दामोदरं प्रपद्येऽहं श्रीराधारमणं प्रभुं ।
प्रभावाद् यस्य तत्प्रेष्ठः कार्तिकः सेवितो भवेत् ॥

 

dāmodaraṁ prapadye'haṁ śrīrādhāramaṇaṁ prabhuṁ ।
prabhāvād yasya tat-preṣṭhaḥ kārtikaḥ sevito bhavet ॥

 

“I bow to Shri Radharaman, who is also known as Damodar. By his grace alone, we can properly observe his beloved month of Kartik.” ( Hari Bhakti Vilas, 16.1)

 

Kartik is a special time when we can please Shri Krishn easily. During this month, devotees take a vow or vrat to follow certain spiritual practices, and this is also known as Niyam Seva. In the Bhakti Rasamrit Sindhu (1.2.221), Shri Roop Goswami also refers to this vrat by the name of urja, meaning divine power. This month also belongs to the source of all divine power, the goddess of sacred love, Shri Radharani.

 

Those who follow the Kartik Vrat are blessed beyond imagination. In the Padma Puran (quoted in Hari Bhakti Vilas, 16.23), Sage Narad says:

 

मानुषः कर्म्मभूमौ यः कार्तिकं नयते सुधा ।

चिन्तामणिं करे प्राप्य क्षिप्यते कर्द्दमाम्बुनि ॥

 

mānuṣaḥ karmmabhūmau yaḥ kārtikaṁ nayate sudhā ।
cintāmaṇiṁ kare prāpya kṣipyate karddamāmbuni ॥

 

“The month of Kartik is like the legendary gem, chintamani, which grants all wishes to those who possess it. But if you pass the month of Kartik without observing a vow, it is like throwing chintamani in a lake of mud.”

The scripture recommends performing the Kartik Vrat in a holy place rather than at home. But in particular, offering Kartik Vrat in Braj is extremely powerful. The Padma Puran (quoted in Hari Bhakti Vilas, 16.156-162) says:

 

दुर्लभः कार्तिको विप्र मथुरायां नृणामिह । यत्रार्च्चितः स्वकं रूपं भक्तेभ्यः संप्रयच्छति ॥

भुक्तिं मुक्तिं हरिर्दद्यादर्च्चितोऽन्यत्र सेविनाम् । भक्तिञ्च न ददात्येष यतो वश्यकरी हरेः ॥

 

durlabhaḥ kārtiko vipra mathurāyāṁ nṛṇāmiha ।

yatrārccitaḥ svakaṁ rūpaṁ bhaktebhyaḥ saṁprayacchati ॥

bhuktiṁ muktiṁ harirdadyādarccito'nyatra sevinām ।

bhaktiñca na dadātyeṣa yato vaśyakarī hareḥ ॥

 

“It is very rare for a human being to be able to be in Braj during Kartik. In Braj, Shri Krishn gives his very self to his devotees. In other places of the world, Krishn grants material blessings or liberation, but he rarely gives devotion, because devotion has the power to bring Krishn under its spell and control him completely.”

 

सा त्वञ्जसा हरेर्भक्तिर्लभ्यते कार्तिके नरैः । मथुरायां सकृदपि श्रीदामोदरपूजनात् ॥

मन्त्रद्रव्य विहीनञ्च विधिहीनञ्च पूजनम् । मन्यते कार्तिके देवो मथुरायां यदर्च्चनम् ॥

 

sā tvañjasā harerbhaktirlabhyate kārtike naraiḥ ।
mathurāyāṁ sakṛdapi śrīdāmodarapūjanāt ॥

mantradravya vihīnañca vidhihīnañca pūjanam ।
manyate kārtike devo mathurāyāṁ yadarccanam ॥

 

“But when you worship Damodar (Krishn) in Braj even one time during Kartik, he easily grants this devotion to you. Even if the worship is done without proper mantras, rules and offerings, Krishn accepts it as the highest form of worship.”

 

यस्य पापस्य युज्येत मरणान्ता विनिष्कृतिः । तच्छुद्धयर्थमिदं प्रोक्तं प्रायश्चित्तं सुनिश्चितम् ।

कार्तिके मथुरायां वै श्रीदामोदरपूजनम् ॥

yasya pāpasya yujyeta maraṇāntā viniṣkṛtiḥ ।

tacchuddhayarthamidaṁ proktaṁ prāyaścittaṁ suniścitam ।

kārtike mathurāyāṁ vai śrīdāmodarapūjanam ॥

 

“Sins that otherwise would only be paid for after death are washed away by worshipping Krishn in Braj during Kartik.”

 

कार्तिके मथुरायां वै पूजनाद्दर्शनाद्ध्रुवः । शीघ्रं सम्प्राप्तवान् बालो दुर्ल्लभं योगतत्परैः ॥

kārtike mathurāyāṁ vai pūjanāddarśanāddhruvaḥ ।
śīghraṁ samprāptavān bālo durllabhaṁ yogatatparaiḥ ॥

 

“By worshipping Krishn in Braj during Kartik, the famous devotee Dhruv Maharaj attained the Lord’s darshan, which is difficult for even the great rishis to attain. He attained this blessing despite being just a small child.”

 

सुलभा मथुरा भूमौ प्रत्यब्दं कार्तिकस्तथा । तथापि संसरन्तीह नरा मूढा भवाम्बुधौ ॥

 

sulabhā mathurā bhūmau pratyabdaṁ kārtikastathā ।
tathāpi saṁsarantīha narā mūḍhā bhavāmbudhau ॥

 

“India is right here, Braj is easy to reach, and the month of Kartik comes every year. Yet foolish people miss the chance to observe Kartik in Braj, and so they remain fallen in the ocean of repeated birth and death.”