Matsya Purana 283: adhyāyaḥ 283

283.1

pañcalāṅgalakamahādānavidhivarṇanam.

Matsya said:—"I shall now tell you about the Pancha Lângalaka ordinance which is the dispeller of all great sins"—1

283.2

matsya uvāca.
athātaḥ sampravakṣyāmi mahādānamanuttamam.
pañcalāṃgalakaṃ nāma mahāpātakanāśanam .. 283.1

283.3

puṇyāṃ tithimathāsādya yugādi grahaṇādikām.
bhūmidānaṃ naro dadyāt pañcalāṅgalakānvitam .. 283.2

On an auspicious moment, e g, the commencement of a Yuga or on the occasion of an eclipse, a plot of land measuring five ploughs should be given away—2

283.4

kharvaṭaṃ kheṭakaṃ vāpi grāmaṃ vā sasyaśālinam.
nivartanaśataṃ vāpi tadardhaṃ vāpi śaktitaḥ .. 283.3

Any market town or a village at the foot of a mountain, or any other village should be given away after making the fields prosperous with harvest, or only half the village may be given with its good harvest according to one's means—3

283.5

sāradārumayān kṛtvā halān pañcavicakṣaṇaḥ.
sarvopakaraṇairyuktānanyān pañca ca kāñcanān
kuryyātpañcapalādūrdhvamāsahasrapalāvadhi .. 283.4

Five ploughs of good wood should be made and five ploughs of gold from five palas to one thousand palas should also be made according to the means of the devotee Then five pairs of oxen should be procured and their horns should be covered with gold and tails studded with pearls and their hoofs mounted with silver and then a a silk cloth should be thrown over them and they should then be worshipped with floral garlands, sandals, etc, and tied in the devotee’s cowshed—4 6.

283.6

vṛṣān lakṣaṇasaṃyuktān daśacaiva dhurandharān.
suvarṇaśrṛṅgābharaṇān muktā lāṃgūla bhūṣaṇān.. 283.5

283.7

rūpyapādāgratilakān raktakauśeya bhūṣaṇān.
sragdāmacandanayutān śālāyāmadhivāsayet .. 283.6

283.8

dharaṇyādityarudrebhyaḥ pāyasaṃ nirvapeccarum.
ekasminneva kuṇḍe tu gurustebhyo nivedayet .. 283.7

Afterwards sacrificial oblations of rice cooked in milk and sugar and other things should be made in the name of Prithvî Âditya, Rudra in the same sacrificial pit The wood of butea-frondosa, clarified butter, sesamum should also be used in course of the sacrificial offerings The Lokapâlas should be invoked as prescribed in the Tulâdâna ceremony—7 8

283.9

palāśasamidhastadvadājyaṃ kṛṣṇatilāstathā.
tulāpuruṣavatkuryyāllokeśāvāhanaṃ budhaḥ .. 283.8

283.10

tato maṅgalaśabdena śuklamālyāmbaro budhaḥ.
āhūya dvijadāmpatyaṃ hemasūtrāṃgulīyakaiḥ .. 283.9

Then, after the recitation of propitiatory hymns, the wise priest should put on white clothes and white garlands and call the devotee with his consort and give him a girdle of gold, a ring, a piece of redcloth, a few gems, a bed with all its equipments and a milch cow Eighteen grains should be placed all round and then the devotee holding a handful of flowers should circumambulate the Maṇḍap and utter the following— “All the Devas and all other beings, moveable and non movable, are present on the harnessed body of this ox, so let them remain devoted towards Śiva There is no ordinance like one-sixteenth part of the gift of a plot of land, so let my intellect be fixed in Dharma—9 13

283.11

kauśeyavastrakaṭakairmaṇibhiścābhipūjayet.
śayyāṃ sopaskarāṃ dadyāddhenumekāṃ payasvinīm .. 283.10

283.12

tathāṣṭādaśadhānyāni samantādadhivāsayet.
tataḥ pradakṣiṇīkṛtya gṛhītakusumāñjaliḥ .. 283.11

283.13

imamuccārayenmantramatha sarvaṃ nivedayet.
yasmāddevagaṇāḥ sarve sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca .. 283.12

283.14

dhurandharāṅge tiṣṭhanti tasmād bhaktiḥ śive'stu me.
yasmācca bhūmidānasya kalāṃ nārhanti ṣor̤aśīm .. 283.13

283.15

dānānyanyāni me bhaktirdharma eva dṛḍhā bhavet.
daṇḍena saptahastena triṃśaddaṇḍaṃ nivartanam .. 283.14

A plot of land that can hold thirty poles of seven hands each is called the Nirvartana This is told by Prajâpati One who gives away a plot of land of 100 Nirvartanas in area according to the prescribed rites, is freed at once of all his sins And one who gives away an area of land half of that on measuring a Gocharma or sufficient for a house to be built upon also frees himself from all his sins—14-16

283.16

tribhāgahīnaṃ gocarma mānamāha prajāpatiḥ.
mānenānena yo dadyān nivartanaśataṃ budhaḥ.
vidhinānena tasyāśu kṣīyate pāpasaṃhatiḥ .. 283.15

283.17

tadarddhamathavā dadyādapi gocarmamātrakam.
bhavanasthānamātraṃ vā so'pi pāpaiḥ pramucyate .. 283.16

283.18

yāvanti lāṅgalakamārgamukhāni bhūmeḥ bhāsāṃpaterduhituraṅgaja romakāṇi.
tāvanti śaṅkarapure sa samā hi tiṣṭhet bhūmipradānamiha yaḥ kurute manuṣyaḥ .. 283.17

The donor of such plots of land remains in the realm of Śiva for as many years as there are hairs on the body of the oxen or as many pores there are in the soil at the time of sowing seeds after ploughing the plot—17

283.19

gandharvakinnarasurāsurasiddhasaṅghairādhūtacāmaramupetya mahadvimānam.
saṃpūjyate pitṛpitāmahabanduyuktaḥ śambhoḥ padaṃ vrajati cāmaranāyakaḥ san .. 283.18

The Gandharvas, Devas, demons, Siddhas, they all wave chamaras on him and the devotee goes to the domain of Śiva seated in a huge Vimâna along with his fathers, grandfathers, friends, etc—18

283.20

indratvamapyadhigataṃ kṣayamabhyupaiti gobhūmilāṅgala dhurandhara sampradānāt.
tasmādaghaughapaṭalakṣayakāribhūmerdānaṃ vidheyamiti bhūtibhavodbhavāya .. 283.19

By this gift of oxen, lands, and ploughs with yokes, etc, the donor is freed of his sins and obtains the position of Indra A wealthy man should therefore give this gift to remove his sins and acquire prosperity for himself—19