turned by a boar, if actually available, on the Amavasya (the last day of the dark fortnight), the devotee should, while standing in the middle of a stream, recite the following prayer: "O goddess I you were lifted up from the bottom of the deluge water by (the Lord appearing in the form of) the very first Boar, who sought a footing (for living beings). Hail to You ! (Pray,) wipe out (all) my sin ! " and then bathe (in that stream). Having finished his (daily) routine (of duties both of the obligatory and occasional types), he should worship the Lord with a concentrated mind in an image, altar, the sun, water, fire or even his preceptor (invoking Him by reciting the following prayer): "Hail to You, Lord Vasudeva, the supreme Person, the greatest of the great, the abode of all created beings, the Witness. Salutation to the Lord who is unmanifest and most subtle, who is (both) Pradhana (primordial Matter) and Purusa (Spirit), the Knower of the twenty-four categories (besides) the Purusa, the twenty-fifth, recognized in the Sankhya system of philosophy), the founder of the Sankhya philosophy (which enumerates the twenty-five categories or ultimate principles into which the entire range of existence can be reduced).