Matsyapurana 15

English (machine translation) 15

Language: English

15.1

Sūta said: / And there are others in heaven, of great splendor, named Vibhrājas, / worlds where the Pitṛs named Barhiṣads, of good vows, reside,

15.2

where there are celestial chariots yoked with peacocks by the thousands, / where they reside granting fruits to the Barhiṣads by mere resolve,

15.3

where the givers of funeral offerings rejoice in halls of prosperity, / and whom the hosts of gods and Asuras, and hosts of Gandharvas and Apsarases,

15.4

and hosts of Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, and the deities in heaven worship; / sons of Pulastya by the hundreds, endowed with asceticism and yoga,

15.5

great-souled, highly fortunate, granting fearlessness to devotees. / Their mind-born daughter, renowned in heaven, was Pīvarī;

15.6

a yoginī and mother of yoga, she performed very fierce asceticism. / The Lord was pleased with her, and she chose a boon from Hari:

15.7

"Grant me, O God, being pleased, a husband who is endowed with yoga, handsome, / with senses conquered, and foremost among speakers."

15.8

The god said: 'When Śuka is born as the son of Vyāsa, / you will be the wife of that master of yoga, O woman of virtuous vows.

15.9

And you shall have a daughter, a yoginī named Kṛtvī; / she must then be given by you to the mortal king of the Pañcālas.

15.10

She is known as the mother of Brahmadatta, perfected in yoga, and [called] Gauḥ. / And Kṛṣṇa, Gaura, Prabhu, and Śambhu shall be your sons.

15.11

Those great-souled, highly fortunate ones will attain the supreme abode; / having brought them forth through yoga, you too, bearing boons, shall attain liberation.'

15.12

The ancestors endowed with auspicious forms are known as the sons of Vasiṣṭha; / all of them are named Mānasa, and all are embodiments of righteousness.

15.13

Those who dwell in the radiant worlds beyond heaven, / shining brightly, sport there where the givers of ancestral offerings [abide],

15.14

even the Śūdras, in aerial chariots replete with every desire— / what then of the Brahmins who offer ancestral rites, devoted and observant of rituals?

15.15

Their mind-born daughter, named Gauḥ, shines in heaven; / she is the beloved wife of Śukra and promotes the renown of the Sādhyas.

15.16

The worlds called Marīcigarbhā exist within the solar orb, / where dwell the ancestors [known as] the Haviṣmats, the sons of Aṅgiras.

15.17

The best of Kṣatriyas who perform ancestral offerings at holy places go there; / they are indeed the ancestors of kings, granting the fruits of heaven and liberation.

15.18

Their mind-born daughter is Yaśodā, renowned throughout the worlds, / the excellent wife of Aṃśumat and the daughter-in-law of Pañcajana,

15.19

and the mother of Dilīpa, the grandmother of Bhagīratha. / The worlds named Kāmadughā grant the fruits of desires and enjoyments;

15.20

there dwell the ancestors of steadfast vows named Susvadhas. / In the worlds of the Prajāpati Kardama [dwell the ancestors] named Ājyapas;

15.21

they are the descendants of Pulaha's son, and the Vaiśyas venerate them. / There all performers of ancestral rites, having arrived together, behold

15.22

mothers, brothers, fathers, sisters, friends, kinsmen, and relations, / even those seen across tens of thousands of births and experienced in thousands [of lives].

15.23

Their mind-born daughter is known by the name Virajā, / who was the wife of Nahuṣa and likewise the mother of Yayāti.

15.24

Afterward, that chaste woman became Ekāṣṭakā and went to the world of Brahmā. / These three groups have been declared; now I shall tell of the fourth.

15.25

The worlds named Mānasa are situated above the cosmic egg, / whose mind-born daughter is renowned as the Narmadā.

15.26

There dwell the eternal ancestors named Somapas; / they all bear the forms of righteousness and are considered beyond Brahmā.

15.27

Having arisen through the funeral oblation, those yogins, attaining the nature of the Absolute, / and having performed creation and the rest, now abide in the Mānasa [world].

15.28

Their daughter is the water-bearing river named Narmadā, / which flows toward the southern region, purifying all living beings.

15.29

From them all Manus and creatures have been fashioned across creations; / knowing this, they always perform ancestral offerings even in the absence of righteousness.

15.30

It was precisely to obtain through their grace the lineage of yoga / that the ancestral rite was fashioned for the ancestors at the beginning of creation.

15.31

A vessel of silver, or one embellished with silver, for all [ancestors], / offered with the utterance of 'svadhā', always pleases the ancestors.

15.32

The wise man should bring about the gratification of Agni, Soma, and Yama; / even in the absence of fire, [he may do so] in the Brahmin's right hand or in water,

15.33

or in the ear of a goat, or in the ear of a horse, or in a cow-pen, or near water. / The open sky is the abode of the ancestors; the southern direction is praised.

15.34

The sacred thread over the right shoulder, water, sesame seeds, the left side of the body, / darbha grass, flesh, pāṭhīna fish, cow's milk, sweet juices,

15.35

rhinoceros meat, iron, meat, honey, kuśa grass, śyāmāka millet, rice, / barley, wild rice, mudga beans, sugarcane, white flowers, and clarified butter—

15.36

these are dear and praised for the ancestors here at all times. / Now I shall declare the hateful things that must be avoided in an ancestral rite:

15.37

lentils, hemp, niṣpāva beans, rājamāṣa beans, safflower, / lotuses, bilva, arka, dhattūra, pāribhadra, aṭarūṣaka;

15.38

these must not be given in rites for ancestors, nor goat's and sheep's milk, / kodrava grain, udāra grain, chickpeas, wood-apple, madhuka, and flax.

15.39

These also must not be given to the ancestors by one wishing what is agreeable. / Whoever pleases the ancestors with devotion, they in turn please him;

15.40

the ancestors bestow nourishment, heaven, health, and the fruit of offspring. / Furthermore, the rite for the ancestors is superior even to the rite for the gods.

15.41

The gratification of the ancestors is held to precede that of the deities; / quick to be pleased, free from anger, bearing no weapons, steadfast in friendship,

15.42

calm-minded, devoted to purity, ever speaking kindly, / affectionate to the devoted, bestowing happiness—the ancestors are the primordial deities.

The Sun is known as the god of ancestral rites, holding sway over the Haviṣmats. / All this recounting of the ancestral lineages has been proclaimed to you, / meritorious, purifying, prolonging life, and ever to be recited by men.'

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit