Shloka 38

Matsya Purana — Vrata-Ṣaṣṭhī: The Sixty Sacred Vows

Devanagari script

अयनादयनं यावद् वर्जयेत्पुष्पसर्पिषी तदन्ते पुष्पदामानि घृतधेन्वा सहैव तु //

Transliteration

ayanādayanaṃ yāvad varjayetpuṣpasarpiṣī tadante puṣpadāmāni ghṛtadhenvā sahaiva tu //

Translation

From one ayana (half-year) until the next, one should abstain from offerings of flowers and ghee (sarpis). At the completion of that period, one should offer garlands of flowers together with a ghṛta-dhenu—a cow-donation symbolically endowed with ghee.

Word by Word

• ayana: half-year (solar course)

• āyana-ād-āyanam: from one ayana to the next

• yāvat: as long as, until

• varjayet: should avoid, should refrain

• puṣpa: flowers

• sarpiṣī (sarpiṣ): ghee, clarified butter

• tad-ante: at its end, upon completion

• puṣpa-dāmāni: flower-garlands

• ghṛta: ghee

• dhenvā (dhenū): with a cow / a cow as a ritual gift

• saha eva tu: together indeed (as part of the same concluding offering).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Ayana (solar half-year)
• Ghṛtadhenū (ghee-cow donation)
• Puṣpa (flowers)
• Sarpiṣ (ghee)

Tags

• Vrata
• Dāna
• Ritual
• Āyana
• Pūjā-vidhi

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it focuses on a timed religious observance tied to the solar half-year (ayana) and prescribes abstention and a concluding offering.

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

It frames dharmic discipline as time-bound restraint (avoiding certain offerings for a set period) followed by meritorious giving (garlands and a ghṛta-dhenū), aligning with householder/royal duties of vow-keeping and charitable dāna.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it sets an ayana-based rule of abstention and specifies the concluding pūjā/dāna items—flower garlands and the ghṛta-dhenū—typical of Matsya Purana-style vrata completion rites.