SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 6

The king said: 'I want to know about the vow called pumsavana that you spoke of o brahmin and by which Lord Vishnu is pleased.

Mâhâraja Parîkshit said: My dear lord, you have already spoken about the pumsavana vow. Now I want to hear about it in detail, for I understand that by observing this vow one can please the Supreme Lord, Vishnu. (Vedabase)

Text 2-3:

S'rî S'uka said: 'From the first day during the bright fortnight of Agrahâyana (November-December), should a woman with the permission of her husband begin with this vow which fulfills all desires. Before breakfast hearing about the birth of the Maruts and taking instruction from the brahmins, she should bathe and have her teeth cleaned white, put on ornaments and garments and worship the Supreme Lord who is with the Goddess of Fortune as follows:

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: On the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Agrahâyana [November-December], following the instructions of her husband, a woman should begin this regulative devotional service with a vow of penance, for it can fulfill all one's desires. Before beginning the worship of Lord Vishnu, the woman should hear the story of how the Maruts were born. Under the instructions of qualified brâhmanas, in the morning she should wash her teeth, bathe, and dress herself with white cloth and ornaments, and before taking breakfast she should worship Lord Vishnu and Lakshmî. (Vedabase)

Text 4

'May there be all the obeisances unto You o Lord indifferent, whose will is always done; unto the husband of Lakshmî Devî, the Master of all Perfection, my respects.

[She should then pray to the Lord as follows.] My dear Lord, You are full in all opulences, but I do not beg You for opulence. I simply offer my respectful obeisances unto You. You are the husband and master of Lakshmîdevî, the goddess of fortune, who has all opulences. Therefore You are the master of all mystic yoga. I simply offer my obeisances unto You. (Vedabase)

Text 5

You as the One endowed with mercy, opulence, prowess, glory and strength o my Lord therefore art of all the divine qualities the One Supreme Master.

O my Lord, because You are endowed with causeless mercy, all opulences, all prowess and all glories, strength and transcendental qualities, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone. (Vedabase)

Text 6

O Lakshmî espoused to Lord Vishnu, you are His energy and have all the qualities of the Supreme Personality, I beg you be pleased with me o Goddess of Fortune, o Mother of the World, may there be all reverential homage unto you.

O my Lord, because You are endowed with causeless mercy, all opulences, all prowess and all glories, strength and transcendental qualities, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone. (Vedabase)

Text 7

My obeisances unto the Supreme Lord and Personality of all Power, the husband of that Greatness of Wealth with His associates; unto Him I offer my presentations'. By the invocation of Lord Vishnu thus with this mantra every day must she then offer attentively presentations of gifts, lamps, incense flowers, scents, ornaments, garments, a sacred thread, bathing water and water for the hands, feet and mouth.

"My Lord Vishnu, full in six opulences, You are the best of all enjoyers and the most powerful. O husband of mother Lakshmî, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are accompanied by many associates, such as Vis'vaksena. I offer all the paraphernalia for worshiping You." One should chant this mantra every day with great attention while worshiping Lord Vishnu with all paraphernalia, such as water for washing His feet, hands and mouth and water for His bath. One must offer Him various presentations for His worship, such as garments, a sacred thread, ornaments, scents, flowers, incense and lamps. (Vedabase)

Text 8

Next should the remnants of the sacrifice be offered in the fire with twelve oblations hailing Him thus: 'O My Lord all my respects for You as the One Supreme, the Greatest Enjoyer who is the husband of the Goddess of Fortune'.

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued: After worshiping the Lord with all the paraphernalia mentioned above, one should chant the following mantra while offering twelve oblations of ghee on the sacred fire: om namo bhagavate mahâ-purushâya mahâvibhûtipataye svâhâ. (Vedabase)

Text 9

Lord Vishnu and the goddess are the bestowers of all benedictions and together the source of all blessings; if one desires all the opulences one should with devotion daily be of worship.

