The SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa Pà «jàor SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa Vrata Kathàis a pà «jà(religious ritual worship) dedicated to the Hindu god SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa, identified as an avatÃÂra of Viá¹£á¹Âu in Kali Yuga.
The pà «jàis described in the Pratisargaparvan of the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa and in the printed Bengali edition of the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa, a part of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa. Additionally, SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa was a popular subject in medieval Bengali literature. Scholars state SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is a syncretic form of Satya Për of Bengal, and has been subject to variable levels of Sanskritization and accommodation into classical Vaiá¹£á¹Âava avatÃÂra theology.
The pà «jàinvolves the recitation of the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa vrata kathÃÂ, a collection of tales involving a poor brÃÂhmaá¹Âa, a woodcutter, a sea-merchant and his family, and sometimes a king. The theme of the stories is that a worshipper who promises to undertake the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa and performs his pà «jàwill be delivered economic prosperity; those who fail to keep their promise are punished.
According to Munshi Abdul Karim in Kavivallabha, SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa Punthi (1914-1915), and some secondary literature during the reign of the caliph Al-Muqtadir there was a Persian Sufi in Baghdad named Mansur HÃÂllÃÂj who would repeat the phrase "ÃÂnal Haq" or "I am Truth", even after he was killed by the caliph, cut into pieces, and burnt into ash. Karim states that this Sufi saint became known as Satya Për to Indian Muslims and SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa to Indian Hindus who were identical. Karim further states that SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is not found among the lists of the names of the gods in the Hindu Shastras, is not mentioned by any Vaishnava poets, but is mentioned in the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa. Karim also states that Old Bengali poets who write about SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa do so with accounts differing from that of the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa, and also that the food offered to SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa by Hindus is the exact same as the food offered to Satya Për by Muslims. Satya Chandra Mitra rejects these arguments, stating there is no historical evidence of anyone named Mansur HÃÂllÃÂj and that Hindus have never appropriated foreign saints into their own worship. He states the omission of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa by Vaishnava poets and the alternative accounts of Old Bengali poets are not strong arguments for the recentness of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa worship. Mitra, relying on the authenticity of the antiquity of the PurÃÂá¹Âas, states that its inclusion in the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa is solid proof of the older origins of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa worship. He also notes that the modern association between SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa and Satya Për is found only in Bengal, whereas in Bihar and Upper India SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is worshipped purely as a form of Viá¹£á¹Âu. According to Stewart, Hindus considered Satya Pir to be a Kali Yuga incarnation of Viá¹£á¹Âu, while Muslims considered him to be a pir, sometimes loosely connected to the historical Maná¹£à «r al-ḤallÃÂj of Mecca or a local Bengali pir. There is also "thin" evidence that Satya Për was the son of the daughter of Alauddin Husain Shah. According to Stewart, the biography of Satya Për is fictional.
The Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-vrata-kathàis a short work found in the ItihÃÂsa-samuccaya. The ItihÃÂsa-samuccaya is a collection of anecdotes from the MahÃÂbhÃÂrata, however HaraprasÃÂda à ÂÃÂstrë notes that the Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-vrata-kathàis not actually found in the MahÃÂbhÃÂrata itself. The instructions for the Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-vrata-kathàare found the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa which he states is a "very modern work". à ÂÃÂstrë states the Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-vrata-kathàis also "very modern work" and the pà «jàis of Islamic origins and style, and was originally and still called Satya Për Pà «jÃÂ.
R. C. Hazra states the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is described in the Pratisarga-parvan of the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa and the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa of the Vaá¹ gavÃÂsë Press (Calcutta) edition of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa. When examining the differences between the Veá¹ kateà Âvara Press (Bombay) edition and the Vaá¹ gavÃÂsë Press edition, Hazra notes the entire RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa is only found in the Vaá¹ gavÃÂsë edition, and that the editor of the Vaá¹ gavÃÂsë Press edition stated he took the Veá¹ kaá¹Âeà Âvara Press edition as his basis and then added various chapters and verses found in Bengal manuscripts.
Pandurang Vaman Kane states that the Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âavrata is very popular in Bengal and Maharashtra among the lower middle class and women, and has its scriptural basis in the Pratisargaparvan of the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa and VangavÃÂsë edition of the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa (the story is not founded in the Venkateswar Press edition of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa). Kane summarizes the rite in which the worshipper prepares an offering of plantains, ghee, milk, wheat flour, and jaggery for SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa, and listens to the stories and engages in revelry, following which all the worshipper's desires are fulfilled. Kane notes that in the stories SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is very jealous and vindictive.
