HomeMatsya PuranaAdh. 17Shloka 15

Shloka 15

Matsya Purana — Sādhāraṇa Śrāddha: General Ancestral Rite

पूरयेत्पात्रयुग्मं तु स्थाप्य दर्भपवित्रकम् शं नो देवीत्य् अपः कुर्याद् यवो ऽसीति यवानपि //

pūrayetpātrayugmaṃ tu sthāpya darbhapavitrakam śaṃ no devīty apaḥ kuryād yavo 'sīti yavānapi //

He should fill a pair of vessels, setting in place the purifying darbha-grass. Reciting “Śaṃ no devīḥ…”, he should consecrate the water; and reciting “yavo ’si”, he should likewise sanctify the barley grains.

पूरयेत्he should fill
पूरयेत्:
पात्रयुग्मम्a pair of vessels
पात्रयुग्मम्:
तुindeed/then
तु:
स्थाप्यhaving placed/setting
स्थाप्य:
दर्भपवित्रकम्darbha-grass purifier (a sanctifying ring/tuft of kuśa)
दर्भपवित्रकम्:
शं नः देवीतिwith the mantra beginning “Śaṃ no devīḥ…”
शं नः देवीति:
अपःwater
अपः:
कुर्यात्he should perform/prepare (consecrate)
कुर्यात्:
यवः असि इतिwith the mantra “yavo ’si” (“you are barley”)
यवः असि इति:
यवान् अपिthe barley grains also
यवान् अपि:
Suta (narrating the Matsya Purana’s ritual instructions; framed as traditional teaching within the Purana)
Darbha (Kuśa grass)Āpaḥ (sacred waters)Yava (barley)
RitualMantraPurificationHoma/PūjāHouseholder Dharma

FAQs

This verse is not about Pralaya; it focuses on ritual purity—sanctifying water and barley with Vedic mantras and darbha as a purifier.

It reflects the householder’s (and by extension a king’s) duty to perform rites correctly: preparing consecrated water and offerings with prescribed mantras and purity implements (darbha/kuśa).

Ritually, it specifies standard purification technology: darbha as a sanctifier and mantra-recitation to consecrate water and barley—key materials used in pūjā, homa, and other Vedic-Puranic ceremonies.