Shloka 2

Matsya Purana — The Rite of the Jaggery-Cow

Devanagari script

*मत्स्य उवाच गुडधेनुविधानस्य यद्रूपमिह यत्फलम् तदिदानीं प्रवक्ष्यामि सर्वपापविनाशनम् //

Transliteration

*matsya uvāca guḍadhenuvidhānasya yadrūpamiha yatphalam tadidānīṃ pravakṣyāmi sarvapāpavināśanam //

Translation

Lord Matsya said: “Now I shall explain the form of the rite of the ‘guḍa-dhenu’ gift and the fruit it yields here—a practice that destroys all sins.”

Word by Word

• मत्स्य उवाच: Matsya said

• गुडधेनु-विधानस्य: of the procedure/rite of the guḍa-dhenu (jaggery-cow gift)

• यद्-रूपम्: what its form is

• इह: here (in this teaching / in this world)

• यत्-फलम्: what its result is

• तत्: that

• इदानीम्: now

• प्रवक्ष्यामि: I will explain

• सर्व-पाप-विनाशनम्: destroying all sins

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu as Matsya)

Entities Mentioned

• Matsya
• Guḍa-dhenu (ritual gift)

Tags

• Dana
• Prayashchitta
• Ritual
• Dharma
• MatsyaPurana

FAQs

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

This verse does not address pralaya; it introduces a dāna (charitable rite) described as a means of destroying sins, focusing on ethical-ritual purification rather than cosmology.

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

It frames dāna as a dharmic duty: kings and householders are taught specific gift-rites (here, guḍa-dhenu) whose intended fruit is moral purification and reduction of pāpa through prescribed generosity.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The ritual significance is explicit: the verse announces the forthcoming ‘procedure’ (vidhāna) and ‘result’ (phala) of the guḍa-dhenu offering—indicating a formal, rule-based rite of donation rather than Vāstu or temple architecture.