Matsyapurana 93

English (machine translation) 93

Language: English

93.1

Sūta said: / In the past, Śaunaka asked Vaiśampāyana as he sat: / 'How is the rite of pacification and nourishment [performed] for the constant attainment of all desires?'

Vaiśampāyana said: / 'One who desires prosperity or pacification should undertake the planetary sacrifice, / or one desiring increase, long life, and nourishment, or again when performing an incantation. / Listen to me as I declare according to which rule, O Brahmin, [it is done].

93.3

Having reviewed all the scriptures and condensed the vastness of the treatises, / I will proclaim the pacification of the planets as taught in the Purāṇas and the Vedas.

93.4

On an auspicious day declared by a Brahmin, having performed the Brahmin-blessing ritual, / and having installed the planets and the presiding deities of the planets, one should begin the fire offering.

93.5

The planetary sacrifice is declared to be threefold by those skilled in the Purāṇas and the Vedas: / the first is the offering of ten thousand oblations; beyond that is the offering of a hundred thousand oblations;

93.6

and the third is the offering of ten million oblations, which grants the fruits of all desires. / The sacrifice of the nine planets is traditionally known to consist of ten thousand oblations.

93.7

I shall first describe its rule as spoken in the Purāṇas and the Vedas: / to the northeast of the pit, [make an altar] two spans wide,

93.8

an altar surrounded by two raised borders, measured to a height of one span, / four-sided and facing north, for the installation of the gods.

93.9

Having brought forward the fire, one should invoke the gods upon it; / then thirty-two deities are to be installed.

93.10

The Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, / Rāhu and Ketu—these are declared to be the planets that bring welfare to the worlds.

93.11

One should place the Sun in the center, and the Red One (Mars) in the south; / one should place Jupiter in the north, and Mercury in the northeast;

93.12

one should place Venus in the east, the Moon in the southeast, / Saturn in the west, Rāhu in the southwest, / and one should install Ketu in the northwest with white husked grains of rice.

93.13

One should know Īśvara to be the presiding deity of the Sun, and Umā of the Moon, / Skanda of Mars, and likewise Hari of Mercury;

93.14

one should know Brahmā to be [the presiding deity] of Jupiter, and Śacī's husband (Indra) of Venus, / Yama of Saturn, and likewise Kāla of Rāhu,

93.15

and Citragupta of Ketu—these are the presiding deities of all of them. / Fire, Water, Earth, Viṣṇu, Indra, and the goddess Indrāṇī,

93.16

Prajāpati, the Serpents, and Brahmā are the secondary presiding deities. / One should likewise invoke Vināyaka, Durgā, Wind, Space, / and the two Aśvin youths with the sacred exclamations.

93.17

One should visualize the Sun as red along with Mars; / the Moon and Venus are white, Mercury and Jupiter are tawny, / Saturn and Rāhu are black, and the host of Ketus is known to be smoke-colored.

93.18

Garments and flowers corresponding to the colors of the planets should be offered; / the wise man should set up here fragrant incense and above it a beautiful / canopy furnished with fruits and flowers.

93.19

One should offer rice cooked with molasses to the Sun; milk rice cooked with ghee to the Moon; / a sweet wheat confection to Mars; cooked ṣaṣṭika-rice with milk to Mercury;

93.20

curd-rice to Jupiter; ghee-rice to Śakra (Venus); / a mixture of rice and sesame to Saturn; goat-meat to Rāhu; / and multicolored rice to the Ketus; then one should worship them with all kinds of edible offerings.

93.21

To the northeast of that, [one should place] an unblemished jar adorned with curd and unbroken grains, / covered with mango sprouts, accompanied by fruits and a pair of garments,

93.22

furnished with the five gems and the five sprouts; / one should install that unblemished jar and place Varuṇa upon it.

93.23

All the rivers beginning with the Gaṅgā, the oceans, and the lakes; / having brought soil from an elephant's path, a horse's path, an ant-hill, a confluence, a deep pool, and a cow-pen,

93.24

along with water containing all medicinal herbs, O best of Brahmins, / the knower of righteousness should place it there for the ceremonial bath of the patron.

93.25

'May all the oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams / come here to bring about the destruction of the patron's sins!'

93.26

Thus one should invoke these immortals, O best of sages; / then one should begin the fire offering with clarified butter, barley, rice, sesame seeds, and the like.

93.27

The arka, palāśa, khadira, apāmārga, and pippala, / the udumbara, śamī, dūrvā grass, and kuśa grass are the firewood sticks in order.

93.28

For each one, one hundred and eight, or indeed twenty-eight, / should be offered into the fire, smeared with honey, clarified butter, and curd.

