Matsya Purana — Vrata-Ṣaṣṭhī: The Sixty Sacred Vows, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

वर्जयित्वा पुमान्मांसम् अब्दान्ते गोप्रदो भवेत् तद्वद्धेममृगं दद्यात् सोऽश्वमेधफलं लभेत् अहिंसाव्रतमित्युक्तं कल्पान्ते भूपतिर्भवेत् //

Transliteration

varjayitvā pumānmāṃsam abdānte goprado bhavet tadvaddhemamṛgaṃ dadyāt so'śvamedhaphalaṃ labhet ahiṃsāvratamityuktaṃ kalpānte bhūpatirbhavet //

Translation

人若戒绝食肉，于年终当作施牛之人；同样亦应布施一只金鹿，由此获得马祭（Aśvamedha）之果报。此被宣说为“不害誓”（ahiṃsā-vrata）；至劫终时，彼将成为大地之主。

Word by Word

• varjayitvā: having avoided/abstained from

• pumān: a man

• māṁsam: meat/flesh

• abdānte: at the end of the year

• go-pradaḥ: a giver of cows

• bhavet: should become/would be

• tadvat: likewise/in the same manner

• dhema-mṛgam: a golden deer

• dadyāt: should give/donate

• saḥ: he

• aśvamedha-phalam: the merit/fruit of the horse-sacrifice

• labhet: obtains

• ahiṁsā-vratam: the vow of non-violence

• iti: thus

• uktam: is said/declared

• kalpa-ante: at the end of a kalpa/aeon

• bhū-patiḥ: king/lord of the earth

• bhavet: becomes.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu (contextual attribution typical of the Matsya Purana’s discourse format)

Entities Mentioned

• Ahiṃsā (non-violence)
• Aśvamedha
• Go-dāna (cow donation)

Tags

• Dharma
• Vrata
• Ahiṃsā
• Dāna
• Karmaphala

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; it uses long-cycle time (“kalpānte,” end of an aeon) to state the karmic culmination of an ahiṃsā-vrata—attaining sovereignty as a final merit-result.

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

It frames a householder-style discipline: abstaining from meat (ethical restraint) and completing it with prescribed charity (go-dāna and a symbolic gift). The teaching links personal conduct and generosity to royal merit and future rulership.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it presents a non-violent vrata and donations as a merit-equivalent to the Aśvamedha, highlighting a Purāṇic pattern of substituting inner ethics and dāna for large-scale sacrificial rites; no Vāstu or temple-architecture rule is stated.