Shloka 20

Matsya Purana — Ritual Bathing

Devanagari script

अपसव्यं ततः कृत्वा सव्यं जान्वाच्य भूतले अग्निष्वात्तास्तथा सौम्या हविष्मन्तस्तथोष्मपाः //

Transliteration

apasavyaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā savyaṃ jānvācya bhūtale agniṣvāttāstathā saumyā haviṣmantastathoṣmapāḥ //

Translation

Then, having arranged the rite in the apasavya manner, he should place his left knee upon the ground and invoke the Pitṛs—namely the Agniṣvāttas, the Saumyās, the Haviṣmants, and the Oṣmapās.

Word by Word

• अपसव्यम् (apasavyam): with the sacred thread worn in the reverse/leftward manner, the Pitṛ-oriented mode

• ततः (tataḥ): then/thereafter

• कृत्वा (kṛtvā): having done/made

• सव्यम् (savyam): the left (side)

• जानु (jānu): knee

• आच्य (ācya): placing/setting down (on)

• भूतले (bhūtale): on the ground

• अग्निष्वात्ताः (agniṣvāttāḥ): the Agniṣvātta class of Pitṛs

• तथा (tathā): and also

• सौम्याः (saumyāḥ): the Saumya class of Pitṛs

• हविष्मन्तः (haviṣmantaḥ): the Haviṣmant class of Pitṛs (receivers of oblations)

• तथोष्मपाः (tathā oṣmapāḥ): and the Oṣmapā class of Pitṛs (those who partake of the subtle ‘warmth/vapour’).

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the Matsya Purana’s ritual instructions in the Śrāddha context)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛs
• Agniṣvāttas
• Saumyās
• Haviṣmants
• Oṣmapās

Tags

• Shraddha
• Pitr-yajna
• Ritual procedure
• Apasavya
• Invocation

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it gives a Śrāddha ritual detail—using apasavya orientation and invoking specific classes of Pitṛs—showing how dharma is maintained through ancestral rites rather than describing cosmic dissolution.

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

It supports the householder’s (and by extension a king’s) dharma of pitṛ-tarpaṇa and śrāddha: honoring ancestors through correctly performed rites, including the apasavya mode and formal invocation of Pitṛ groups.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual: apasavya (thread/gesture orientation for Pitṛ rites), kneeling with the left knee to the ground, and the precise naming of Pitṛ classes to be invoked—key procedural markers for Śrāddha performance.