Shloka 49

Matsya Purana — Vrata-Ṣaṣṭhī: The Sixty Sacred Vows

Devanagari script

यश्चोभयमुखीं दद्यात् प्रभूतकनकान्विताम् दिनं पयोव्रतस्तिष्ठेत् स याति परमं पदम् एतद्धेनुव्रतं नाम पुनरावृत्तिदुर्लभम् //

Transliteration

yaścobhayamukhīṃ dadyāt prabhūtakanakānvitām dinaṃ payovratastiṣṭhet sa yāti paramaṃ padam etaddhenuvrataṃ nāma punarāvṛttidurlabham //

Translation

Whoever donates a cow fashioned with two mouths and adorned with abundant gold, and who for one day observes the milk-vow (payo-vrata), attains the supreme state. This observance is called the Henu-vrata, and it is said to grant a goal from which return to repeated rebirth is hard to come by.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: whoever

• ca: and

• ubhaya-mukhīm: two-mouthed (having mouths on both sides)

• dadyāt: should give/donate

• prabhūta: abundant

• kanaka-anvitām: endowed/adorned with gold

• dinam: for a day

• payo-vrataḥ: one observing a vow of milk (subsisting on milk)

• tiṣṭhet: should remain/observe

• saḥ: he

• yāti: goes/attains

• paramam padam: the supreme abode/state

• etat: this

• dhenu-vratam: the cow-vow (Henu-vrata)

• nāma: by name/is called

• punar-āvṛtti: return again (repeated rebirth)

• durlabham: difficult to obtain (i.e., difficult to return—rare recurrence).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Matsya
• Vaivasvata Manu
• Dhenu (cow as sacred gift)
• Henu-vrata
• Payo-vrata

Tags

• Vrata
• Dana
• Householder Dharma
• Merit (Punya)
• Moksha-oriented Fruits

FAQs

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

This verse does not address Pralaya; it teaches a dharma-practice (a vow and gift) whose fruit is liberation-like attainment (paramaṁ padam) beyond recurring rebirth.

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

It frames ideal householder/royal conduct as dana (charitable gifting) combined with vrata (self-restraint): donating a ritually significant cow-gift and observing a one-day milk-vow as a disciplined act of merit leading toward the highest spiritual goal.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The significance is ritual rather than architectural: it prescribes the Henu-vrata—donation of a specially described cow (ubhaya-mukhī) adorned with gold, alongside a payo-vrata (milk-observance) for one day.