Daridra Dahan Shiv Stotra Anushthan — A Month-Long Ritual to Burn Away Poverty

The speaker says that when poverty settles into a home, the family is left wanting not just for food, wealth and clothing, but is unable to fulfil even its smallest desires. The means of daily life, he says, go unmet, and the head of the household (griha swami) is unable to provide for them. So, to burn away this daridrata, he recommends using Lord Sadashiva's Daridra Dahan Shiv Stotra — its sadhana, its AnushthanaAn extended ritual observance — such as 108 recitations of a scripture — carrying its own strict rules. — and says he will explain the complete vidhi-vidhan for doing so.

There is no need to first attain siddhi over this stotra, the speaker says — what is actually needed is to keep reciting it continuously (lagataar path). He adds that there is a certain vidhan alongside which, if followed, the stotra begins showing its effect much sooner. It should mainly be recited at two times of day: if reciting in the morning, it should be done before 8am; if in the evening, it should be done around Godhuli BelaThe evening twilight period around dusk, traditionally favoured for Akarshana (attraction) rites., that is, around Pradosha kaal.

First, whatever daily puja (dainik poojan) is being done in the household should be completed, the speaker says. After that, a SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. should be taken: addressing Sadashiv, asking that the daridrata present in one's home and family come to an end, and that by his grace dhan-dhanya (wealth and grain) increase. He adds that disease (rog), too, is in some way a form of daridrata. So in the same sankalp, freedom from rog and from sorrow should also be sought, and only after this should the path (recitation) be done.

Nag kesar is needed for this, the speaker says, and it is available at a poojan-samagri shop. Either a small, neat pouch of yellow cloth should be made, or a piece of yellow cloth kept ready; one fistful (mutthi) of nag kesar is needed for each day's use, and enough should be bought at once to cover as many days as are needed, since one mutthi will be required daily. Sitting at one's own place, on one's asan, the nag kesar should be held in the fist, and then the Daridra Dhan (Dahan) Stotra should be recited. It should be recited at least eight times; sixteen times is best. After reciting it eight or sixteen times, the nag kesar should be tied up inside the yellow cloth, with a knot.

If this is being done in the morning, a lota of water should now be taken, the speaker says. A little mishri should be added to the water — milk too, if possible. Two ghee lamps should be taken, along with flowers and bilva patra, and one should head towards a Shiva temple. Before going to the temple, the Chaukhat of the home one is living in should be touched with the lota — even if the home is a rented one, the chaukhat of the portion one occupies and pays rent for should be touched — and only after that should one go to the temple.

On reaching the Shiva temple, both ghee lamps should first be lit, the speaker says. The nag kesar that was tied in cloth should be carried in. abhishekaA ceremonial bathing of a deity’s image or symbol, usually with water and other prescribed substances. of Shiva ji is then done; after lighting the lamps, his shringar is done. Ganpati ji must also be worshipped — water should be poured over Ganpati, Gauri, Nandi and Skanda ji all. Durva GrassA sacred grass offered to deities — especially Ganesha — and included among the items used to formally invite a deity before moving to a new location. should be offered to Ganpati, and bilva patra and flowers to the rest, according to what is available and affordable. If a ShamiA leaf used in remedy rituals — conventionally not to be picked on a Saturday; if needed for a Saturday rite, it's picked the Friday before. leaf can be found, that too should certainly be offered on the shivling. After this, the potli of nag kesar should be opened, one's wish (kamana) restated aloud once more, and the nag kesar untied from its cloth and offered in full onto the ShivlingThe aniconic form of Lord Shiva worshipped at home and in temples..

After offering it, some grains of the nag kesar should be picked back up from the shivling and put into the potli again, the speaker says, and this should be carried home. It should be kept at the place in the house where money is stored. Each day, the same procedure is followed: from the next day onward, the same piece of cloth used today can be reused again and again, rather than taking a fresh one each time. When returning from offering the nag kesar, whatever two or three grains are picked up should be placed at that same spot in the house.

This work should be started from a Shivratri, the speaker says, and continued at least until the next monthly Shivratri — that is, this practice should be done for a full month. If it is done starting from Mahashivratri, that is best of all; even then, it should certainly be continued from that day until the next monthly Shivratri. For instance, he says, if it is started from the Mahashivratri of Phalgun month, it should be completed at the monthly Shivratri that falls in Chaitra month.

On whichever day marks the end of the anushthan — that is, at the next Shivratri — food should be given to Gau vansh (cows) according to one's yathashakti, the speaker says, either to them directly or arranged at some gaushala. It is not necessary to give ten thousand or five thousand rupees' worth. Even a hundred rupees is enough, but something should be given. Food should be arranged for gau vansh, and he says it is best of all if it is given to stray/wandering cattle — whether it is a bail (bullock), a saand (bull) or a gau mata (cow) that is found.

This second Prayoga should specially be used when disease has become very severe, the speaker says — when illness simply will not leave a person. Here, the gooda (resin/gum) of the BilvaThe sacred wood of the Bael tree, used as fuel for Havan offerings of ghee and sesame seeds to Lord Shiva during a release ritual. tree is used. The dried bel gond, also called bilva giri, is available at the same poojan-samagri shop, and one bilva giri is needed each day, along with the nag kesar. If disease is very heavy — if everyone in the house is suffering from some ailment or another — or even if, beyond illness, there is Abhichara baadha present, this same prayog should still be done. That is, whether it is a wealth problem or an abhichar baadha alongside it, the same practice applies. The only difference is that when the nag kesar is taken in the fist, one bilva giri should be taken along with it and kept on the cloth as well, and carried to the temple together. But the bilva giri should not be brought back, the speaker says — after it is offered on the shivling, it is to be left there, and a prayer made for freedom (mukti) from the disease.

Along with the Daridra Dhan (Dahan) path, if it is possible, the speaker suggests also reciting the 108-NamavaliA written list of a deity's names — such as Durga's 108 names written out separately for ease of offering individual Havan oblations to each. of Mahamrityunjay Mahadev while doing Shiva's abhishekaA ceremonial bathing of a deity’s image or symbol, usually with water and other prescribed substances. there. For this, a somewhat bigger lota with water is needed. Both lamps should be lit in front of the shivling in the temple first, and then, while pouring the water in a thin stream, the 108 names of Mahamrityunjay Mahadev should be recited. He says it is a simple thing to do, well within reach.

Or else, the speaker says, the jalhari that hangs over the shivling has a channel/hole in it — water can be poured into the lota positioned over that hole, filling it up using a bucket of the temple's own water together with the water carried from home, and the path can then be recited. If this is done too, he says, Lord Shiva will hear one's prayer very quickly.

Doing this work in the morning is best of all, the speaker says — in the evening, many temples do not allow abhishekaA ceremonial bathing of a deity’s image or symbol, usually with water and other prescribed substances. to be performed. In such a situation, he says one can still go, light the lamp, and offer the nag kesar and bilva giri there. If even the water is not allowed to be offered, that too is not a problem. So, according to one's convenience, this prayog should be done for a full month, praying to Mahadev — he will hear it very soon and fulfil the wish, and the path to gaining wealth will open. The speaker says this will certainly bring freedom from daridrata for the person and their family.