Shri Satyanarayan katha (narrative) comes from the
Skandha purana, Reva kaanda. Suta Puraanikji narrated
these stories, in Neimishaaranya to the Rishis who were
performing a 1000 year yajna for the benefit of mankind
lead by Shounakji .
For those who observe the fast religiously and
regularly, there are some great lessons to be learned
from the ’katha’ (narration)
As is shown by characters who ignored their promise
to perform the puja after their wish had been fulfilled.
They suffered as a result. Therefore one is to deduce
that one must stick to the promise given to the Lord in
exchange of the desire fulfilled by His Grace. One is
not to ignore or/and forget the Lord’s Grace. ’Parsad’
is symbolic of God’s Grace which Kalavati ignored as she
learned of her husband’s safe return.
One can understand her eagerness in wanting to be
re-united with her beloved, but one must understand that
if one forgets to be thankful for gifts received from
the Lord, one would have to go through another test
until one remembers to remember.
When the rich merchant is asked what the boat
contains, he untruthfully replies ’Only dry leaves’ and
the Mendicant says ’So be it’ The above incident tells
us that the spoken word has power. What you speak,
manifests. Hence one must not speak an untruth.
Specially an inauspicious untruth.
In the last story one learns that no one is higher or
lower in status in the eyes of the Lord.
Hence one
must accord respect to whoever it may be, who is taking
the name of God.
Let us continue with our Satnarayan puja and kathas,
but with the above understanding. The Good Lord, then,
will shower us with all the choicest blessings that He
has promised.
For those who are not familiar with the katha
(story). Let us now go into it:
Once Naradji went to the Lord to ask Him for a
panacea for the miseries of the world. Sri Satyanarayan
told Naradji that there is a fast which can be performed
by anyone. The fast would result in the fulfillment of
his desires and also liberation from the cycle of birth
and death. Sri Narayana told Naradji how a poor, old and
ailing Brahmin as well as an impoverished woodcutter,
had all their wishes fulfilled, became prosperous, and
ultimately attained salvation by the correct and
devotional performance of the Sri Satyanarayan fast and
puja.
The 2nd story consists of a childless merchant who
asked a king the correct procedure of the Satyanarayan
fast. After learning the same, the merchant and his wife
decided to perform the fast if they get a child.
Sometime later his wife Lilavati became pregnant and she
delivered a girl who they called Kalavati. Lilavati
reminded her husband about his promise to keep the fast,
but the merchant postponed it saying that he would do so
when the daughter is ready to be married. The merchant
did not fulfill his promise when Lilavati, the daughter
is wedded. The Lord decided to remind the merchant of
his promise.
The merchant and his son-in-law went to a city called
Ratnasara in connection with some business. There, a
theft took place. As the thief was being chased by the
concerned authority, the robber threw the booty where
the two merchants were resting, and escaped. The
merchant and the son-in-law were arrested. Meanwhile
Lilavati and Kalavati also lost their belongings due to
some thefts and were rendered beggars. While trying to
get some food, Kalavati saw a Satyanarayan puja being
performed and told her mother about it. Lilavati
remembered that she had not performed the promised puja
and hence she was facing all these difficulties. She
decided to perform the fast and the Puja. The king was
informed in a dream, that the merchants were innocent so
he released them after compensating them with a lot of
wealth.
The merchants decided to come home to their wives.
The Lord decided to test them again and came in the
guise of a mendicant and asked what kind of load they
were carrying on their ship. The merchant mentioned that
they had only dried leaves. The mendicant said: "So be
it" When the merchant saw that there were only dried
leaves aboard, he asked the pious man for forgiveness.
The ever merciful Lord forgave them one more time.
As the ship approached the city, the merchant sent
word to his wife and daughter about their arrival.
Lilavati rushed to meet her husband while telling her
daughter to complete the puja. Kalavati performed the
puja, but in her haste to meet her husband she did not
take the parsad. When she eagerly arrived to meet her
husband, she could see neither the ship nor the inmates.
The merchant realised that all the obstacles that
they were facing were due to the fact that he had not
kept his promise of performing the Satyanarayan puja. He
decided to do it. As he was performing it, he got an
insight that it was due to the neglect of Lilavati
taking the parsad, that they were going through further
difficulties.
Kalavati rushed back home and respectfully partook of
the parsad. The family was then re-united and they lived
a long, happy and prosperous life never forgetting to
thank the Lord for all that they received. After their
death they got the ultimate gift: ’Moksha’ (Liberation
from the cycle of life and death)
Suta continuing his narrative, tells the Rishis, the
story of a king called Angadwaja. Once, as King
Angadwaja was returning from a hunting expedition, he
stopped to rest under a tree for a while. Nearby a small
group of cowherd boys were playing the game of doing
puja. They offered their humble parsad to the king, who
out of pride left it untouched. Subsequently the king
suffered great losses and realised that that was due to
the contempt he had shown for those children’s puja. The
king returned to the spot where he had met the cowherds,
and with great faith performed the puja with them. The
king regained all that he had lost.
Suta now told the Rishis that the Satyanarayan fast
was very effective during Kaliyuga and that whoever read
or heard this story would be rid of all sorrows and
difficulties.
May all those who have followed me up to this last
letter, and also those who read at least part of this
message with reverence, have all their wishes fulfilled
and meet up in Satyaloka (Heaven) as is the promise,
assured by the Satyanarayan katha.
Personal messages to Shakun Narain----email : snarain@vsnl.com
Web-site dalsabzi.tripod.com 
