Padma Purana — Srishti Khanda, Shloka 48
The Procedure for the Consecration of a Pond
उत्तराभिमुखां न्युब्जां जलमध्ये तु कारयेत् । आथर्वणेन सुस्नातां पुनर्मायां तथैव च
uttarābhimukhāṃ nyubjāṃ jalamadhye tu kārayet | ātharvaṇena susnātāṃ punarmāyāṃ tathaiva ca
ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਉੱਤਰ ਵੱਲ ਮੁਖ ਕਰਵਾ ਕੇ ਜਲ ਦੇ ਮੱਧ ਵਿੱਚ ਨਿਉਂਹਾ (ਡੁਬੋ ਕੇ) ਰਖਵਾਇਆ ਜਾਵੇ। ਆਥਰਵਣ ਵਿਧੀ ਨਾਲ ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਨਾਨ ਕਰਵਾ ਕੇ, ਫਿਰ ਮਾਇਆ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਓਸੇ ਹੀ ਢੰਗ ਨਾਲ ਮੁੜ ਵਿਵਸਥਿਤ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾਵੇ।
Unspecified narrator/instructional voice (context not provided for dialogue identification)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: tirtha
Sandhi Resolution Notes: uttarābhimukhāṃ → uttara + abhimukhām; jalamadhye → jala + madhye; punarmāyāṃ → punar + māyām; tathaiva → tathā + eva.
FAQs
In many Dharmaśāstra and Purāṇic ritual settings, north is an auspicious direction associated with sacred order and beneficent forces; the verse encodes a directional rule for correct performance of the rite.
It indicates that the bathing/purification is to be performed using Atharvavedic mantras or an Atharvaṇa-style ritual procedure, emphasizing mantra-based purification and protection.
From this single verse alone, “Māyā” could be a named figure involved in the rite or a ritual construct/personification; the surrounding verses are needed to determine whether it refers to a deity/person, an effigy, or the principle of illusion used as a narrative device.