The Chaturmasya Vrata

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The Chaturmasya Vrata from Haribhakti Vilasa, 15th vilasa (new98)

Bhavisya Purana- "One who passes the Chaturmasya season without observing

religious vows, austerities and chanting of japa, such a fool although living

should be considered to be a dead man."

Kanda Purana, Nagava Khunda- "In the month of shravana (July, August) one

should refrain from eating spinach. In the month of Bhadra (August, September)

of yogert in Ashvina (September, October) milk. In Kartik (October, November)

meat and urd dall.

Various vows and austerities during Chaturmasya and Their respective results.

"O King, one who is My devotee and is fixed in vow, whether man or woman, for

the purpose of Dharma, should accept these various austerities and observances.

I shall now describe to you all of them along with their respective results.

01) No salt -- One's voice becomes sweet.

02) No oil -- One's life is prolonged and gets progeny.

03) No oil massages -- One's body becomes beautiful.

04) No cooking with oil -- One's enemies are vanished.

05) No licorice and oil -- One becomes wealthy.

06) Give up wearing unoffered flowers -- One becomes a Vidyadhara in Devapura.

07) Give up six kinds of tastes (spice, sour, bitter, sweet, salty and harsh)

-- One never becomes ugly, smelly, or obtains a bad birth.

08) Practice of yoga -- One goes to Brahmaloka.

09) No betal nuts -- One becomes happy.

10) No cooked food (raw fruits & Vegetables) -- One obtains purity.

11) No honey -- One becomes lustrous.

12) No yogert or milk -- One attains Goloka.

13) No cooking with earthen pots -- One gets . (?)

14) No hot food -- One gets offspring with a long life.

15) Take rest on the ground or on stone -- One becomes an associate of Vishnu.

16) One who gives up meat & honey is a yogi and muni.

17) No intoxicating liquors -- One becomes powerful and free from disease.

18) Fast for one day -- One is honored in Brahmaloka.

19) No cutting of hair and nails -- One gets the benefit of taking bath daily

in Ganges.

20) No speaking of grama katha (nonsense) -- One's order will never be

disobeyed.

21) Eat food on the ground without dish or plate -- One obtains a kingdom on

Earth.

22) Chant the mantra Namo Narayana -- One obtains the result of giving in

charity 100 times.

23) Offer prayers to the Lord -- One gets the result of giving cows in charity.

24) Touch the lotus feet of the Deity -- One becomes a successful person.

25) Clean the temple of the Lord -- If one is king he remains so for a Kalpa.

26) Circumambulating the temple three times offering prayers -- At the time of

death one will mount a swan airplane and go to Vaikuntha.

27) Singing or playing musical instruments in the temple of the Lord -- One

goes to Gardharvaloka.

28) Take pleasure in studying the sastras -- One goes to Vishnuloka.

29) Sprinkle water in the temple -- One goes to apsaraloka.

30) Take bath in a holy place -- One's body becomes pure.

31) Worship Lord Vishnu with flowers -- One goes to Vaikuntha.

32) Eat panchagavya -- One gets the result of observing candrayana fasting.

33) Eat one meal a day -- One gets the results of performing an Agnihotra.

34) Eat at night only -- One gets the result of going to all the places of

pilgrimage.

35) Eat at noon only -- One attains Devaloka.

36) Take food not obtained by begging or any extraneous endeavor -- One gets

the results of opening water stands and digging wells.

37) Take bath daily -- One will never see hell.

38) No eating on a plate -- One gets the result of bathing at Pushkara

39) Eat on a leaf -- One obtains the result of living at Kurukshetra.

40) Eat on a stone -- One obtains the result of bathing at Prayog.

41) Giving up drinking to six hours -- One will not be attacked by diseases.

42) During the Chaturmasya, garlands, caranamrta, candana and water from the

conshell of the Lord, mahaprasadam, Deity garlands must be accepted.

In this way one who performs this vrata for the satisfaction of Lord Kesava

becomes satisfied himself. O best of the Pandavas, among My devotees, he who

accepts these vows and austerities during the Chaturmasya goes to my abode at

the time of death, of this there is no doubt.

Vishnu Rahasya- Lord Brahma to Narada Muni.

If one accepts all these Vaisnava austerities and observances with devotion,

one attains the supreme destination O Narada. One who desires within himself to

execute all these Vaisnava austerities and vows, his sins obtained within one

hundred births is destroyed. If one is exclusively devoted, peaceful, takes

daily bath, is fixed in vow and worships the Lord during these four months, he

goes to the abode of the Lord. He who accepts the austerity of sleeping on the

ground this time when the Vishnu Deity is sleeping in yoga nidra underwater, he

goes to the abode of Laxmi.