Shloka 5

Matsya Purana — The Rohiṇī–Candraśayana Vow

Devanagari script

तदा स्नानं नरः कुर्यात् पञ्चगव्येन सर्षपैः आप्यायस्वेति तु जपेद् विद्वानष्टशतं पुनः //

Transliteration

tadā snānaṃ naraḥ kuryāt pañcagavyena sarṣapaiḥ āpyāyasveti tu japed vidvānaṣṭaśataṃ punaḥ //

Translation

Then one should bathe using pañcagavya (the five products of the cow) together with mustard seeds; and the learned man should again recite the mantra “āpyāyasva” eight hundred times.

Word by Word

• tadā: then

• snānam: bath, ritual bathing

• naraḥ: a man/person

• kuryāt: should do/perform

• pañcagavyena: with pañcagavya (five cow-products)

• sarṣapaiḥ: with mustard seeds

• āpyāyasva iti: ‘āpyāyasva’—the mantra/utterance ‘be nourished, increase, be refreshed’

• tu: and/indeed

• japet: should mutter/recite

• vidvān: a learned person

• aṣṭaśatam: eight hundred

• punaḥ: again, repeatedly

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, within a ritual/disciplinary teaching context)

Entities Mentioned

• Pañcagavya
• Sarṣapa (mustard)
• Āpyāyasva (mantra)

Tags

• Prāyaścitta
• Ritual Bath
• Mantra Japa
• Purification
• Matsya Purana Dharma

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya; it focuses on individual ritual purification through bathing substances and prescribed mantra-japa.

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

It gives a practical śauca/prāyaścitta guideline: a householder (and by extension a ruler maintaining public dharma) should follow purificatory bathing and disciplined mantra repetition to restore ritual fitness.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual (not architectural): pañcagavya and mustard seeds are specified cleansing media, and “āpyāyasva” is to be recited 800 times as a formal japa prescription.