If one desires all opulences, his duty is to daily worship Lord Vishnu with His wife, Lakshmî. With great devotion one should worship Him according to the above-mentioned process. Lord Vishnu and the goddess of fortune are an immensely powerful combination. They are the bestowers of all benedictions and the sources of all good fortune. Therefore the duty of everyone is to worship Lakshmî-Nârâyana. (Vedabase)

Text 10

Stretched out straight on the ground [dandavat] one in devotion should be of sacrifice in a humble state of mind uttering this mantra ten times and then chant the next prayer:

One should offer obeisances unto the Lord with a mind humbled through devotion. While offering dandavats by falling on the ground like a rod, one should chant the above mantra ten times. Then one should chant the following prayer. (Vedabase)

Text 11

'The both of You are indeed the proprietors of the universe, the Supreme Cause. This external world of Yours is certainly difficult to fathom and the internal potency is difficult to surpass.

My Lord Vishnu and mother Lakshmî, goddess of fortune, you are the proprietors of the entire creation. Indeed, you are the cause of the creation. Mother Lakshmî is extremely difficult to understand because she is so powerful that the jurisdiction of her power is difficult to overcome. Mother Lakshmî is represented in the material world as the external energy, but actually she is always the internal energy of the Lord. (Vedabase)

Text 12

You as the Supreme Personality, You are her direct Master, the one of all sacrifices; this goddess ruling all that I do and this Enjoyer of the Fruits that You are I worship.

My Lord, You are the master of energy, and therefore You are the Supreme Person. You are sacrifice [yajña] personified. Lakshmî, the embodiment of spiritual activities, is the original form of worship offered unto You, whereas You are the enjoyer of all sacrifices. (Vedabase)

Text 13

To this devî as the reservoir of all qualities are You indeed the Manifester and Enjoyer, the Supersoul of all embodied souls; You are the support and the cause of the manifestation of the name, form, body, senses and mind of her as Lakshmî, the Goddess of Fortune.

Mother Lakshmî, who is here, is the reservoir of all spiritual qualities, whereas You manifest and enjoy all these qualities. Indeed, You are actually the enjoyer of everything. You live as the Supersoul of all living entities, aid the goddess of fortune is the form of their bodies, senses and minds. She also has a holy name and form, whereas You are the support of all such names and forms and the cause for their manifestation. (Vedabase)

Text 14

May, since the both of You are the benedictors and supreme rulers of the three worlds, therefore, o Uttamas'loka, o Lord Praised in the Verses, my great ambitions be fulfilled.'

You are both the supreme rulers and benedictors of the three worlds. Therefore, my Lord, Uttamas'loka, may my ambitions be fulfilled by Your grace. (Vedabase)

Text 15

Thus one should pray to Vishnu who with Lakshmî is the abode of the goddess and the bestower of benedictions. Next one should remove the things of worship and wash one's hands and mouth after the offering and homage.

S'rî S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued: Thus one should worship Lord Vishnu, who is known as S'rînivâsa, along with mother Lakshmî, the goddess of fortune, by offering prayers according to the process mentioned above. After removing all the paraphernalia of worship, one should offer them water to wash their hands and mouths, and then one should worship them again. (Vedabase)

Text 16

Then should one appreciate with devotion and a humble mind, the remnants of the sacrifice smelling them and again be of worship for Lord Vishnu.

Thereafter, with devotion and humility, one should offer prayers to the Lord and mother Lakshmî. Then one should smell the remnants of the food offered and then again worship the Lord and Lakshmîjî. (Vedabase)

Text 17

By those offerings should the wife, with love for the husband who himself then also executes all the menial and elevated duties, with devotion accept the dear husband as if he were the Supreme Personality himself.

Accepting her husband as the representative of the Supreme Person, a wife should worship him with unalloyed devotion by offering him prasâda. The husband, being very pleased with his wife, should engage himself in the affairs of his family. (Vedabase)

Text 18:

When the wife is unable to do so should the husband execute this attentively, because when even but one of them performs the sacrifice, still both the wife and the husband may enjoy the result.

Between the husband and wife, one person is sufficient to execute this devotional service. Because of their good relationship, both of them will enjoy the result. Therefore if the wife is unable to execute this process, the husband should carefully do so, and the faithful wife will share the result. (Vedabase)

Text 19-20:

One should not break with the execution of this vow to Lord Vishnu for any reason; daily should one in a regulated manner grant the brahmins and the women with their husbands and children, the offerings with garlands, sandalwood, food and ornaments to the Godhead. As a consequence of placing it before Him does one, having put the Godhead to rest, eating of what was offered and as should dividing it among others, find purification of one's soul and the fulfillment of all desires.

