शिवरात्रिव्रतं कृष्णचतुर्दश्यान्तु फाल्गुने ।
वैष्णवैरपि तत्कार्यं श्रीकृष्णप्रीतये सदा ॥
śiva-rātri-vrataṁ kṛṣṇa-caturdaśyān tu phālgune |
vaiṣṇavair api tat kāryaṁ śrī-kṛṣṇa-prītaye sadā ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 14.187)
“The Śiva Rātri vrata on Kṛṣṇa Caturdaśī in [the month of] Phālguna is always to be performed even by Vaiṣṇavas for the sake of [attaining] prīti for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”
Commentary
nanu vaiṣṇavānāṁ kiṁ śiva-rātri-vrata-karaṇena tatra likhati—śrī-kṛṣṇa-prītaya iti | śiva-rātri-vrata-parityāgena bhagavat-pūjā-phalānudayād bhagavat-prīty-abhāvaḥ, atas tad-arthaṁ vaiṣṇavaiḥ kartavyam evety arthaḥ | api-śabdāt kiṁ punaḥ śaivaiḥ śāktaiḥ saurādibhir vety arthaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“[A question is raised:] ‘Well, what is the use of observing the Śiva Rātri vrata for Vaiṣṇavas?’ To this, the author writes: ‘For the sake of [attaining] prīti for Śrī Kṛṣṇa [i.e., it is necessary for Vaiṣṇavas to perform in order to attain Kṛṣṇa-prīti].’ Because of a non-emergence of the result of worship of Bhagavān as a result of rejecting the Śiva Rātri vrata, a non-occurrence of prīti for Bhagavān occurs [when one does not perform the Śiva Rātri vrata]. Therefore, for the sake of [attaining] that [i.e., Bhagavat-prīti], it is certainly to be performed by Vaiṣṇavas. This is the meaning. On account of the word ‘even’ (api), the meaning is, ‘And how much more so [is the the Śiva Rātri vrata necessary to be performed] by Śaivas, Śāktas, Sauras, and so forth?’”