Karthika Puranam · Day 14 of 30
Karthika Puranam Day 14
Chapter 14 — Releasing a bull (Vrishotsarga) and the rules of Karthika
Read on (2026)
Monday, November 23, 2026
Shukla Paksha Chaturdashi · శుద్ధ చతుర్దశి
Also on this day: Second Karthika Somavaram
Chapter 14 — the story
A chapter of practice rather than story. Vasishtha describes Vrishotsarga — consecrating and releasing a bull on Karthika Pournami for the ancestors — and the gifts of a Shiva linga, a Shaligrama or amla.
He lists what to avoid through the month: others' food and leftovers, onion, shraddha meals, oil baths and hot-water baths, and eating at night. Then he gives an evening Shiva puja to be done every day of Karthika.
What this chapter teaches
Karthika is a month of restraint as much as worship — simple food, no night meals, and remembering the ancestors.
How to read the Karthika Puranam
- Read or listen to one chapter each day of Karthika Masam, usually in the evening after lighting the deepam.
- Many families read together after the pre-dawn Karthika snanam or at the Tulasi kota.
- These are short summaries; for the full text, read a printed Karthika Puranam or listen to a pravachanam.