Shloka 21

Matsya Purana — Ekoddiṣṭa Śrāddha

Devanagari script

अग्निष्वात्तादिमध्यत्वं प्राप्नोत्यमृतमुत्तमम् सपिण्डीकरणादूर्ध्वं तस्मै तस्मान्न दीयते //

Transliteration

agniṣvāttādimadhyatvaṃ prāpnotyamṛtamuttamam sapiṇḍīkaraṇādūrdhvaṃ tasmai tasmānna dīyate //

Translation

He attains the excellent, deathless state and is placed among the groups beginning with the Agniṣvāttas. But after the rite of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, no separate offering is to be given to him from that point onward.

Word by Word

• अग्निष्वात्त-आदि: the (Pitṛ) classes beginning with the Agniṣvāttas

• मध्यत्वम्: the status of being in the middle/among (their ranks)

• प्राप्नोति: attains

• अमृतम्: deathless state, immortality

• उत्तमम्: supreme, excellent

• सपिण्डीकरणात्: from (the rite of) sapiṇḍīkaraṇa—making (the departed) a sharer of the ancestral piṇḍas

• ऊर्ध्वम्: thereafter, beyond that point

• तस्मै: to him

• तस्मात्: from then/on that account

• न दीयते: is not given (no offering is made).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Agniṣvātta Pitṛs
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛs
• Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
• Dharma
• Ritual Procedure

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya; it focuses on post-death ritual theology—how the departed is integrated among the Pitṛ classes and how offerings are regulated after sapiṇḍīkaraṇa.

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

It instructs proper śrāddha discipline: once sapiṇḍīkaraṇa has been performed, the householder should not continue giving separate, individual offerings to the departed, but treat him as joined to the ancestral line in the regular Pitṛ rites.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritual significance: it specifies the śrāddha rule that separate offerings cease after sapiṇḍīkaraṇa because the deceased becomes a “sapiṇḍa,” a participant in the lineage’s ancestral piṇḍa offerings.