Matsya Purana — Vrata-Ṣaṣṭhī: The Sixty Sacred Vows, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

विप्राय वस्त्रसंयुक्तं प्रद्युम्नः प्रीयतामिति कल्पं विष्णुपदे स्थित्वा विशोकः स्यात्पुनर्नरः एतत् कामव्रतं नाम सदा शोकविनाशनम् //

Transliteration

viprāya vastrasaṃyuktaṃ pradyumnaḥ prīyatāmiti kalpaṃ viṣṇupade sthitvā viśokaḥ syātpunarnaraḥ etat kāmavrataṃ nāma sadā śokavināśanam //

Translation

Having offered to a brāhmaṇa a gift accompanied by garments, with the utterance “May Pradyumna be pleased,” a person who duly abides in the prescribed ordinance (kalpa) and stands established in the state of Viṣṇu (Viṣṇu-pada) becomes sorrowless again. This is called the Kāma-vrata, a vow that ever destroys grief.

Word by Word

• viprāya: to a brāhmaṇa

• vastra-saṃyuktam: accompanied with garments/clothing

• pradyumnaḥ: Pradyumna (a form of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa, associated with kāma)

• prīyatām: may (he) be pleased

• iti: thus

• kalpam: the prescribed rite/ordinance

• viṣṇu-pade: in the station/state/abode of Viṣṇu

• sthitvā: having remained/being established

• viśokaḥ: free from sorrow

• syāt: becomes

• punaḥ: again

• naraḥ: a man/person

• etat: this

• kāma-vratam: the vow named Kāma-vrata

• nāma: called

• sadā: always

• śoka-vināśanam: destroyer of grief/sorrow.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, within a dharma/vrata discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Pradyumna
• Vishnu
• Vipra (Brahmana)

Tags

• Vrata
• Dana
• Dharma
• Vishnu-Bhakti
• Mantra

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it belongs to a dharma/vrata context, teaching that ritual giving and devotion to Viṣṇu (as Pradyumna) remove sorrow and lead to establishment in Viṣṇu’s state (viṣṇu-pada).

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

It frames a householder-style duty: dāna to a brāhmaṇa (specifically with garments) accompanied by a Viṣṇu-oriented invocation. Such regulated charity and vow-observance are presented as ethical means to restore mental steadiness and overcome grief.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it prescribes a vrata procedure—gift-giving with clothing and a specific devotional utterance to Pradyumna—stating the spiritual fruit as becoming viśoka (sorrowless).