Agnipurana 196: atha ṣaṇṇavatyadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ

196.p1

nakṣatravratāni

196.p2

agniruvāca

196.1

nakṣatravratakaṃ vakṣye bhe hariḥ pūjito'rthadaḥ
nakṣatrapuruṣaṃ cādau caitramāse hariṃ yajet

Agni said: / I shall declare the votive observance of the asterisms; Hari worshipped under an asterism grants desired objects. / First, in the month of Caitra, one should worship Hari as the Nakṣatrapuruṣa.

196.2

mūle pādau yajejjaṅghe rohiṇīsvarcayeddharim
jānunī cāśvinīyoge āṣāḍhāsūrusañjñake

Under Mūla one should worship the feet; under Rohiṇī one should worship Hari's calves; / and the knees during conjunction with Aśvinī; and under Āṣāḍhā the parts designated as thighs.

196.3

meḍhraṃ pūrvottarāsveva kaṭiṃ vai kṛttikāsu ca
pārśve bhādrapadābhyāntu kukṣiṃ vai revatīṣu ca

Under Pūrvā- and Uttarā-[phālgunī] the penis, and the waist indeed under Kṛttikā; / the sides under both Bhādrapadās, and the belly indeed under Revatī;

196.4

stanau caivānurādhāsu dhaniṣṭhāsu ca pṛṣṭhakam
bhujau pūjyau viśākhāsu punarvasvaṅgulīryajet

the breasts under Anurādhā, and the back under Dhaniṣṭhā; / the two arms are to be worshipped under Viśākhā, and one should worship the fingers under Punarvasu.

196.5

aśleṣāsu nakhān pūjya kaṇṭhe jyeṣṭhāsu pūjayet
śrotre viṣṇośca śravaṇe mukhaṃ puṣye hareryajet

Having worshipped the nails under Āśleṣā, one should worship the neck under Jyeṣṭhā; / the two ears of Viṣṇu under Śravaṇa, and one should worship Hari's mouth under Puṣya.

196.6

yajet svātiṣu dantāgramāsyaṃ vāruṇato'rcayet
maghāsu nāsāṃ nayane mṛgaśīrṣe lalāṭakam

One should worship the tip of the teeth under Svātī; one should worship the face under Śatabhiṣaj; / under Maghā the nose; the forehead in the eyes, under Mṛgaśīrṣa [the forehead];

196.7

citrāsu cārdrāsu kacānabdānte svarṇakaṃ harim
guḍapūrṇe ghaṭe'bhyarcya śayyāgorthādi dakṣiṇā

and the hair under Citrā and Ārdrā. At the end of the year, having worshipped a golden Hari / in a jar filled with raw sugar, a bed, a cow, wealth, and the like are the sacrificial fee.

196.8

nakṣatrapuruṣo viṣṇuḥ pūjanīyaḥ śivātmakaḥ
śāmbhavāyanīyavratakṛnmāsabhe pūjayeddharim

Viṣṇu, identical with Śiva, should be worshipped as the Nakṣatrapuruṣa.

196.9

kārttike kṛttikāyāṃ ca mṛgaśīrṣe mṛgāsyake
nāmabhiḥ keśavādyaistu acyutāya namo'pi vā

in Kārttika under Kṛttikā, and in Mārgaśīrṣa under Mṛgaśīrṣa,
with names beginning with Keśava, or with ‘Obeisance to Acyuta.’

196.10

kārttike kṛttikābhe'hni māsanakṣatragaṃ harim
śāmbhavāyanīyavratakaṃ kariṣye bhuktimuktidam

‘In Kārttika, on the day of the Kṛttikā asterism, Hari stationed in the asterism of the month
I shall worship; I shall perform the Śāmbhavāyanīya votive observance granting worldly enjoyment and liberation.

196.11

keśavādi mahāmūrtimacyutaṃ sarvadāyakaṃ
āvāhayāmyahandevamāyurārogyavṛddhidam

Acyuta, the great form beginning with Keśava, the bestower of all,
the god granting an increase of life and health, I invoke.’

196.12

kārttikādau sakāsāramannaṃ māsacatuṣṭayam
phālgunādau ca kuśaramāṣāḍhādau ca pāyasam

Beginning in Kārttika, [offering] food with kāsāra for four months;
beginning in Phālguna, spiced rice; and beginning in Āṣāḍha, milk rice.

196.13

devāya brāhmaṇebhyaśca naktannaivedyamāśayet
pañcagavyajalesnātastasyaiva prāśanācchuciḥ

At night, he should offer the food offering to the god and feed the brāhmaṇas;
having bathed in water with five cow-products, he is purified by partaking of it.

196.14

arvāgvisarjanād dravyaṃ naivedyaṃ sarvamucyate
visarjite jagannāthe nirmālyanbhavati kṣaṇāt

Every article before dismissal is called a food offering;
once the Lord of the Universe is dismissed, it instantly becomes floral remains.

196.15

namo namaste'cyuta me kṣayostu pāpasya vṛddhiṃ samupaitu puṇyam
aiśvaryavittādi sadākṣayaṃ me kṣayañca mā santatirabhyupaitu

‘Obeisance, obeisance to you, O Acyuta! May my sin perish; may merit increase!
May my dominion, wealth, and the like be ever undiminished; and may my lineage not perish!

196.16

yathācyutastvamparataḥ parastāt sa brahmabhūtaḥ parataḥ parātman
tathācyutaṃ tvaṃ kuru vāñchitaṃ me mayā kṛtampāpaharāprameya

Just as you, O Acyuta, are beyond the beyond, the supreme Self become Brahman beyond the beyond,

196.17

acyutānanda govinda prasīda yadabhīpsitam
akṣayaṃ māmameyātman kuruṣva puruṣottama

O Acyuta, O Bliss, O Govinda, be pleased; whatever is desired,
make it inexhaustible for me, O boundless Self, O Puruṣottama!’

196.18

sapta varṣāṇi sampūjya bhuktimuktimavāpunuyāt
anantavratamākhyāsye nakṣatravratake'rthadam

Having worshipped for seven years, one obtains worldly enjoyment and liberation.
I shall explain the Ananta votive observance, which grants wealth among asterism observances.

196.19

mārgaśīrṣe mṛgaśire gomūtrāśī yajeddharim
anantaṃ sarvakāmānāmananto bhagavān phalam

In Mārgaśīrṣa under Mṛgaśiras, consuming cow urine, one should worship Hari
as Ananta; the blessed Lord Ananta gives the fruit of all desires,

196.20

dadātyanantañca punastadevānyatra janmani
anantapuṇyopacayaṅkarotyetanmahāvratam

and gives endless [merit] again in another birth.
This great votive observance effects the accumulation of endless merit,

196.21

yathābhilaṣitaprāptiṃ karotyakṣayameva ca
pādādi pūjya nakte tu bhuñjīyāttailavarjitam

and brings about the attainment of all desires and makes it imperishable.
Having worshipped the feet and other limbs, one should eat at night, free from oil.

196.22

ghṛtenānantamuddiśya homo māsacatuṣṭayam
caitrādau śālinā homaḥ payasā śrāvaṇādiṣu

The fire oblation dedicated to Ananta with ghee lasts four months;
beginning in Caitra, the fire oblation is with rice; in Śrāvaṇa and following, with milk.

196.23

māndhātābhūd yuvanāśvādanantavratakāt sutaḥ

Māndhātṛ was born as the son of Yuvanāśva through the Ananta votive observance.

196.23.p1

ityāgneye mahāpurāṇe nakṣatravratakāni nāma ṣaṇṇavatyadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