Shloka 61

Matsya Purana — The Attendant Hosts of the Sun and Moon: Monthly Gaṇas

Devanagari script

संभृतं त्वर्धमासेन अमृतं सूर्यतेजसा भक्षार्थमागतं सोमं पौर्णमास्यामुपासते //

Transliteration

saṃbhṛtaṃ tvardhamāsena amṛtaṃ sūryatejasā bhakṣārthamāgataṃ somaṃ paurṇamāsyāmupāsate //

Translation

Gathered and matured over a half-month, and made nectar-like by the Sun’s radiance, Soma—having come forth for sacred consumption—is worshipped on the night of the Full Moon (Paurṇamāsī).

Word by Word

• saṃbhṛtam: accumulated/gathered

• tu: indeed

• ardhamāsena: in (by) half a month/fortnight

• amṛtam: nectar, ambrosia, immortality-bestowing essence

• sūrya-tejasā: by the Sun’s brilliance/solar energy

• bhakṣa-artham: for the purpose of eating/consumption (ritual partaking)

• āgatam: arrived, come forth, become available

• somam: Soma (moon/nectar/ritual Soma)

• paurṇamāsyām: on the Full-Moon day/night

• upāsate: they worship, they revere, they perform devotion/observance.

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the Matsya Purana’s ritual doctrine, in the voice of the text’s instruction)

Entities Mentioned

• Soma
• Surya

Tags

• Paurṇamāsī
• Soma
• Ritual
• Vrata
• Lunar calendar

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; instead, it presents a cosmological-ritual principle: Soma (the lunar nectar) is ‘ripened’ through the fortnight and enhanced by solar energy, showing the Purana’s view of cosmic cycles supporting sacred rites.

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

It supports the householder’s (and by extension the king’s) duty to keep time-reckoning and ritual observances: honoring Paurṇamāsī aligns domestic and public religion with the lunar fortnight, sustaining dharma through calendrical worship.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it prescribes Full-Moon worship of Soma, emphasizing the fortnightly maturation of sacred potency and the appropriate timing (Paurṇamāsī) for offerings and devotional observance.