[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Vishnupurana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu) › 3.14.1-17 # Vishnupurana 3.14.1-17 Viṣṇupurāṇa 3.14.1-17 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [3.14.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.1) aurva uvāca: brahmendrarudranāsatyasūryāgnivasumārutān viśvedevān ṛṣigaṇān vayāṃsi manujān paśūn // > AURVA proceeded.--"Let the devout performer of an ancestral oblation propitiate Brahmá, Indra, Rudra, the Áświns, the sun, fire, the Vasus, the winds, the Viśwadevas, the sages, birds, men, animals, reptiles, progenitors, and all existent things, by offering adoration to them monthly, on the fifteenth day of the moon's wane (or dark fortnight), or on the eighth day of the same period in certain months, or at particular seasons, as I will explain. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.2) sarīsṛpān pitṛgaṇān yac cānyad bhūtasaṃjñitam śrāddhaṃ śraddhānvitaḥ kurvan tarpayaty akhilaṃ jagat // > AURVA proceeded.--"Let the devout performer of an ancestral oblation propitiate Brahmá, Indra, Rudra, the Áświns, the sun, fire, the Vasus, the winds, the Viśwadevas, the sages, birds, men, animals, reptiles, progenitors, and all existent things, by offering adoration to them monthly, on the fifteenth day of the moon's wane (or dark fortnight), or on the eighth day of the same period in certain months, or at particular seasons, as I will explain. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.3) māsi māsy asite pakṣe pañcadaśyāṃ nareśvara tathāṣṭakāsu kurvīta kāmyān kālāñ chṛṇuṣva me // > AURVA proceeded.--"Let the devout performer of an ancestral oblation propitiate Brahmá, Indra, Rudra, the Áświns, the sun, fire, the Vasus, the winds, the Viśwadevas, the sages, birds, men, animals, reptiles, progenitors, and all existent things, by offering adoration to them monthly, on the fifteenth day of the moon's wane (or dark fortnight), or on the eighth day of the same period in certain months, or at particular seasons, as I will explain. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.4) śrāddhārham āgataṃ dravyaṃ viśiṣṭam athavā dvijam śrāddhaṃ kurvīta vijñāya vyatīpāte 'yane tathā // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.5) viṣuve cāpi saṃprāpte grahaṇe śaśisūryayoḥ samasteṣv eva bhūpāla rāśiṣv arke ca gacchati // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.6) nakṣatragrahapīḍāsu duṣṭasvapnāvalokane icchāśrāddhāni kurvīta navasasyāgame tathā // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.7) amāvāsyā yadā maitraviśākhāsvātiyoginī śrāddhaiḥ pitṛgaṇas tṛptiṃ tathāpnoty aṣṭavārṣikīm // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.8) amāvāsyā yadā puṣye raudre carkṣe punarvasau dvādaśābdaṃ tadā tṛptiṃ prayānti pitaro 'rcitāḥ // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.9) vāsavājaikapādarkṣe pitṝṇāṃ tṛptim icchatām vāruṇe cāpy amāvāsyā devānām api durlabhā // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.10) navasv ṛkṣeṣv amāvāsyā yadaiteṣv avanīpate tadā tṛptipradaṃ śrāddhaṃ pitṝṇāṃ śṛṇu cāparam // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.11) gītaṃ sanatkumāreṇa yad'ilāya mahātmane pṛcchate pitṛbhaktāya śraddhayāvanatāya ca // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.12) sanatkumāra uvāca: vaiśākhamāsasya ca yā tṛtīyā navamy asau kārttikaśuklapakṣe nabhasyamāsasya tu kṛṣṇapakṣe trayodaśī pañcadaśī ca māghe // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.13) etā yugādyās tithayaś catasro 'py anantapuṇyā nṛpa saṃpradiṣṭāḥ // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.14) pānīyam apy atra tilair vimiśraṃ dadyāt pitṛbhyaḥ prayato manuṣyaḥ śrāddhaṃ kṛtaṃ tena samāḥ sahasraṃ rahasyam etat pitaro vadanti // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.15) māghāsite pañcadaśī kadācid upaiti yogaṃ yadi vāruṇena ṛkṣeṇa kālaḥ sa paraḥ pitṝṇāṃ na hy alpapuṇyair nṛpa labhyate 'sau // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.16) kāle dhaniṣṭhā yadi nāma tasmin bhavanti bhūpāla tadā pitṛbhyaḥ dattaṃ jalānnaṃ pradadāti tṛptiṃ varṣāyutaṃ tatkulajair manuṣyaiḥ // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [3.14.