A Study of the Vratas as Described in the Matsyapurāṇa
Author(s): Kushal Kalita
Abstract: Yajña which occupied prominent place among rituals among Vedic Aryans gradually lost its importance during course of time and Puranic culture started gaining popularity among the masses. Thus religious rites prescribed in puranas got importance; common people adopted the vratas, upavāsas, śrāddhas, prāyascittas, dānas, dikṣās, etc. as the way of worshipping the deities while Vedic yajña was confined among upper classes. Among the religious rites described in the Purāṇas vratas occupy a very important place which is testified by the large numbers of vratas enjoined therein. This paper is an attempt to analyse different types of vratas enumerated in Matsya Purāṇa.
