Shloka 16

Matsya Purana — Eclipse-Time Planetary Bath

Devanagari script

यो ऽसाविन्दुधरो देवः पिनाकी वृषवाहनः चन्द्रोपरागजां पीडां विनाशयतु शंकरः //

Transliteration

yo 'sāvindudharo devaḥ pinākī vṛṣavāhanaḥ candroparāgajāṃ pīḍāṃ vināśayatu śaṃkaraḥ //

Translation

愿商羯罗（Śaṅkara）——佩月于身，执持毗那迦弓（Pināka），以公牛为乘——摧灭由月食所生的痛苦。

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who

• asau: that (well-known)

• indu-dharaḥ: moon-bearing (Śiva)

• devaḥ: god

• pinākī: bearer of the Pināka bow

• vṛṣa-vāhanaḥ: he whose vehicle is the bull (Nandin)

• candra-uparāga-jām: born of the moon’s eclipse (lunar-eclipse-caused)

• pīḍām: affliction, distress

• vināśayatu: may (he) destroy

• śaṅkaraḥ: Śaṅkara (Śiva, the beneficent one)

Speaker

• Paurāṇic narrator/reciter (a prayer-formula presented in the text; exact interlocutor not explicit in the single verse)

Entities Mentioned

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Indudhara (Moon-bearer epithet of Śiva)
• Pināka (Śiva’s bow)
• Vṛṣavāhana (Bull-mounted epithet of Śiva)
• Candroparāga (lunar eclipse)

Tags

• Śiva-stotra
• Graha-śānti
• Candra
• Eclipse-ritual
• Protective-mantra

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it is a śānti-prayer seeking the removal of eclipse-born affliction, showing the Purāṇic practice of invoking a deity’s epithets for immediate protection.

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

It supports the dharma of maintaining auspiciousness and public/private well-being: a king or householder is advised to perform graha-śānti and devotional recitation during ominous celestial events to mitigate fear, distress, and perceived inauspicious effects.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it functions as an eclipse-appeasement (candroparāga-śānti) invocation; architecturally it implies Śiva iconography through epithets (moon on the head, Pināka, bull-mount), useful for identifying Śiva’s lakṣaṇas in temple imagery.