Matsyapurana 99

English (machine translation) 99

Language: English

99.1

Nandikeśvara said: / Listen, O Nārada, I will proclaim the supreme observance of Viṣṇu, / named Vibhūtidvādaśī, which is revered by all the gods.

In Kārttika, Caitra, Vaiśākha, Mārgaśīrṣa, Phālguna, / or Āṣāḍha, on the tenth day of the bright fortnight, eating lightly, / having performed the evening twilight prayer, a wise man should undertake the vow:

99.3

'Fasting on the eleventh day, having worshipped Janārdana, / I will take my meal together with twice-born men on the twelfth day, O Lord.

99.4

May that proceed without obstacles and bear fruit for me, O Keśava!' / And while falling asleep at night, one should say, 'Homage to Nārāyaṇa!'

99.5

Then, rising at dawn, having bathed and performed muttered prayers, being pure, / one should worship the Lotus-Eyed One with white garlands and ointments:

99.6

'Homage to Vibhūti'—[the worshipper should honor] the feet; and to Aśoka, the knees; / 'Homage to Śiva'—the thighs; 'Homage to the Universal Form'—the waist;

99.7

'Homage to Kandarpa'—the sexual organ; 'Homage to Āditya'—the hands; / 'To Dāmodara'—the belly; and to Vāsudeva, the breasts;

99.8

'To Mādhava'—the chest of Viṣṇu; 'Homage to Utkaṇṭhin'—the throat; / to Śrīdhara, the face; and to Keśava, the hair, O Nārada;

99.9

to the Bearer of the Śārṅga Bow, the back; and to the Boon-Giver, the ears; / with his own name, to the one who holds the conch, discus, sword, mace, and water lily in his hands; / 'Homage to the Self of All'—one should worship the head, O brāhmaṇa.

99.10

Having fashioned a golden fish along with a blue lotus according to one's means, / together with a water pitcher, a wise man should place it in front.

99.11

[Also] a vessel of jaggery along with sesame seeds, wrapped in white cloth. / At night he should keep vigil with recitations of Itihāsas and the like.

99.12

And when the night has turned to morning, he should present the god / along with the golden lotus and the water pitcher to a householder brāhmaṇa [saying]:

99.13

'As you are never abandoned by all sovereign powers, O Lord, / so deliver me from the mire of worldly existence filled with all sorrows!'

99.14

O sage, [he should present] the forms of the ten incarnations in succession month by month, / as well as Dattātreya and Vyāsa, accompanied by a lotus, / he should give thus until a year [is complete], and he should shun heretics.

99.15

Having thus completed the twelve twelfth-day [rites] according to his ability, / at the end of the year, O best of sages, he should give to his guru / a bed accompanied by a mountain of salt, along with a cow.

99.16

And a capable man should give a village, or a field together with a house, / having worshipped the guru according to the rules with garments and ornaments.

99.17

Having fed other excellent twice-born men according to his means, / he should gratify them with gifts of cloth and cows, and heaps of gems and wealth; / a man of small means should perform it little by little according to his ability.

99.18

And whoever is extremely destitute, but devoted to Mādhava, / should perform it for two years by the rule of flower-worship.

99.19

He who performs the Vibhūtidvādaśī observance according to this rite, / freed from sin, rescues a hundred of his ancestors.

99.20

For a hundred thousand lifetimes he does not partake of the fruit of sorrow, / nor does disease, poverty, or bondage befall him; / in birth after birth he becomes a devotee of Viṣṇu or of Śiva.

99.21

For as long as one hundred and eight thousand cosmic ages last, / for that long he dwells in heaven, O brāhmaṇa, and then he becomes a king again.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit