Shloka 23

Matsya Purana — The Maheshvara Vow: Śiva-Caturdaśī Vrata

Devanagari script

पञ्चगव्यं ततो बिल्वं कर्पूरं चागुरुं यवाः तिलाः कृष्णाश्च विधिवत् प्राशनं क्रमशः स्मृतम् प्रतिमासं चतुर्दश्योर् एकैकं प्राशनं स्मृतम् //

Transliteration

pañcagavyaṃ tato bilvaṃ karpūraṃ cāguruṃ yavāḥ tilāḥ kṛṣṇāśca vidhivat prāśanaṃ kramaśaḥ smṛtam pratimāsaṃ caturdaśyor ekaikaṃ prāśanaṃ smṛtam //

Translation

First, pañcagavya is to be taken; thereafter bilva, camphor, and aguru; then barley, sesame, and black gram—this is remembered as the proper sequence for ritual ingestion. Each month, on the two caturdaśī days (the fourteenth lunar days), one of these is to be taken, one item at a time.

Word by Word

• पञ्चगव्यम् (pañcagavyam): the five products of the cow (milk, curd, ghee, urine, dung) used for purification

• ततः (tataḥ): thereafter/next

• बिल्वम् (bilvam): bilva/bael fruit or bilva preparation

• कर्पूरम् (karpūram): camphor

• च (ca): and

• अगुरुम् (agurum): aguru/aloeswood, fragrant resin/wood

• यवाः (yavāḥ): barley

• तिलाः (tilāḥ): sesame seeds

• कृष्णाः (kṛṣṇāḥ): black gram (commonly glossed as māṣa) / black pulses

• च (ca): and

• विधिवत् (vidhivat): according to rule, duly

• प्राशनम् (prāśanam): ritual eating/ingestion

• क्रमशः (kramaśaḥ): in sequence

• स्मृतम् (smṛtam): is prescribed/remembered in tradition

• प्रतिमासम् (pratimāsam): every month

• चतुर्दश्योः (caturdaśyoḥ): on the two caturdaśī days (waxing and waning 14th tithis)

• एकैकम् (ekaikam): one by one, singly

• स्मृतम् (smṛtam): is prescribed.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, within a didactic discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Pañcagavya
• Bilva
• Karpūra (Camphor)
• Aguru
• Yava (Barley)
• Tila (Sesame)
• Kṛṣṇa (interpreted as black gram/pulse)

Tags

• Dharma
• Vrata
• Ritual Purification
• Caturdashi
• Āhāra-niyama

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it prescribes a monthly ritual discipline (vrata-style purification) using specific substances to be taken in a regulated sequence.

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

It reflects the householder/kingly duty to maintain personal purity and religious discipline through calendrical observances—here, a regulated prāśana on the caturdaśī tithis each month.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it outlines a prāśana-krama (sequence of ingesting purificatory/fragrant and grain substances) to be performed monthly on caturdaśī.