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.17) tatraiva ced bhādrapadās tu pūrvāḥ kāle tadā yat kriyate pitṛbhyaḥ śrāddhaṃ parāṃ tṛptim upetya tena yugaṃ samagraṃ pitaraḥ svapanti // > "When a householder finds that any circumstance has occurred, or a distinguished guest has arrived, on which account ancestral ceremonies are appropriate, the should celebrate them. He should offer a voluntary sacrifice upon any atmospheric portent, at the equinoctial and solstitial periods, at eclipses of the sun and moon, on the sun's entrance into a zodiacal sign, upon unpropitious aspects of the planets and asterisms, on dreaming unlucky dreams, and on eating the grain of the year's harvest. The Pitris derive satisfaction for eight years from ancestral offerings upon the day of new moon when the star of the conjunction is Anurádhá, Viśákhá, or Swáti; and for twelve years when it is Pushya, Ardrá, or Punarvasu. It is not easy for a man to effect his object, who is desirous of worshipping the Pitris or the gods on a day of new moon when the stars are those of Dhanisht́há, Purvabhádrapadá, or Śatábhishá. Hear also an account of another class of Sráddhas, which afford especial contentment to progenitors, as explained by Sanatkumára, the son of Brahmá, to the magnanimous Purúravas, when full of faith and devotion to the Pitris he inquired how he might please them. The third lunar day of the month Vaiśákha (April, May), and the ninth of Kártika (October, November), in the light fortnight; the thirteenth of Nabha (July, August), and the fifteenth of Mágha (January, February), in the dark fortnight; are called by ancient teachers the anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga, or age (Yugádya), and are esteemed most sacred. On these days, water mixed with sesamum-seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; as well as on every solar and lunar eclipse; on the eighth lunations of the dark fortnights of Agraháyańa, Mágha, and Phálguna (December--February); on the two days commencing the solstices, when the nights and days alternately begin to diminish; on those days which are the anniversaries of the beginning of the Manwantaras; when the sun is in the path of the goat; and on all occurrences of meteoric phenomena. A Śráddha at these seasons contents the Pitris for a thousand years: such is the secret which they have imparted. The fifteenth day of the dark half of the month Mágha, when united with the conjunction of the asterism over which Varuńa presides (Satábhishá), is a season of no little sanctity, when offerings are especially grateful to the progenitors. Food and water presented by men who are of respectable families, when the asterism Dhanisht́há is combined with the day of new moon, content the Pitris for ten thousand years; whilst they repose for a whole age when satisfied by offerings made on the day of new moon when Árdrá is the lunar mansion. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ## Translations (2) - [The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-wilson.3.14.1) — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English - [A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-dutt.3.14.p1) — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English ## Other recensions (1) - [Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu*vulgate.3.14.1) — Sanskrit ## Linked texts (5) - [Varāhapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.varaha.13.38) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Smṛticandrikā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.smrticandrika.5.p3) — Devaṇṇabhaṭṭa, Sanskrit - [Caturvargacintāmaṇi](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.caturvargacintamani.1.p151) — Hemādri, Sanskrit - [Ṣoḍaśamahādānavidhi (Hemādri)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.dana.mahadana.sodasamahadanavidhi-hemadri.1.p151) — Hemādri, Sanskrit - [Dānakhaṇḍa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.hemadri.danakhanda.1.p145) — Hemādri, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.1-17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.3.14.1-17) · Pramāṇa