Matsyapurana 62

English (machine translation) 62

Language: English

62.1

Manu said: / That which bestows the fruit of good fortune and health, produces imperishable merit in the next world, / and grants enjoyment and liberation—tell me that, O divine Janārdana.

62.2

Matsya said: / What the god, the destroyer of the cities, seated on the peak of Kailāsa, / formerly told Umā, when asked by the goddess at that time,

62.3

when righteous and charming discourses had begun— / that I shall now proclaim, which grants the fruits of enjoyment and liberation.

62.4

Īśvara said: / Listen attentively, O goddess, to the unsurpassed worship / that produces endless merit for men and women alike.

62.5

In the month of Nabhasya, or in Vaiśākha, or in holy Mārgaśiras, / on the third lunar day of the bright fortnight, having bathed well with white mustard seeds,

62.6

one should apply a forehead mark mixed with yellow orpiment, cow's urine, / warm cow dung, curds, and sandalwood paste, / since it gives good fortune and health, and is always dear to Lalitā.

62.7

On the third lunar days of each fortnight, a man should wear two light-yellow garments; / if a woman, and she is self-restrained, she should wear red ones;

a widow [should wear] red-ochre clothes, a maiden two white garments. / Then one should bathe the goddess with the five products of the cow, then with pure milk, / likewise with honey, and with flower-scented water.

62.9

One should worship her with white flowers and various kinds of fruits, / with coriander, cumin, and salt, together with jaggery, milk, and ghee,

62.10

and with white unbroken rice and sesame seeds, one should always worship the image of the goddess. / One should perform the worship beginning from her feet in each fortnight, O fair-faced one:

62.11

‘Homage to the boon-giver: the feet; and homage to Śrī: the ankles; / homage to Aśokā: the shanks; likewise to Pārvatī: the two knees;

62.12

to the auspicious one: the thighs; and to Vāmadevī: the waist; / to Padmodarā: the belly; homage to Kāmaśrī: the chest;

62.13

to the giver of good fortune: the two hands; to the splendor of Hara’s face: the two arms; / to the dweller in the mirror: the face; to the giver of desire: homage to the smile;

62.14

homage to Gaurī: the nose; and to Utpalā: the two eyes; / to Tuṣṭi: the forehead; the ringlets of hair; and to Kātyāyanī: the head.

62.15

Homage to Gaurī, homage to Dhiṣṇyā, homage to Kānti, homage to Śrī, / to Rambhā and to Lalitā, and homage, homage to Vāsudevī!’

62.16

Having thus worshiped her according to the rule, one should draw a lotus before her, / endowed with twelve petals, with saffron, and with a pericarp.

62.17

In the east he should install Gaurī, and next to her Aparṇā; / likewise Bhavānī in the south, and next to her Rudrāṇī;

62.18

in the west he should install Saumyā, who always dwells in love; / in the northwest, Pāṭalā, and between them fierce Umā;

62.19

in the center, according to their place, Māṃsāṅgā, Maṅgalā, Kumudā, and Satī; / and having established Rudra in the middle, and Lalitā upon the pericarp, / he should install them with flowers, unbroken grains, water, and obeisance.

62.20

Having caused the sounds of auspicious songs to be made, he should honor married women / with red garments, red garlands, and ointments, / and scatter vermilion and bath-powder upon their heads.

62.21

Since bathing in vermilion and saffron is exceedingly dear [to the goddess], / one should also carefully worship the guru who instructs; / where the guru is not worshiped, all rites are fruitless.

62.22

In Nabhasya one should always worship Gaurī with dark blue water lilies, / in Āśvayuja with bandhujīva flowers, in Kārttika with lotuses,

62.23

in Mārgaśīrṣa with jasmine blossoms, in Pauṣa with yellow kuraṇṭaka flowers; / but in Māgha one should worship the goddess with kunda and saffron flowers, / or in Phālguna one should revere Umā with sinduvāra or jasmine.

62.24

In Caitra with mallikā and aśoka, in Vaiśākha with fragrant pāṭalā blossoms, / in Jyeṣṭha with lotuses and mandāras, and in Āṣāḍha with fresh water-born flowers, / and in Śrāvaṇa one should always worship her with kadamba or mālatī flowers.

62.25

Cow's urine, cow dung, milk, curds, ghee, kuśa grass water, / a bilva leaf, an arka flower, barley, and water from a cow's horn,

62.26

and the five products of the cow, and bilva: one should consume these in order then; / this is declared as the consumption beginning from Bhādrapada.

62.27

And on the third day of each fortnight, O fair-faced one, having honored a married couple, / he should worship them with devotion with clothes, garlands, and ointments.

62.28

One should give two yellow garments to the man, and two safflower-dyed garments to the woman; / along with flat beans, cumin, and salt, accompanied by sugarcane and jaggery, / one should give her fruit and flowers, along with a golden lotus.

62.29

“Just as the Lord of gods never departs leaving you behind, O Goddess, / so deliver me from this ocean of worldly existence filled with endless sorrow!”

62.30

Kumudā, Vimalā, Anantā, Bhavānī, Sudhā, Śivā, / Lalitā, Kamalā, Gaurī, Satī, Rambhā, and Pārvatī—

62.31

one should proclaim, “May she be pleased!” in the months beginning with Nabhasya. / At the conclusion of the vow, one should give a bed accompanied by a golden lotus.

62.32

One should worship twenty-four couples, or twelve; / or worship eight, or even six, month by month.

62.33

Having first given to the guru, the wise person should worship the rest as well. / This is declared as the Anantatṛtīyā vow, which always bestows infinite fruit,

62.34

destroying all sins, O Goddess, and increasing good fortune and health. / One must never violate it out of miserliness; / whether a man or a woman, one falls downward through miserliness.

62.35

A pregnant woman, a woman in confinement, one eating at night, an unmarried maiden, or a sick woman— / if she is impure, she should then have it observed by another, while remaining restrained herself.

62.36

Whoever performs this third day rite, which yields infinite fruit, / is honored in the world of Śiva for more than a billion cosmic ages.

62.37

Even a person devoid of wealth who performs it with fasts for three years / according to the ritual of flowers and mantras also obtains that fruit.

62.38

Whatever woman performs it, whether a maiden or a widow, / she too attains that fruit, cherished by the grace of Gaurī.

62.39

Whoever thus reads or hears this vow of the Mountain’s Daughter while dwelling in Indra's abode, / or even inspires the mind [of others to observe it], is worshipped by the gods, divine women, and Kinnaras.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit