Shloka 38
Matsya Purana — Rite and Layout for Consecrating Ponds
पूर्वेद्युरमितो रात्राव् एवं कृत्वाधिवासनम् गजाश्वरथ्यावल्मीकात् संगमाद्ध्रदगोकुलात् मृदमादाय कुम्भेषु प्रक्षिपेच्चत्वरात्तथा //
pūrvedyuramito rātrāv evaṃ kṛtvādhivāsanam gajāśvarathyāvalmīkāt saṃgamāddhradagokulāt mṛdamādāya kumbheṣu prakṣipeccatvarāttathā //
On the preceding day, during an auspicious portion of the night, having thus performed the consecratory preparation (adhivāsana), one should collect earth from places such as an elephant-stable, a horse-stable, a chariot-road, an anthill, a river-confluence, a pond, and a cow-pen, and then place that earth into pots—also taking it from a public square (catvara).
FAQs
This verse is not about Pralaya; it belongs to the Matsya Purana’s Vastu/ritual material and describes preparatory consecration and the gathering of sacred earth for a rite connected with building or installation.
It frames building activity as a dhārmic act requiring purity and correct procedure: a king commissioning temples/public works or a householder building a home should begin with sanctioned rites (adhivāsana) and properly sourced materials, aligning construction with auspicious order.
It specifies the ritual collection of earth from symbolically potent locations (stables, roads, anthills, confluences, ponds, cow-pens, and public squares) and placing it in pots—an established Vastu foundation-preparation step meant to sanctify and stabilize the site and the ensuing construction.