93.29

A span in length, rootless, branchless, and leafless— / such firewood sticks the wise man should prepare in all rituals at all times.

93.30

The knower of the highest truth should silently offer the firewood sticks separately / for all the deities, each with its own mantra.

93.31

Sacrificial cooked grain, edible food, and the like, smeared with clarified butter, should also be offered. / Having offered ten oblations with the mantras, [one should make] the offering with the sacred exclamations.

93.32

Facing north or facing east, the best of Brahmins should perform it; / and the sacrificial cooked offerings must be prepared with mantras for each deity.

93.33

Having offered those cooked offerings properly, one should then perform the fire offering: / the twice-born should make the offering to the Sun with the verse 'ākṛṣṇena';

93.34

he should offer to the Moon with the mantra 'āpyāyasva'; / he should recite the mantra 'agnirmūrdhā divaḥ' for Mars;

93.35

'agne vivasvat' and 'uṣasaḥ' for the son of the Moon (Mercury); / and 'bṛhaspate paridīyā rathena' is prescribed for Jupiter.

93.36

And "Your bright form is one" is recited for Śukra; / for Śanaiścara, again, one should make oblations with "May the goddess be auspicious unto us".

93.37

"By what wonderful aid does he become present" is declared for Rāhu; / one should also recite "Making a banner" for the pacification of the Ketus.

93.38

One should perform the bali offering and homa for Rudra with "To your king"; / for Umā, "Waters indeed are you", and likewise "Be comfortable" for Svāmin.

93.39

"This Viṣṇu" for Viṣṇu; "Him, the ruler" for Svayambhū; / one should then offer to Indra with "Indra indeed in divine assembly".

93.40

Likewise, the homa for Yama is declared to be with "This spotted bull"; / for Kāla, the mantra "Brahman born first" is praised.

93.41

And for Citragupta, "The unknown", so know those versed in mantras; / "Agni we choose as messenger" is declared for Agni.

93.42

"Loosen the highest, O Varuṇa" is declared as the mantra for the waters; / "Earth and atmosphere" for the Earth is recited in the Vedas.

93.43

"The thousand-headed Puruṣa" is declared for Viṣṇu; / "For Indra, O Soma, accompanied by the Maruts" is praised for Śakra.

93.44

One should perform [homa] for the goddess with "O broad-leaved, auspicious one"; / again, the homa for Prajāpati is remembered as "O Prajāpati".

93.45

"Homage to the serpents" is stated as the mantra of the serpents; / "This is Brahmā, who among priests" is declared for Brahmā.

93.46

And "Not deficient" is remembered by the wise as the mantra of Vināyaka; / "To Jātavedas we press" is stated as this Durgā-mantra.

93.47

"From the seed of the primeval one" is declared for space; / and "Formed as the child of the great ones" is declared as the mantra for Vāyu.

93.48

"This Dawn, primeval" is stated as the mantra for the Aśvins; / and one should offer the final oblation with "The head of heaven".

93.49

Then, with the consecration mantra, accompanied by musical instruments and auspicious songs, / with that very full vessel, at the end of the homa, facing east or north,

93.50

by four brāhmaṇas whose limbs are unblemished, O Brahmā, / adorned with golden garlands and chaplets, the bathing of the sacrificer should be performed:

93.51

"May the Suras consecrate you—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara; / Vāsudeva the lord of the world, and likewise the all-pervading Saṃkarṣaṇa, / Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, may they be for your victory!

93.52

Ākhaṇḍala, the blessed Agni, Yama, and indeed Nirṛti, / Varuṇa, Pavana, the lord of wealth, and likewise Śiva, / Śeṣa together with Brahmā—may these guardians of the directions protect you!

93.53

Kīrti, Lakṣmī, Dhṛti, Medhā, Puṣṭi, Śraddhā, Kriyā, Mati, / Buddhi, Lajjā, Vapus, Śānti, Tuṣṭi, and Kānti, the mothers— / may these wives of Dharma, gathered together, consecrate you!

93.54

The Sun, the Moon, Bhauma, Budha, Jīva, Sita, the son of Arka, / may the planets consecrate you, and Rāhu and Ketu, having been propitiated!

93.55

The Devas, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Pannagas, / the ṛṣis, sages, cows, and the mothers of the gods,

93.56

the wives of the gods, trees, Nāgas, Daityas, and the hosts of Apsarases, / the missiles, all weapons, kings, and mounts,

93.57

the medicinal herbs, jewels, and whatever divisions of time there are, / rivers, oceans, mountains, holy bathing sites, rain-clouds, and streams— / may all these consecrate you for the attainment of all desires and purposes!"

