Shloka 6

Matsya Purana — How Śrāddha Offerings Reach the Ancestors

Devanagari script

प्राणिनः प्रीणयन्त्येते तदाहारत्वमागतान् देवो यदि पिता जातः शुभकर्मानुयोगतः //

Transliteration

prāṇinaḥ prīṇayantyete tadāhāratvamāgatān devo yadi pitā jātaḥ śubhakarmānuyogataḥ //

Translation

These offerings gladden living beings who have come to partake of that food. And if, through the performance of auspicious deeds, one’s father has attained the state of a deity, then such offerings please him as well.

Word by Word

• प्राणिनः: living beings/creatures

• प्रीणयन्ति: gladden, satisfy, please

• एते: these (offerings/acts)

• तदाहारत्वम्: the condition of taking that as food, participation in that food

• आगतान्: those who have come/arrived

• देवः: a god, divine being

• यदि: if

• पिता: father

• जातः: has become/has been born as

• शुभकर्मानुयोगतः: due to engagement in auspicious deeds/through the practice of meritorious actions

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu on dharma of offerings/rites)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛ (father/ancestors)
• Deva (divine state)

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Dāna
• Pitṛ-dharma
• Karma
• Ritual offerings

FAQs

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

It does not address pralaya directly; it focuses on how ritual offerings (food given in rites) reach and satisfy beings, including a father who may have attained a divine state through merit.

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

It supports the householder/kingly duty of maintaining dharma through śrāddha and charitable food-offerings: feeding recipients is not merely social charity but a karmically effective act that pleases beings and can benefit ancestors.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it emphasizes āhāra (food-offering) as the operative medium by which satisfaction (prīti) is conveyed to living beings and to pitṛs who may have risen to a deva-like status.