Shloka 14

Matsya Purana — The Rite of the Vibhūti-Dvādaśī Vow

Devanagari script

दशावताररूपाणि प्रतिमासं क्रमान्मुने दत्तात्रेयं तथा व्यासम् उत्पलेन समन्वितम् दद्यादेवं समा यावत् पाषण्डानभिवर्जयेत् //

Transliteration

daśāvatārarūpāṇi pratimāsaṃ kramānmune dattātreyaṃ tathā vyāsam utpalena samanvitam dadyādevaṃ samā yāvat pāṣaṇḍānabhivarjayet //

Translation

O sage, one should donate, month by month and in proper sequence, sacred images embodying the Ten Avatāras; likewise one should give images of Dattātreya and of Vyāsa, adorned with a lotus. Thus, throughout the year, by making these gifts one avoids association with heretical paths (pāṣaṇḍa).

Word by Word

• दशावतार-रूपाणि: forms of the ten incarnations

• प्रतिमासम्: every month/month by month

• क्रमान्: in sequence/in order

• मुने: O sage

• दत्तात्रेयम्: (the image of) Dattātreya

• तथा: and also/likewise

• व्यासम्: (the image of) Vyāsa

• उत्पलेन: with a lotus (blue lotus/lotus emblem)

• समन्वितम्: endowed with/accompanied by

• दद्याद्: one should give/donate

• एवम्: thus/in this way

• समाः: years (here: the yearly cycle)

• यावत्: as long as/throughout

• पाषण्डान्: heretics/heterodox sectarians

• अभिवर्जयेत्: should avoid/shun completely.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to a sage, within the Matsya Purana’s teaching dialogue)

Entities Mentioned

• Daśāvatāra
• Dattātreya
• Vyāsa
• Utpala (lotus)

Tags

• Pratima-Lakshana
• Dāna
• Daśāvatāra
• Ritual Sequence
• Orthopraxy

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it focuses on ritual discipline—donating prescribed deity-images in a monthly sequence as a means of maintaining orthodox religious conduct.

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

It frames dāna (religious gifting) as a year-structured duty: a king or householder should sponsor icons of the Daśāvatāras (and also Dattātreya and Vyāsa) in an ordered monthly program, reinforcing public dharma and distancing society from pāṣaṇḍa (heterodox) influences.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it prescribes a krama (sequence) of monthly icon-donations and specifies an iconographic attribute—Vyāsa (and/or the donated figure) “with a lotus”—a detail relevant to pratima-lakṣaṇa and consecration-linked gifting.