Shloka 15
Matsya Purana — The Nakṣatra-Puruṣa Vrata: Worship of Viṣṇu’s Cosmic Body through the Lunar M...
भुजंगनक्षत्रदिने नखानि सम्पूजयेन्मत्स्यशरीरभाजः कूर्मस्य पादौ शरणं व्रजामि ज्येष्ठासु कण्ठे हरिरर्चनीयः //
bhujaṃganakṣatradine nakhāni sampūjayenmatsyaśarīrabhājaḥ kūrmasya pādau śaraṇaṃ vrajāmi jyeṣṭhāsu kaṇṭhe harirarcanīyaḥ //
On the day of the Bhujanga nakṣatra, one should reverently tend and trim the nails, for one who bears the form of Matsya. To the feet of Kūrma I go for refuge; and under the Jyeṣṭhā nakṣatra, Hari is to be worshipped in the region of the throat.
FAQs
This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it reflects Purāṇic devotional practice by linking Vishnu’s forms (Matsya, Kūrma, Hari) with nakṣatra-timings and bodily/ritual observances.
It presents an āchāra-style guideline: a householder (and by extension a king who models dharma) observes purity and auspicious timing—performing personal rites like nail-care in prescribed nakṣatras and engaging in Vishnu worship for protection and merit.
The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it assigns nakṣatra-based timing to specific acts (e.g., nail-related observance) and specifies worship of Hari at a body-location (kaṇṭha), echoing Purāṇic correspondences between the body, time (nakṣatra), and deity-worship.