Shloka 26

Matsya Purana — The Rite of the Jaggery-Cow

Devanagari script

विशोकद्वादशी चैषा पुण्या पापहरा शुभा यामुपोष्य नरो याति तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम् //

Transliteration

viśokadvādaśī caiṣā puṇyā pāpaharā śubhā yāmupoṣya naro yāti tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padam //

Translation

This Viśokā-Dvādaśī is indeed meritorious, auspicious, and a remover of sins. By observing a fast (upavāsa) on it, a person attains the supreme abode of Viṣṇu.

Word by Word

• viśokadvādaśī: the (so-called) Viśokā Dvādaśī (the sorrowless twelfth lunar day observance)

• ca: and/indeed

• eṣā: this

• puṇyā: meritorious, holy

• pāpa-harā: sin-destroying

• śubhā: auspicious, beneficent

• yām: which (day/observance)

• upoṣya: having fasted/observed a fast

• naraḥ: a man, person

• yāti: goes, attains

• tat: that

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu

• paramaṃ: supreme, highest

• padam: abode, state, goal

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (as an instructor of dharma/vrata to Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Vishnu
• Viśokā-Dvādaśī

Tags

• Vrata
• Dvādaśī
• Vaiṣṇava Dharma
• Fasting
• Moksha

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya or cosmology; it teaches a devotional vow (Dvādaśī fasting) whose fruit is liberation-like attainment of Viṣṇu’s supreme abode.

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

It frames vrata-observance (fasting on an auspicious Dvādaśī) as a practical dharma for householders and rulers alike—purifying sin and orienting life toward a Vaiṣṇava goal (paramaṃ padam).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No vāstu or temple-building rule is stated; the ritual takeaway is the efficacy of upavāsa (fasting) on Viśokā-Dvādaśī as a sin-destroying, auspicious observance.