Shloka 16

Matsya Purana — Eclipse-Time Planetary Bath

Devanagari script

यो ऽसाविन्दुधरो देवः पिनाकी वृषवाहनः चन्द्रोपरागजां पीडां विनाशयतु शंकरः //

Transliteration

yo 'sāvindudharo devaḥ pinākī vṛṣavāhanaḥ candroparāgajāṃ pīḍāṃ vināśayatu śaṃkaraḥ //

Translation

May Śaṅkara—that god who bears the Moon, who wields the Pināka bow, and whose mount is the bull—destroy the suffering that arises from a lunar eclipse.

Word by Word

yaḥwho

asauthat (well-known)

indu-dharaḥmoon-bearing (Śiva)

devaḥgod

pinākībearer of the Pināka bow

vṛṣa-vāhanaḥhe whose vehicle is the bull (Nandin)

candra-uparāga-jāmborn of the moon’s eclipse (lunar-eclipse-caused)

pīḍāmaffliction, distress

vināśayatumay (he) destroy

śaṅkaraḥŚaṅkara (Śiva, the beneficent one)

Speaker

Paurāṇic narrator/reciter (a prayer-formula presented in the text; exact interlocutor not explicit in the single verse)

Entities Mentioned

Śaṅkara (Śiva)Indudhara (Moon-bearer epithet of Śiva)Pināka (Śiva’s bow)Vṛṣavāhana (Bull-mounted epithet of Śiva)Candroparāga (lunar eclipse)

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it is a śānti-prayer seeking the removal of eclipse-born affliction, showing the Purāṇic practice of invoking a deity’s epithets for immediate protection.

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

It supports the dharma of maintaining auspiciousness and public/private well-being: a king or householder is advised to perform graha-śānti and devotional recitation during ominous celestial events to mitigate fear, distress, and perceived inauspicious effects.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it functions as an eclipse-appeasement (candroparāga-śānti) invocation; architecturally it implies Śiva iconography through epithets (moon on the head, Pināka, bull-mount), useful for identifying Śiva’s lakṣaṇas in temple imagery.