Matsya Purana — Vrata-Ṣaṣṭhī: The Sixty Sacred Vows, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

संध्यादीपप्रदो यस्तु समां तैलं विवर्जयेत् समान्ते दीपिकां दद्याच् चक्रशूले च काञ्चने //

Transliteration

saṃdhyādīpaprado yastu samāṃ tailaṃ vivarjayet samānte dīpikāṃ dadyāc cakraśūle ca kāñcane //

Translation

Whoever regularly offers a lamp at twilight (sandhyā) should avoid using oil (taila) for a full year. At the end of the year, he should offer a small lamp made of gold, bearing the emblems of the discus (cakra) and the trident (śūla).

Word by Word

• saṃdhyā: twilight (sandhyā)

• dīpa-pradaḥ: giver/offerer of a lamp

• yaḥ tu: whoever indeed

• samām: for a year / yearly

• tailam: oil (for the lamp)

• vivarjayet: should avoid, should abstain from

• samānte: at the end of the year

• dīpikām: a small lamp, lamplet

• dadyāt: should give/offer

• cakra: discus (Vishnu’s emblem)

• śūle: on/with a trident (śūla)

• ca: and

• kāñcane: in gold / made of gold.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, within the didactic discourse of the Matsya Purana)

Entities Mentioned

• Chakra
• Shula

Tags

• Dharma
• Dāna
• Dīpadāna
• Vrata
• Ritual

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it focuses on ritual discipline in dīpadāna (lamp-offering), prescribing what should be avoided and what should be offered at the completion of a yearly observance.

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

It frames a householder-style vrata: maintain regular twilight lamp-offering, observe purity/discipline regarding lamp oil across the year, and complete the observance with a prescribed donation—showing how daily piety culminates in formal dāna.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it specifies dīpadāna procedure and completion (samānte) with a gold lamp marked by chakra and trident—iconic emblems that sacralize the offering and connect it to divine protection and auspiciousness.