Shloka 151

Matsya Purana — Navagraha Sacrifice for Planetary Pacification and Prosperity

Devanagari script

नववायसरक्ताढ्यपात्रत्रयसमन्विताः समिधो वामहस्तेन श्येनास्थिबलसंयुताः होतव्या मुक्तकेशैस्तु ध्यायद्भिरशिवं रिपौ //

Transliteration

navavāyasaraktāḍhyapātratrayasamanvitāḥ samidho vāmahastena śyenāsthibalasaṃyutāḥ hotavyā muktakeśaistu dhyāyadbhiraśivaṃ ripau //

Translation

Fuel-sticks (samidh), accompanied by three vessels filled with the blood of nine crows and empowered with the strength of a hawk’s bones (śyena), are to be offered into the fire with the left hand—while the performers, with loosened hair, meditate upon misfortune befalling the enemy.

Word by Word

• नव (nava): nine

• वायस (vāyasa): crow

• रक्त (rakta): blood

• आढ्य (āḍhya): filled/abundant

• पात्रत्रय (pātratraya): three vessels

• समन्विताः (samanvitāḥ): accompanied/provided with

• समिधः (samidhaḥ): fuel-sticks for the sacrificial fire

• वामहस्तेन (vāmahastena): with the left hand

• श्येन (śyena): hawk/falcon

• अस्थि (asthi): bone

• बल (bala): strength/power

• संयुताः (saṃyutāḥ): joined with/endowed with

• होतव्या (hotavyā): to be offered (as oblations)

• मुक्तकेशैः (muktakeśaiḥ): with hair loosened/unbound

• तु (tu): indeed

• ध्यायद्भिः (dhyāyadbhiḥ): by those meditating/contemplating

• अशिवम् (aśivam): inauspiciousness/misfortune

• रिपौ (ripau): toward/on the enemy.

Speaker

• Suta (narratorial transmission of ritual procedure; presented within the Matsya Purana’s instructional discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Agni (implied by homa)
• Enemy (ripu)
• Crow (vāyasa)
• Hawk/Falcon (śyena)

Tags

• Ritual
• Homa
• Abhichara
• Tantric-style procedure
• Protective/Hostile rites

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it describes a specific ritualized homa intended to direct inauspiciousness toward an enemy, using marked materials and left-hand offering as a technical procedure.

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

In the Purana’s broader ethical frame, rulers and householders are generally urged to uphold dharma and restraint; this verse instead records a specialized hostile rite (abhichara) that would be treated as exceptional, regulated, and context-dependent rather than a routine duty.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual, not architectural: it prescribes homa details—specific vessels, specific substances, the left-hand mode of offering, loosened hair, and focused intention—indicating a technically defined rite aimed at affecting an adversary.