Shloka 16

Matsya Purana — Ritual Bathing

Devanagari script

तेषामाप्यायनायैतद् दीयते सलिलं मया कृतोपवीती देवेभ्यो निवीती च भवेत्ततः //

Transliteration

teṣāmāpyāyanāyaitad dīyate salilaṃ mayā kṛtopavītī devebhyo nivītī ca bhavettataḥ //

Translation

For their refreshment and satisfaction, I offer this water. When making offerings to the gods, one should wear the sacred thread (yajñopavīta) in the proper upavīta manner; thereafter, for the ancestral offering to the Pitṛs, one should wear it in the nivīta manner.

Word by Word

• तेषाम् (teṣām): for them (i.e., the recipients of the rite)

• आप्यायनाय (āpyāyanāya): for refreshment, for nourishment/satiation

• एतत् (etat): this

• दीयते (dīyate): is given/offerred

• सलिलम् (salilam): water

• मया (mayā): by me

• कृत-उपवीती (kṛta-upavītī): having arranged the yajñopavīta in the upavīta position (for deva-kārya)

• देवेभ्यः (devebhyaḥ): to/for the gods

• निवीती (nivītī): wearing the thread in nivīta position (for pitṛ-kārya, ancestral rite)

• च (ca): and

• भवेत् (bhavet): should be/should become

• ततः (tataḥ): then/thereafter.

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the prescribed rite as a liturgical formula; traditional context within Matsya Purana’s ritual instruction)

Entities Mentioned

• Devas
• Pitṛs (implied by nivīta and the offering of water)

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Tarpana
• Ritual Procedure
• Upavīta
• Pitṛ-kārya

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it gives a ritual rule for offering water (salila) and the correct wearing of the sacred thread during deva and pitṛ rites.

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

It reflects gṛhastha-dharma: the householder’s obligation to perform deva-kārya and pitṛ-kārya correctly, including tarpana/śrāddha, with proper ritual discipline (upavīta vs. nivīta).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual-technical: it specifies the correct mode of wearing the yajñopavīta—upavīta for offerings to the devas, and nivīta thereafter for ancestral offerings—while giving water as a sanctified oblation.