Shloka 28

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

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा दिवं यान्ति ये मृतास्ते ऽपुनर्भवाः एवं तीर्थसहस्राणि यमुनादक्षिणे तटे //

Transliteration

tatra snātvā divaṃ yānti ye mṛtāste 'punarbhavāḥ evaṃ tīrthasahasrāṇi yamunādakṣiṇe taṭe //

Translation

Having bathed there, those who die there go to heaven; they become ‘not born again’. Thus are found thousands of sacred fords (tīrthas) along the southern bank of the Yamunā.

Word by Word

• तत्र (tatra): there (at that tīrtha)

• स्नात्वा (snātvā): having bathed

• दिवम् (divam): to heaven

• यान्ति (yānti): they go

• ये (ye): who

• मृताः (mṛtāḥ): dead / who die

• ते (te): those

• अपुनर्भवाः (apunarbha vāḥ): free from rebirth / not returning to birth

• एवम् (evam): thus

• तीर्थसहस्राणि (tīrtha-sahasrāṇi): thousands of tīrthas (pilgrimage-fords)

• यमुना-दक्षिणे (yamunā-dakṣiṇe): on the southern (side) of the Yamunā

• तटे (taṭe): on the bank/shore

Speaker

• Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) recounting the tīrtha-māhātmya section

Entities Mentioned

• Yamunā
• Tīrtha

Tags

• Tirtha-Mahatmya
• Yamuna
• Pilgrimage
• Ritual Bath
• Liberation

FAQs

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

It does not discuss pralaya; it teaches tīrtha-māhātmya—how bathing at a sacred ford and dying there is said to lead to heaven and freedom from rebirth.

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

It supports the householder/kingly duty of dharmic pilgrimage and river-bathing (snāna) as a merit-making practice, encouraging public support for access to tīrthas and observance of sacred rites.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it highlights snāna at a Yamunā tīrtha as a powerful rite; architecturally it implies the importance of maintaining ghāṭas (bathing steps) and tīrtha infrastructure along the riverbank.