Shloka 39
Matsya Purana — The Attendant Hosts of the Sun and Moon: Monthly Gaṇas
तृप्तिश्च तेनार्धमासं सुराणां मासं सुधाभिः स्वधया पितॄणाम् अन्नेन जीवन्त्यनिशं मनुष्याः सूर्यः श्रितं तद्धि बिभर्ति गोभिः //
tṛptiśca tenārdhamāsaṃ surāṇāṃ māsaṃ sudhābhiḥ svadhayā pitṝṇām annena jīvantyaniśaṃ manuṣyāḥ sūryaḥ śritaṃ taddhi bibharti gobhiḥ //
By that (solar power), the gods are satisfied for half a month; the ancestors are satisfied for a month through ambrosial offerings and the svadhā rites. Human beings live continually by food. For the Sun indeed sustains what depends upon him—through the agency of the cows.
FAQs
It does not describe Pralaya directly; it explains the ongoing cosmic maintenance (sthiti) where the Sun’s power sustains gods, ancestors, and humans through offerings and food—linking cosmic order to ritual and nourishment.
It supports the householder’s duties of daily food production/charity and regular pitṛ-kriyā (svadhā, tarpana, śrāddha). For a king, it implies protecting cattle, agriculture, and ritual institutions, since social prosperity and ancestral satisfaction depend on them.
The ritual significance is explicit: svadhā-based ancestral offerings sustain the Pitṛs, while food sustains humans; cows are named as a key instrument of sustenance—supporting practices like go-sevā, go-dāna, and śrāddha/tarpana arrangements in ritual life.