Shloka 14

Matsya Purana — The Kauśika Descendants: Śrāddha

Devanagari script

पितॄणां चैव माहात्म्याज् जाता जातिस्मरास्तु ते ते तु वैराग्ययोगेन आस्थायानशनं पुनः //

Transliteration

pitṝṇāṃ caiva māhātmyāj jātā jātismarāstu te te tu vairāgyayogena āsthāyānaśanaṃ punaḥ //

Translation

And by the very greatness of the Pitṛs, they were born as jātismaras, remembering their former lives. Then, established in the discipline of dispassion (vairāgya), they again undertook fasting, abstaining from food.

Word by Word

• pitṝṇām: of the Pitṛs (ancestors)

• ca eva: and indeed

• māhātmyāt: due to the greatness/glory

• jātāḥ: were born/became

• jātismarāḥ: those who remember previous births

• tu: then/indeed

• te: they

• te tu: and those (same) ones

• vairāgya-yogena: by the yoga/discipline of detachment

• āsthāya: having resorted to/undertaken

• anaśanam: fasting, abstention from eating

• punaḥ: again

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛs

Tags

• Pitṛs
• Śrāddha
• Renunciation
• Vairāgya
• Karma

FAQs

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

This verse does not directly discuss Pralaya; it emphasizes karmic-spiritual consequences linked to the glory of the Pitṛs—specifically, birth with past-life memory and the turn toward renunciation.

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

It supports the Matsya Purana’s ethic that honoring the Pitṛs (through śrāddha and ancestral rites) has profound spiritual outcomes; for householders and rulers, Pitṛ-dharma is a stabilizing duty that can lead to higher spiritual dispositions such as vairāgya.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The ritual takeaway is the Pitṛ-centered framework behind śrāddha and austerity: the verse highlights anaśana (fasting) as a renunciatory observance arising from Pitṛ-mahātmyā, rather than any Vāstu or temple-building rule.