Matsya Purana — Sādhāraṇa Śrāddha: General Ancestral Rite, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

अयने विषुवे युग्मे सामान्ये चार्कसंक्रमे अमावास्याष्टकाकृष्णपक्षे पञ्चदशीषु च //

Transliteration

ayane viṣuve yugme sāmānye cārkasaṃkrame amāvāsyāṣṭakākṛṣṇapakṣe pañcadaśīṣu ca //

Translation

Zu den ayana (Sonnenwenden), den viṣuva (Tagundnachtgleichen), in den yugma (paarigen Mondabschnitten), bei gewöhnlichen Anlässen und auch beim Eintritt der Sonne in ein neues Tierkreiszeichen (ārka-saṅkrama); ebenso am Tag der amāvāsyā (Neumond), an den Aṣṭakā-Tagen, während der dunklen Hälfte (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa) und an den fünfzehnten Mondtagen (pañcadaśī) — (sind diese Zeiten für die rituelle Observanz zu beachten).

Word by Word

• अयने (ayane): at the solstitial course/solstice seasons (Uttarāyaṇa & Dakṣiṇāyana)

• विषुवे (viṣuve): at the equinox

• युग्मे (yugme): in paired periods/days (commonly interpreted as paired tithis or auspicious dual-marked times)

• सामान्ये (sāmānye): on ordinary/common occasions (general timings)

• च (ca): and

• आर्कसंक्रमे (ārka-saṃkrame): at the Sun’s transit/ingress (saṅkrānti) into a new rāśi

• अमावास्या (amāvāsyā): new-moon day

• अष्टका (aṣṭakā): the Aṣṭakā observance days (classically connected with śrāddha/ancestral rites)

• कृष्णपक्षे (kṛṣṇa-pakṣe): in the waning fortnight

• पञ्चदशीषु (pañcadaśīṣu): on the fifteenth tithi(s) (Pūrṇimā/Amāvāsyā contextually)

• च (ca): and.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Surya (the Sun, implied by ārka-saṅkrama)
• Amavasya
• Aṣṭakā

Tags

• Dharma
• Vrata
• Tithi
• Sankranti
• Shraddha

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse is not about pralaya; it is a kāla-nirṇaya (time-determination) instruction listing calendrical junctions—solstices, equinoxes, saṅkrānti, Amāvāsyā, Aṣṭakā, and key tithis—considered significant for rites.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

It guides kings and householders in choosing ritually potent times for dharma—vratas, donations, and ancestral observances—by prioritizing major solar/lunar transitions (ayana, viṣuva, saṅkrānti) and tithis like Amāvāsyā and the fifteenth day.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is primarily ritual: these are auspicious/ritually weighty time-markers used to schedule observances (especially Aṣṭakā-related śrāddha and Amāvāsyā rites), a common planning principle in Matsya Purana’s dharma sections.