Shloka 21

Matsya Purana — Glory of Prayaga: The Fruit of the Anashaka Fast and the Merit of the Yamuna

Devanagari script

*मार्कण्डेय उवाच दिष्ट्या ते सफलं जन्म दिष्ट्या ते तारितं कुलम् कीर्तनाद्वर्धते पुण्यं श्रुतात्पापप्रणाशनम् //

Transliteration

*mārkaṇḍeya uvāca diṣṭyā te saphalaṃ janma diṣṭyā te tāritaṃ kulam kīrtanādvardhate puṇyaṃ śrutātpāpapraṇāśanam //

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Fortunate indeed is your life—your birth has become fruitful; fortunate indeed is your lineage, for it has been carried across to safety. Through recitation, merit increases; through hearing, sins are destroyed.”

Word by Word

• मार्कण्डेय (mārkaṇḍeya): Markandeya

• उवाच (uvāca): said

• दिष्ट्या (diṣṭyā): by good fortune, blessedly

• ते (te): your

• सफलम् (saphalam): fruitful, successful

• जन्म (janma): birth, life

• तारितम् (tāritam): saved, delivered, carried across

• कुलम् (kulam): family, lineage

• कीर्तनात् (kīrtanāt): from recitation/praise (kirtana)

• वर्धते (vardhate): increases, grows

• पुण्यम् (puṇyam): merit, religious virtue

• श्रुतात् (śrutāt): from hearing (śravaṇa)

• पाप-प्रणाशनम् (pāpa-praṇāśanam): destruction of sin.

Speaker

• Markandeya Rishi

Entities Mentioned

• Markandeya

Tags

• Dharma
• Shravana
• Kirtana
• Punya
• Papakshaya

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it teaches a dharmic principle: sacred recitation (kīrtana) builds merit and sacred hearing (śravaṇa) destroys sin—practices often recommended as safeguards in times of moral decline.

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

It frames a core duty: sustaining dharma through listening to and reciting puranic teachings. For householders and rulers alike, śravaṇa and kīrtana are presented as accessible disciplines that purify conduct (pāpa-kṣaya) and strengthen virtue (puṇya-vṛddhi), thereby uplifting one’s family line.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No architectural rule is stated here; the ritual takeaway is the efficacy of two practices—kīrtana (recitation/praise) and śravaṇa (hearing)—as purificatory acts that generate merit and remove sin.