Shloka 52

Matsya Purana — Śrāddha Procedure: Types

Devanagari script

यथेन्दुसंक्षये तद्वद् अन्यत्रापि निगद्यते पिण्डांस्तु गोजविप्रेभ्यो दद्यादग्नौ जले ऽपि वा //

Transliteration

yathendusaṃkṣaye tadvad anyatrāpi nigadyate piṇḍāṃstu gojaviprebhyo dadyādagnau jale 'pi vā //

Translation

As is prescribed at the waning of the moon, so too it is stated elsewhere: one should offer the piṇḍa-balls—either to cows, to goats, or to brāhmaṇas; or else one may consign them into fire or into water.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as

• indu-saṃkṣaye: at the moon’s waning/diminution (dark fortnight/appropriate lunar occasion)

• tadvat: in the same manner

• anyatra api: elsewhere also

• nigadyate: it is said/prescribed

• piṇḍān: rice-balls/oblations formed as piṇḍas

• tu: indeed

• go-javiprebhyaḥ: to cows (go), to goats (aja), to brāhmaṇas (vipra) (as recipients)

• dadyāt: one should give/offer

• agnau: into fire

• jale api: into water also

• vā: or.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, as per the dominant dialogue frame of early Matsya Purana teachings)

Entities Mentioned

• Indu (Moon)
• Agni (fire, as ritual medium)
• Jala (water, as ritual medium)
• Vipra (Brahmana)

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Piṇḍa-dāna
• Pitṛ-rite
• Dharma
• Ritual procedure

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya; it focuses on dharmic ritual procedure—how piṇḍa offerings for ancestors may be properly disposed of or given on prescribed lunar occasions.

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

It lays out a householder’s (and by extension a king’s) duty to maintain pitṛ-dharma through śrāddha: ensuring piṇḍa offerings are made correctly, either by gifting to proper recipients (brāhmaṇas, cows, goats) or by ritually consigning them to fire or water when appropriate.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual, not architectural: it enumerates valid ritual channels for piṇḍa-dāna—donation to specified recipients or offering via elemental media (agni/jala), tied to auspicious lunar timing (moon’s waning).