Shloka 2
Matsya Purana — The Rite and Glory of Meru-Dāna: The Tenfold ‘Gift of Meru’ and Mountain-Offe...
*उमापतिरुवाच मेरोः प्रदानं वक्ष्यामि दशधा मुनिपुंगव यत्प्रदानान्नरो लोकान् आप्नोति सुरपूजितान् //
*umāpatiruvāca meroḥ pradānaṃ vakṣyāmi daśadhā munipuṃgava yatpradānānnaro lokān āpnoti surapūjitān //
Umāpati said: O best of sages, I shall describe the tenfold offering known as the “gift of Meru”; by making that gift, a man attains worlds that are honored and worshipped by the gods.
FAQs
This verse does not address pralaya directly; it introduces a dharma topic—Meru-dāna—stating that meritorious giving leads to exalted realms honored by the gods.
It frames dāna (charitable/ritual giving) as a key duty: by performing sanctioned gifts like Meru-dāna, a householder (and especially a king, as patron of rites) accrues merit leading to higher worlds.
The verse signals a ritual procedure called “Meru-dāna,” typically involving a symbolic representation of Mount Meru offered in a prescribed, tenfold manner—linking ritual craftsmanship and offering protocols to spiritual merit.