Srimad Bhagavatam – day 481
Narayana
Maharishi Kaśyapa said to wife Aditi, “Worship that Supreme Lord who is the Lord of this universe. He is full of compassion towards the down-trodden. He will fulfill your desire. Devotion towards Him can never go in vain. In my opinion there can be no better method than this to fulfill your desire”.
Mother Aditi then enquired, “O Maharishi! Srihari is the Lord of this universe. He is satya-sankalpa (whatever He aspires always gets fulfilled). By which method should I worship Him in order to fulfill the desire contained in my heart? Please instruct me into it. You are the foremost among the erudite Vedic scholars. Along with my sons I too am experiencing uncontrollable grief. Please teach me the method by which I can quickly obtain Lord Srihari’s grace”.
To this, Kaśyapa Prajapati replied, “O Aditi! When I desired to beget children I enquired from the venerable Lord Brahma, who is born from a lotus. He then initiated me into this ritual (vrata) which I will now explain. By adhering to this ritual, Lord Srihari will be pleased.
For the first twelve days in the waxing fortnight (Śukla pakṣa) of Phalguna month (last month of the lunar calendar) the person should consume only milk. With utmost devotion he should worship the lotus-eyed Supreme Lord Srihari.
On the New-moon day (amavasya) he should apply on the body, the mud dug up by a boar and should then bathe in the river. The person should then pray,
‘O Mother Earth! Lord Varaha is the cause for this entire creation. In order to provide a place of residence to living entities he lifted you up from Rasatala (a lower planetary system of existence). I offer obeisance to you. Please destroy all my sins.’
Thereafter the person should complete all his daily obligatory duties and, with single-focussed concentration, worship the idol of the Supreme Lord. He should also worship the altar, Sun, water, fire and spiritual Guru.
Namas tubhyaṁ bhagavate puruṣāya mahīyase
Sarva-bhūta-nivāsāya vāsudevāya sākṣiṇe
‘O Lord Vāsudeva! You who are the sole refuge for all living entities, reside within every living entity in the form of the eternal witness. O Puruśottama! I offer obeisance to You’. The person should worship the Supreme Lord with this prayer.
Srihari has the subtle Pure Consciousness as His form. For this reason He remains invisible to the mind and senses. It is He who has manifested in the forms of Self (Puruṣa) and Nature (Prakṛti). He incarnated as the teacher who propagated the Sānkhya philosophy and taught the 24 principles of creation (tattvas). To such Supreme Lord I offer obeisance.
The 24 principles of creation are Mūla-prakṛti (primordial Nature), Mahat tattva (total cosmic intelligence), total egoism (samiṣti ahamkara), the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, mind, the five gross elements and the five subtle elements.
Yagna ensures that the results of the action are delivered. To the Supreme Lord, who is the form of Yagna, the two actions of Prāyanīya and Udāyanīya are His two heads. Morning, afternoon and evening are His three feet. The four Vedas are the four horns. The seven chandas known as Gayatri, Ushnih, Anusthubh, Bṛhati and others are like His seven hands. Rig, Yajur and Sāma Vedas are the basis for all Yagna. These three are His forms. To such Srihari I offer obeisance.
Namaḥ śivāya rudrāya namaḥ śakti-dharāya ca
Sarva-vidyādhipataye bhūtānāṁ pataye namaḥ
Lord Srihari, who is the form of auspiciousness, destroys the entire creation at time of annihilation. This Lord who retains within Him all the energies is the root for all forms of knowledge. He is the protector of all living entities. To this Lord who manifests as Śiva I offer many obeisances.
O Lord who manifests in the form of this universe! You are supremely effulgent. You exist in the form of the composite intelligence (samiṣṭi buddhi) and actions. You are the cause for all Yoga. Yoga and the mystical accomplishments that arise from it are all Your forms. To You, I offer many obeisances.
O Srihari! You are a form of illumination. You are the cause for this entire creation. You reside as the eternal witness within every living entity. You incarnated in the form of Maharishi Nara and Nārāyana. To You who dispels sins I offer many obeisances.
O Keshava! You possess a body that illumines like the emerald stone. Goddess Lakshmi eternally serves You. To You who are dressed in yellow garments I offer many obeisances.
Tvaṁ sarva-varadaḥ puṁsāṁ vareṇya varadarṣabha
Atas te śreyase dhīrāḥ pāda-reṇum upāsate
O Puruśottama! You are the foremost among those who bestow boons. You are the Lord who bestows all boons. Intelligent persons serve the dust from Your lotus feet seeking liberation. Devatas and Goddess Lakshmi diligently serve Your lotus feet greedily seeking to inhale the fragrance of Your lotus feet. May such Lord Srihari be pleased with me!’
The person should at first completely conquer the senses and then invoke Lord Srihari with absolute dedication. While chanting the above mantra he should offer the Lord, water to wash His hands and feet. He should then offer Him water to sip (acamana). He should then offer milk abhisheka to the Lord followed by water for bathing. The Lord should then be offered clothes, sacred thread, ornamentation, sandal paste, flower garlands, incense sticks, lamp and other such services. While completing these rituals the 12 sylabled (dwadaśāksāra) mantra should be chanted.
Those who can afford should cook payasam (sweet pudding) using raw rice, ghee and jaggery. It should be offered to the Lord as Naivedya. Homa should be performed while chanting the 12 sylabled (dwadaśāksāra) mantra. This Naivedya should be offered to a devotee of the Lord or the person should consume the same. Thereafter he should offer water as ācamana to the Lord and worship Him again. He should then offer betel leaves and nut (tambola) to the Lord and worship Him again.
He should chant the mantra 108 times and then he should be glorified through hymns. Happily he should circumambulate before the Lord and prostrate by falling flat on the ground”.
Sankarshanaya namah