The legend of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is found in the Pratisargaparvan of the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa. According to this account, once à Âaunaka and other råṣës were in Naimiá¹£ÃÂraá¹Âya (forest) and asked Sà «ta about a rite suitable for Kali Yuga. Sà «ta states that worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is suitable for Kaliyuga, and states that once NÃÂrada was roaming the world and was disheartened by the suffering of mortal beings. Thus he approached Viá¹£á¹Âu, who told NÃÂrada about the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹ÂavratakathÃÂ. Once there was a beggar Brahmin named à ÂatÃÂnanda who lived in KÃÂà Âë. Viá¹£á¹Âu, in the guise of an old Brahmin, instructed à ÂatÃÂnanda in the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa, and the Brahmin was able to achieve riches without begging. Once the king of KedÃÂramaá¹Âipà «raka, Candracà «á¸Âa, was defeated by his enemies in the Vindhyàmountains. Disheartened, he became an ascetic and travelled to KÃÂà Âë. There he saw people engaged in the worship of NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa, and curious, he asked à ÂatÃÂnanda to teach him about the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa. After gaining this knowledge, Candracà «á¸Âa returned to KedÃÂramaá¹Âi and achieved victory over his enemies. Once a Niá¹£ÃÂdha or Bhilla wood carrier reached KÃÂà Âë where he saw the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa being performed. The wood carrier learned the manner of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa worship from à ÂatÃÂnanda, and returning to his home he performed the appropriate rites and the Bhillas achieved wealth and happiness. Once in Ratnapura, a merchant named Laká¹£apati was walking along the riverbank where he observed SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa being worshipped. Laká¹£apati, being childless, asked the worshippers if his desires would be fulfilled, to which they agreed. Eventually Laká¹£apati and his wife LëlÃÂvatë had a daughter named KalÃÂvatë. KalÃÂvatë eventually was married to a young merchant named à Âaá¹ khapati who began living with his in-laws. Laká¹£apati performed the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa worship rite, but left it incomplete. This led to him and his son-in-law being framed for theft of pearls from the king and being imprisoned. KalÃÂvatë eventually properly performed the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa rite, upon which NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa himself appeared to the king in a dream in the form of a Brahmin and ordered him to let Laká¹£apati and à Âaá¹ khapati be free. Upon being freed, Laká¹£apati still neglected to perform SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa worship, which led to his mercantile goods on ships to be sunk. Laká¹£apati eventually learns that his neglect of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyana worship was the cause for his miseries, and returns to his family. However, in her excitement to see her father, LilÃÂvatë rush out of the house leaving the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa rite incomplete, leading to the ship her husband was on to sink. Disheartened, she calls on SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa who tells her she will regain her husband, and the family properly performs the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa.
H. R. Divekar was unable to find the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa Kathàin any printed edition of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa. He found that the kathàwas included in Hindi translation of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa published in KalyÃÂá¹Âa, the Hindi mouthpiece of the Gita Press but the author of that translation admitted that the kathàwas not in the original text, but merely in Bengali books which is why it was included. Divekar believes that the pujàis of Bengali origin derived from the worship of SaccàPër who was worshipped by Muslims and Hindus, and who was then fashioned into SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa by some Brahmin. Divekar notes that there is no special day for which the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa pà «jàis recommended, no restriction on being conducted on the basis of caste or gender, no observation of purity or fasting rather being associated with dancing, singing, and reveling. For these features Divekar states the pà «jàbecame popular en masse. He concludes that the word Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa is actually a misreading for skanna purÃÂá¹Âa "lost purÃÂá¹Âa". Bühnemann considers that reading to be unlikely.
Roy states that the mention of Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyan in the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa is an interpolation written in order to dislodge the worship of Satya-pir. He states the main two stories about Satya Pir revolved around a Brahmin and a sea merchant. The first involved a Brahmin who refuses to worship God in the form of a Muslim mendicant until he reappears in the form of Krishna. In the other tale a sea-merchant and his son refuse to worship Satya Pir until the merchant's daughter's devotion to Satya Pir saves their fleet from a storm. Roy states these two tales note the beginnings of upper class Hindu acceptance of Satya Pir worship. Initially there was a strong opposition to the worship of Satya Pir by orthodox Hindu brahmins, who then sought to integrate Satya Pir worship into existing Hindu beliefs while expunging the Islamic connections. However the attempt to completely supplant Satya Pir worship with Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyan worship was partially unsuccessful, and large masses of Bengalis continued to recognize the syncretism of the two. He quotes several Muslim writers that were compiled in the BÃÂnglàSÃÂhityer ItihÃÂs that use phrases such as "Satya-pir-narayan" or "Pir-narayan" or call Satya Pir identical to the Hindu Trimurti.