93.58

Then, wearing white garments, anointed with white fragrant unguents, / bathed by the foremost brāhmaṇas with all medicinal herbs and all perfumes,

93.59

the sacrificer, together with his wife, should attentively worship the priests / with sacrificial fees with diligence, free from arrogance.

93.60

He should give a tawny cow to Sūrya, and likewise a conch to Indu; / he should give a red, hump-bearing draft bull to Bhauma;

93.61

gold to Budha; a pair of yellow garments to Guru; / a white horse to the teacher of the Daityas; a black cow to the son of Arka;

93.62

he should give iron to Rāhu, and an excellent goat to the Ketus; / a sacrificial fee equal in value to gold should be made by the sacrificer.

93.63

Or cows adorned with gold should be given to all, / or he may give gold, or whatever pleases the preceptor; / all sacrificial fees everywhere should be given only with a mantra.

93.64

"O tawny one, red cow, you are worthy of worship by all gods; / because you consist of holy places and deities, therefore grant me peace.

93.65

You are pure, O conch, among holy things, and the auspiciousness of auspicious things; / and you are held by Viṣṇu, therefore grant me peace.

93.66

You are Dharma in the form of a bull, causing delight to the world, / the abode of the Eight-formed Lord; therefore grant me peace.

93.67

You are the womb of Hiraṇyagarbha, the golden seed of Vibhāvasu, / granting the fruit of infinite religious merit; therefore grant me peace.

93.68

Because the pair of yellow garments is dear to Vāsudeva, / O Viṣṇu, through the gift of it, therefore grant me peace.

93.69

Because you, Viṣṇu in the form of a horse, are born of nectar, / constantly the mount of the Moon and the Sun; therefore grant me peace.

93.70

Because you, the whole earth, are a cow resembling Keśava, / constantly removing all sins; therefore grant me peace.

93.71

Because works of iron are always dependent on you, / the plow and other tools and weapons; therefore grant me peace.

93.72

Because you are established as a constituent part of all sacrifices, / the vehicle of Vibhāvasu eternally; therefore grant me peace."

93.73

The fourteen worlds reside in the limbs of cows; / because of that, may there be prosperity for me in this world and in the next.

93.74

Because the bed of Keśava is never empty, / may my bed also not be empty, given in birth after birth.

93.75

Just as all the gods are established in all precious jewels, / so may the Suras bestow jewels upon me through the gift of jewels.

93.76

Just as other gifts do not equal a sixteenth part / of the gift of land, may peace be mine in this world through the gift of land.

93.77

Thus he should worship with devotion, free from dishonesty regarding wealth, / with multitudes of gems, gold, and cloths, with incenses, garlands, and ointments.

93.78

The one who performs the worship of the planets according to this rite / attains all desires and is glorified in heaven after dying.

93.79

And whichever planet continually causes affliction to one of little wealth, / the wise person, having carefully worshipped that one, should also revere the rest.

93.80

The planets, cows, kings, and especially brāhmaṇas, / when worshipped, bestow honor; when insulted, they consume with fire.

93.81

Just as armor is a warding off of arrow strikes, / so the rite of pacification is a warding off of the strokes of destiny.

93.82

Therefore, one desiring prosperity should not perform it deficient in sacrificial fees; / because even one [planet] is pleased by a complete sacrificial fee.

93.83

This Ayutahoma is always prescribed in the sacrifice to the nine planets, / and in rites such as weddings, festivals, sacrifices, and consecrations,

93.84

to remove obstacles, O best of sages, and in cases of distress and portents. / This Ayutahoma has been described; now hear about Lakṣahoma.

93.85

For the wise know that Lakṣahoma is for the attainment of all desires, / dear directly to the ancestors, and granting the fruits of worldly enjoyment and liberation.

93.86

Having secured favourable strength of the planets and lunar mansions, and having performed the recitation of blessings by Brahmins, / the wise man should have a pavilion constructed to the north-east of the house,

93.87

or on the grounds of a temple of Rudra, square and facing north; / he should make it ten cubits, or eight cubits, according to the rule.

93.88

The wise man should diligently make the ground sloping towards the north-east. / Having reached the north-eastern part of the pavilion,

93.89

he should construct an auspicious fire-pit, properly endowed with the prescribed characteristics: / square on all sides, with a vulva-shaped spout, and possessing rims.

93.90

A rim should be four fingers wide and equally high, / made sloping towards the north-east and evenly situated all around.

93.91

The sacrifice to the nine planets is taught for the pacification of all the worlds. / A fire-pit deficient or excessive in measure would cause manifold danger; / therefore, a thoroughly complete pacification fire-pit is prescribed.

