Matsya Purana — Sādhāraṇa Śrāddha: General Ancestral Rite, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

पितृपात्रे निधायाथ न्युब्जमुत्तरतो न्यसेत् पितृभ्यः स्थानमसीति निधाय परिषेचयेत् //

Transliteration

pitṛpātre nidhāyātha nyubjamuttarato nyaset pitṛbhyaḥ sthānamasīti nidhāya pariṣecayet //

Translation

Nachdem er es in das den Ahnen bestimmte Gefäß (pitṛ-pātra) gelegt hat, soll er das Gefäß nach Norden hin mit der Öffnung nach unten absetzen. Indem er es mit den Worten „Du bist der Sitz für die Pitṛs“ niederstellt, soll er ringsum Wasser sprengen.

Word by Word

• पितृ-पात्रे (pitṛ-pātre): in the vessel for the ancestors

• निधाय (nidhāya): having placed

• अथ (atha): then

• न्युब्जम् (nyubjam): with the mouth turned downward / inverted

• उत्तरतः (uttarataḥ): to the north / on the northern side

• न्यसेत् (nyaset): one should place

• पितृभ्यः (pitṛbhyaḥ): for the Pitṛs (manes)

• स्थानम् (sthānam): seat, place

• असि (asi): you are

• इति (iti): thus

• निधाय (nidhāya): having set/placed (with that formula)

• परिषेचयेत् (pariṣecayet): one should sprinkle around (consecrate by circum-sprinkling).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu the śrāddha procedure)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛs
• Vaivasvata Manu
• Lord Matsya

Tags

• Shraddha
• Pitru Karma
• Ritual Procedure
• Dharma
• Water Sprinkling

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it belongs to ritual-dharma, prescribing the correct placement and consecration of the ancestral vessel during śrāddha.

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

It frames śrāddha as a required duty: a householder (and a righteous king as patron of dharma) should honor the Pitṛs by properly arranging the pitṛ-pātra, invoking it as their “seat,” and performing the purificatory sprinkling.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it specifies northward placement and parisecana (circum-sprinkling) to establish a sanctified “seat” for the Pitṛs—key procedural details in Matsya Purana’s śrāddha guidelines.