According to Bühnemann, the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-vrata-kathàis found in the 1912 Bengali script Vaá¹ gavÃÂṣë Press reprint of the published Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa edition by Gurumaá¹Âá¸Âal, not in the Venkateà Âvar Press edition of Bombay. She states the actual kathàis only narrated after the completion of the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa, thus pointing to it being a later addition. Comparing the kathÃÂs from the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa and the Bengali recension of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa, she states that the vrata-kathàin the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa is more sophisticated and has more complicated rules for the performance of the pà «jÃÂ. The Bengali Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa makes no mention of the tale of Candracà «á¸Âa and moves straight into the story of the wood-cutter, who is not stated to be a Bhilla as in the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa. The name of KalÃÂvatë's husband is omitted in the Bengali Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa, but the name of the king who Laká¹£apati is framed from stealing from is named to be Candraketu. The Bengali Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa also adds a story at the end in which a king named Vaá¹Âà Âadhvaja arrogantly refuses to worship SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa and thus falls into misfortune until his repentance. The Bengali Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa gives very little information about how the pà «jàshould actually be performed, unlike the Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa. She also notes the term SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa as an epithet of Viá¹£á¹Âu is not mentioned in older texts and the pà «jàis not mentioned in the Shastras, further evidence of its later date. Imitations of the SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-vrata-kathàexist whose inception is also attributed to the PurÃÂá¹Âas, such as that of Satya-vinÃÂyaka (ascribed to the BrahmÃÂá¹Âá¸Âa PurÃÂá¹Âa), Satya-ambà(ascribed to the Bhaviá¹£yottara PurÃÂá¹Âa), and Satya-datta (composed by VasudevÃÂnand Sarasvatë (1854--1914 A.D.)).
Sarma notes that SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is not mentioned in the Bombay edition of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa, and that the editor of the Bengali edition clearly states that he included it because it was in some Bengali books and because the worship of SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa was popular in Bengal. Sarma regards SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa as a Sanskritization of the Islamic saint Satya Për who was worshipped by Muslims and Hindus with à Âirá¹Âi (also colloquially called à Âinni), a mixture of rice, sugar, banana, milk, and flour. He notes the Bengali tales or vrata kathÃÂs which consider SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa and Satya Për to be identical, and states the worship of the deity originated in Bengal before spreading throughout northern India.
G. V. Tagare, in the introduction to his English translation of the printed Venkateshwar Press Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa as part of the Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology series, states the Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-mÃÂhÃÂtmya is "spurious". He states the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa is found in two forms, one that is divided into six Saá¹ÂhitÃÂs and another divided into seven Khaá¹Âá¸Âas. The seven Khaá¹Âá¸Âas are entitled: MÃÂheà Âvara, Vaiá¹£á¹Âava, BrÃÂhma, KÃÂà Âë, Avantë, NÃÂgara, and PrabhÃÂsa. He notes there are four printed versions of the Khaá¹Âá¸Âa form of the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa, that of the Venkateshwar Press, Bangavasi, Naval Kishore Press of Lucknow, and the Gurumandala, with the Satya-nÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa-mÃÂhÃÂtmya being found in the RevàKhaá¹Âá¸Âa of the Gurumandala edition but not in the Venkateshwar Press edition.
According to Stewart, Satya NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa is a 17th or early 18th century Sanskritization of Satya Për, whose tales were included in Skanda and Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âas. However he notes the vernacular Bengali tales have historically enjoyed greater popularity than the Puranic accounts, and form a literary compendium larger than any other medieval Bengali subject save Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He states the most common stories surrounding Satya Për are that of the Brahmin, woodcutter, and merchant and that worship to a vindictive and generous Satya Për through à Âirá¹Âi or à Âinni is to be performed for material and miraculous gain. Stewart notes the decline in popularity of Satya Për worship among Muslims in the 19th and 20th centuries due to Islamic fundamentalism, which allowed Satya Për to be more easily accommodated into classical Vaiá¹£á¹Âava avatÃÂra theology as an incarnation of Viá¹£á¹Âu.
