Matsya Purana — Measures of Time: Caturyuga Computation, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

पित्र्ये रात्र्यहनी मासः प्रविभागस् तयोः पुनः कृष्णपक्षस् त्वहस्तेषां शुक्लः स्वप्नाय शर्वरी //

Transliteration

pitrye rātryahanī māsaḥ pravibhāgas tayoḥ punaḥ kṛṣṇapakṣas tvahasteṣāṃ śuklaḥ svapnāya śarvarī //

Translation

Dans le domaine des Pitṛ (ancêtres), un mois est constitué de leur jour et de leur nuit ; et la répartition est la suivante : la quinzaine sombre (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa) est leur jour, tandis que la quinzaine claire (śukla-pakṣa) est leur nuit, vouée au sommeil.

Word by Word

• pitrye: in the Pitṛ-world/among the ancestors

• rātri-ahanī: night and day

• māsaḥ: a month

• pravibhāgaḥ: division, reckoning

• tayoḥ: of those two (day and night)

• punaḥ: again, further

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣaḥ: the dark fortnight (waning half-month)

• tu: indeed/but

• ahast(e)ṣām: for them, as (their) day (≈ ahas teṣām)

• śuklaḥ: the bright fortnight (waxing half-month)

• svapnāya: for sleep, for resting

• śarvarī: night

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu (likely narrative frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛs (Ancestors)
• Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa
• Śukla-pakṣa

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛ-loka
• Puranic cosmology
• Hindu calendar
• Ritual timing

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; it gives a cosmological time-reckoning where the Pitṛs experience the lunar fortnights as their day and night, a common Purāṇic model of differing temporal scales across realms.

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

It supports correct observance of śrāddha and ancestral rites by grounding them in Pitṛ-time: householders (and kings as patrons of dharma) should align offerings and ritual calendars with the lunar pakṣas as taught in the Purāṇa.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it clarifies the pakṣa-based timing connected to Pitṛs—dark fortnight as their ‘day’ and bright fortnight as their ‘night’—useful for planning śrāddha/ancestral offerings; no Vāstu or temple-construction rule is stated in this verse.