One should accept this vishnu-vrata, which is a vow in devotional service, and should not deviate from its execution to engage in anything else. By offering the remnants of prasâda, flower garlands, sandalwood pulp and ornaments, one should daily worship the brâhmanas and worship women who peacefully live with their husbands and children. Every day the wife must continue following the regulative principles to worship Lord Vishnu with great devotion. Thereafter, Lord Vishnu should be laid in His bed, and then one should take prasâda. In this way, husband and wife will be purified and will have all their desires fulfilled. (Vedabase)

Text 21:

With this regulated puja must after the time of twelve months, a year, the wife then fast on the last day [the full moon] of Kârttika [October-November].

The chaste wife must perform such devotional service continuously for one year. After one year passes, she should fast on the full-moon day in the month of Kârttika [October-November]. (Vedabase)

Text 22:

The next morning contacting water should in worship of Lord Krishna according the injunctions of cooking for a sacrifice [as stated in the Grihya-sûtras] as before sweet rice with ghee boiled in milk be offered, with the husband twelve times doing oblations in the fire.

On the morning of the next day, one should wash oneself, and after worshiping Lord Krishna as before, one should cook as one cooks for festivals as stated in the Grihya-sûtras. Sweet rice should be cooked with ghee, and with this preparation the husband should offer oblations to the fire twelve times. (Vedabase)

Text 23:

With the permission of the brahmins, whose blessings he accepted on his head after pleasing them expressing his obeisances, should he then in devotion eat.

Thereafter, he should satisfy the brâhmanas. When the satisfied brâhmanas bestow their blessings, he should devotedly offer them respectful obeisances with his head, and with their permission he should take prasâda. (Vedabase)

Text 24:

With friends and relatives controlling the speech, should he first of all properly welcome the teacher of example and next should he give the wife the remnant of the offering. That will ensure him progeny and good fortune.

Before taking his meal, the husband must first seat the acarya comfortably, and, along with his relatives and friends, should control his speech and offer prasâda to the guru. Then the wife should eat the remnants of the oblation of sweet rice cooked with ghee. Eating the remnants insures a learned, devoted son and all good fortune. (Vedabase)

Text 25:

Performing this vow to the instructions gets a man in this life all things desired from the Almighty and is a woman performing this able to achieve all fortune, opulence, progeny, a long living husband and a good reputation and home.

If this vow or ritualistic ceremony is observed according to the description of s'âstra, even in this life a man will be able to achieve all the benedictions he desires from the Lord. A wife who performs this ritualistic ceremony will surely receive good fortune, opulence, sons, a long-living husband, a good reputation and a good home. (Vedabase)

Text 26-28:

Unmarried she can [to this vrata] get a husband with all good qualities and reaches she, free from faults with no husband or son, the divine abode; with a child dead she may have one living long, unfortunate will she find fortune and fare well, and ugly she finds beauty and excellence. A diseased man is freed from his disease and will be an able man again; reciting this in ceremony to the forefathers and the gods will please the both of them as well as the Lord, the enjoyer of all sacrifice, very much, so that satisfied they, upon the completion of the ceremony, will fulfill all one's desires. O King, thus I extensively explained to you about the great birth of the Maruts and the piety of Diti taking to the vow.'

If an unmarried girl observes this vrata, she will be able to get a very good husband. If a woman who is avîrâ - who has no husband or son - executes this ritualistic ceremony, she can be promoted to the spiritual world. A woman whose children have died after birth can get a child with a long duration of life and also become very fortunate in possessing wealth. If a woman is unfortunate she will become fortunate, and if ugly she will become beautiful. By observing this vrata, a diseased man can gain relief from his disease and have an able body with which to work. If one recites this narration while offering oblations to the pitâs and demigods, especially during the sraddha ceremony, the demigods and inhabitants of Pitriloka will be extremely pleased with him and bestow upon him the fulfillment of all desires. After one performs this ritualistic ceremony, Lord Vishnu and His wife, mother Lakshmî, the goddess of fortune, are very pleased with him. O King Parîkshit, now I have completely described how Diti performed this ceremony and had good children--the Maruts--and a happy life. I have tried to explain this to you as elaborately as possible. (Vedabase)