According to Stewart, the ritual instructions emerged only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the advent of the printing press in the region in an attempt to Sanskritize the tradition from the aniconic simple offering of à Âirá¹Âi or à Âinni to a more complicated pà «jÃÂ. However, ritual instructions form less than 1% of the literary compendium, most of which is devoted to oral public genres of pÃÂlàgÃÂna and pÃÂñcÃÂlë and the now popular women's household ritual vrata kathÃÂ, of which the former are far more diverse in content than the fossilized vrata kathÃÂ. Stewart states Satya Për literature shares the same themes: "worship Satya Për to get rich or be rescued from trouble", but are approached through different narrative codes in which different groups of people oriented Satya Pir to competing structures of authority. Stewart lists three main narrative codes of Satya Për: as a Hindu Vaiá¹£á¹Âava god, as a Muslim moral exemplar, and as a personal spiritual guide. In the Vaiá¹£á¹Âava narrative, the land is overrun by Yavanas and thus NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa incarnates in the form of a saá¹ÂyÃÂsë (the functional equivalent of a fakër/për). The Vaiá¹£á¹Âava stories follow the general pattern of the story of the brÃÂhmaá¹Âa, the woodcutters, the merchant and his family, and sometimes the king. According to Stewart the most popular versions of these narratives are by the Bengali poets à Âaá¹ karÃÂcÃÂrya and RÃÂmeà Âvara and were inserted into the Skanda PurÃÂá¹Âa and Bhaviá¹£ya PurÃÂá¹Âa. These tales form the basis of the vrata, and at the turn of the 20th century, there was a conscious effort to Sanskritize the worship by editing the Sanskrit text, eliminating the use of the popular pÃÂñcÃÂlë texts, and "correcting" the theology. In the brÃÂhmaá¹Âa's tale, an poor brÃÂhmaá¹Âa from Varanasi is forced to move to the Bengal delta (a region far from the Brahmanical Madhyadeà Âa lacking many brÃÂhmaá¹Âas) to earn money. He encounters a yavana named Satya Për who orders the brÃÂhmaá¹Âa to worship him with à Âirá¹Âi. The brÃÂhmaá¹Âa initially refuses, but acquiesces when Satya Për reveals his true form as Viá¹£á¹Âu-SatyanÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa, and the brÃÂhmaá¹Âa instantly becomes rich. In the woodcutter's tale, the local woodcutters observe the miraculous change in fortune of the brÃÂhmÃÂá¹Âa, and so receive instructions in Satya Për worship from him. There are some variations in the merchants tale, but the theme remains constant: the merchant must follow up on his promise to worship Satya Për in exchange for his protection otherwise disaster ensues. Stewart states the Vaiá¹£á¹Âava version of the tales seeks to appropriate and domesticate the legendary Satya Për to a lower stratum of divinity dominated by women's vratas as someone who can make land habitable and bestow prosperity.
The puja narrates the Satyanarayana Katha (story), which dictates the various worldly and spiritual benefits the puja brings to performers. The Katha states how the deity Narayana vows to aid his devotees during Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages in Hindu cosmology, in particular the performers and attendees of the Satyanarayana Puja. The Katha narrates that the performance of the puja is in itself a promise to God, and recounts the plights of characters who either fail to complete the puja or forget their promises.A ccording to Madhuri Yadlapati, the Satyanarayana Puja is an archetypal example of how "the Hindu puja facilitates the intimacy of devotional worship while enabling a humble sense of participating gratefully in a larger sacred world". According to Vasudha Narayanan, the Satyanarayana vratakathÃÂ was likely the most popular vrata among Hindus during the second half of the 20th century. The VratakathÃÂ is recited in Sanskrit or more popularly in vernacular languages and sometimes in English.
Folk researcher Gopendrakrishna Basu records that while in upper caste Hindu households of Bengal, Satyanarayana is worshipped by brÃÂhmaá¹Âas in shaligramas, while certain lower caste communities developed their own non-anthropomorphic representations of the deity. He observed how low-caste Doma priests of Satyanarayana would roam around in villages carrying a pot anointed with sindur placed on a tray, claiming it to be an icon of the god and asking for money in exchange for blessing the household.