Shloka 12

Matsya Purana — The Procedure and Merit of the Śubha-Saptamī Vrata

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यासहस्रस्य भ्रूणहत्याशतस्य च नाशायालमियं पुण्या पठ्यते शुभसप्तमी //

Transliteration

brahmahatyāsahasrasya bhrūṇahatyāśatasya ca nāśāyālamiyaṃ puṇyā paṭhyate śubhasaptamī //

Translation

This holy Śubha-Saptamī, when recited, is fully sufficient to destroy the sin of a thousand brahmin-slaughters and a hundred killings of embryos.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्या: brahmin-slaughter (grave sin)

• सहस्रस्य: of a thousand

• भ्रूणहत्या: killing of an embryo/foetus

• शतस्य: of a hundred

• च: and

• नाशाय: for the destruction

• अलम्: sufficient/fully capable

• इयम्: this

• पुण्या: holy/meritorious

• पठ्यते: is recited/is read

• शुभसप्तमी: Śubha-Saptamī (the auspicious seventh lunar day/observance)

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) conveying the vrata-mahātmya in the Purāṇic discourse

Entities Mentioned

• Śubha-Saptamī
• Brahmahatyā
• Bhrūṇahatyā

Tags

• Vrata
• Saptamī
• Prāyaścitta
• Pāpa-nāśana
• Dharma

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya; it focuses on ritual merit (vrata/recitation) as a means of sin-destruction (prāyaścitta) within dharma teaching.

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

It presents a dharmic remedy: a householder (and even a ruler) is taught that disciplined observance/recitation on Śubha-Saptamī is a powerful act of purification, reinforcing responsibility for ethical conduct and corrective rites after wrongdoing.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: the text praises the recitation/observance of Śubha-Saptamī as an exceptionally potent purifier, framed as a vrata-mahātmya (results of a sacred day).