Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

अवगाह्य च पीत्वा च पुनात्यासप्तमं कुलम् प्राणांस्त्यजति यस्तत्र स याति परमां गतिम् //

Transliteration

avagāhya ca pītvā ca punātyāsaptamaṃ kulam prāṇāṃstyajati yastatra sa yāti paramāṃ gatim //

Translation

By bathing there and also drinking that sacred water, one purifies one’s lineage up to the seventh generation. And whoever gives up his life there attains the supreme destination.

Word by Word

• अवगाह्य: having bathed/immersed

• च: and

• पीत्वा: having drunk

• च: and

• पुनाति: purifies

• आसप्तमम्: up to the seventh

• कुलम्: family/lineage

• प्राणान्: life-breaths/life

• त्यजति: gives up/abandons

• यः: whoever

• तत्र: there (at that place)

• सः: he

• याति: goes/attains

• परमाम्: highest/supreme

• गतिम्: goal/state/destination

Speaker

• Suta Goswami (narrating the tirtha-mahatmya in the Matsya Purana’s discourse tradition)

Entities Mentioned

• Tirtha (sacred ford)
• Kula (lineage)
• Paramā gati (supreme state)

Tags

• Tirtha
• Snana
• Punya
• Ancestral merit
• Moksha

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it focuses on tirtha-mahātmyā—spiritual merit gained through bathing and drinking sacred water, and the belief that dying at such a place leads to the highest spiritual state.

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

It supports the householder ethic of accruing puṇya through tīrtha practices (snāna, pāna) and benefiting one’s ancestors/lineage; it frames pilgrimage and ritual purity as socially and spiritually constructive duties.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it emphasizes snāna (immersion) and pāna (drinking) at a consecrated water-site; while not architectural, it indirectly underlines why tīrthas are maintained with ghāṭas, wells, and water-access structures in Purāṇic religious culture.