Shloka 76

Matsya Purana — Soma

Devanagari script

यथा गोषु प्रनष्टासु वत्सो विन्दति मातरम् तथा श्राद्धेषु दृष्टान्तो मन्त्रः प्रापयते तु तम् //

Transliteration

yathā goṣu pranaṣṭāsu vatso vindati mātaram tathā śrāddheṣu dṛṣṭānto mantraḥ prāpayate tu tam //

Translation

Just as, when the cows are lost or scattered, a calf finds its own mother, so in the śrāddha rites the mantra—supported by an illustrative example—truly reaches and delivers that offering to the intended recipient, the ancestor.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as

• goṣu: among the cows/in the herd

• pranaṣṭāsu: when lost, missing, scattered

• vatso: the calf

• vindati: finds, discovers

• mātaram: its mother

• tathā: so, in the same way

• śrāddheṣu: in śrāddha rites (ancestral offerings)

• dṛṣṭāntaḥ: an example, illustrative analogy (dṛṣṭānta)

• mantraḥ: the sacred formula/mantra

• prāpayate: causes to reach, conveys, delivers

• tu: indeed, certainly

• tam: that one/that (intended) recipient (i.e., the specific pitṛ/ancestor).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Mantra
• Śrāddha

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛ-dharma
• Mantra
• Ritual efficacy
• Householder duties

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it explains ritual causality in śrāddha—how mantras reliably direct offerings to the intended ancestor, like a calf locating its mother even in a dispersed herd.

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

It supports gṛhastha-dharma: performing śrāddha with correct mantras and prescribed reasoning/illustrations is presented as effective and duty-bound, ensuring ancestral rites are not merely symbolic but are believed to reach the pitṛs.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual, not architectural: the verse stresses mantra-prabhāva (efficacy of mantras) in śrāddha, asserting that properly applied mantras ‘deliver’ the rite to the correct ancestral recipient.