93.92

Lakṣahoma is proclaimed by Svayambhū to be ten times greater than this, / with effort regarding the oblations, and likewise regarding the sacrificial gifts.

93.93

In Lakṣahoma, the fire-pit should be two cubits wide and four cubits long, / with a vulva-shaped spout and three rims.

93.94

And to its north-east, there should be [an altar-mound] measuring three spans, / sloping towards the north-east and square on all sides.

93.95

The altar-mound is said by Viśvakarman to be half its breadth in height, / surrounded by three tiers, for installing the gods.

93.96

The first tier is stated to be two fingers high; / then above it are two tiers, each one finger high.

93.97

And its width is taught by the wise to be three fingers for all of them; / on the altar-mound, the raised wall above should be ten fingers high. / On it he should invoke the gods, as before, with flowers and unbroken rice grains.

93.98

All of them, together with their presiding and secondary deities, should face the Sun; / they are to be installed, O best of sages, not turned away facing the north.

93.99

Garutmān is to be worshipped additionally there by one desiring prosperity: / ‘You whose body consists of the sound of the Sāmans, the vehicle of the Supreme Lord, / destroyer of poison and sin perpetually: therefore grant me peace.’

93.100

Consecrating the water-jar as before, he should perform the oblation in the same manner. / Having offered a hundred thousand [oblations], and additionally exceeding the count of firewood, / he should pour a continuous stream of clarified butter from the jar over the fire.

93.101

Having fashioned a ladle of udumbara wood, fresh, straight, free from hollows, / and one cubit in length, he should then, standing on two pillars, / properly pour the stream of clarified butter with it over the fire.

93.102

He should cause the hymn to Agni, to Viṣṇu, to Rudra, and to Soma to be recited; / he should also have the Mahāvaiśvānara Sāman and the Jyeṣṭha Sāman chanted.

93.103

The bath of the patron and the recitation of blessings should be performed as before; / the patron should distribute separate sacrificial gifts as before,

93.104

free from desire and anger, with a calm mind, to the officiating priests. / In the sacrifice to the nine planets, there are four Brahmin priests who know the Vedas,

93.105

or only two calm officiating priests skilled in the revealed scripture / should be engaged in the Ayutahoma; he should not indulge in excessive elaboration.

93.106

Likewise, in Lakṣahoma, eighteen officiating priests / should be appointed according to capacity, or else four, by one free from jealousy.

93.107

In Lakṣahoma, everything is tenfold compared to the sacrifice to the nine planets. / He should give edible delicacies, O best of sages, and ornaments too, according to capacity:

93.108

beds with bedclothes, gold bracelets, / earrings, finger-rings, and necklaces, according to his means.

93.109

A man should not make it devoid of sacrificial gifts through stinginess with wealth; / failing to give out of greed or delusion, he incurs the destruction of his family.

93.110

The giving of food should be carried out according to one's capacity by one desiring prosperity; / for performed without food, it yields the fruit of famine.

93.111

Devoid of food, [a sacrifice] burns the kingdom; lacking mantras, it burns the officiating priests; / lacking sacrificial gifts, it burns the sacrificer: there is no enemy like a [defective] sacrifice.

93.112

A man of little wealth should never perform Lakṣahoma, / because discord perpetually causes affliction in a sacrifice.

93.113

A man of little wealth should worship with devotion just him, or two, or three, according to rule; / he should reverently worship even a single Brahmin master of the Vedas / diligently with sacrificial gifts, not many.

93.114

Lakṣahoma, however, should be performed when wealth is abundant, / since, by performing it according to rule, one obtains all desires.

93.115

And he is revered in the realm of Śiva by the hosts of Vasus, Ādityas, and Maruts / for eight hundred cosmic ages; then he reaches liberation.

93.116

He who, having desires, performs this Lakṣahoma according to rule / attains that desire and reaches an endless abode.

93.117

One desiring sons obtains sons; one desiring wealth obtains wealth; / one desiring a wife obtains a beautiful wife; and an unmarried girl obtains an auspicious husband.

93.118

One fallen from royalty regains his kingdom; one desiring splendour attains splendour. / Whatever desire one asks for, that becomes abundant indeed; / but he who performs it free of desire attains the Supreme Brahman.

93.119

Koṭihoma is proclaimed by Svayambhū to be a hundred times greater than this, / with effort regarding the oblations, sacrificial gifts, and the fruit.

93.120

The invocation and dismissal of the planetary deities are as before; / the oblation mantras, and likewise those for digging and giving, are stated to be the very same. / Learn from me this specific detail regarding the fire-pits, pavilion, and altars.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit