Matsya Purana — Devayānī Meets Yayāti: Courtship, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

खादन्त्यो विविधान्भक्ष्यान् फलानि विविधानि च पुनश्च नाहुषो राजा मृगलिप्सुर्यदृच्छया //

Transliteration

khādantyo vividhānbhakṣyān phalāni vividhāni ca punaśca nāhuṣo rājā mṛgalipsuryadṛcchayā //

Translation

وبينما كنّ يأكلن أصنافًا شتّى من الطعام وثمارًا متنوعة، قدم الملك ناهوشا (Nahusha) إلى ذلك الموضع مصادفةً، راغبًا في الظفر بالصيد، متشوّقًا لاصطياد الأيائل.

Word by Word

• खादन्त्यः: (they) eating

• विविधान्: various

• भक्ष्यान्: edibles/foods

• फलानि: fruits

• विविधानि: of many kinds

• च: and

• पुनः च: and again/then also

• नाहुषः: Nahusha

• राजा: the king

• मृग-लिप्सुः: desiring game (lit. ‘seeking deer’)

• यदृच्छया: by chance/accidentally

Speaker

• Suta (narrator in Purana-style narration; episode description)

Entities Mentioned

• Nahusha

Tags

• Dynasties
• Genealogy
• Royal Hunt
• Forest Episode
• Puranic Narrative

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it is a narrative transition in a royal-episode context, describing King Nahusha arriving in a forest setting while others are eating fruits and food.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

It portrays a king engaged in the customary royal pursuit of hunting (mṛga-lipsu), a common motif used in Puranic ethics to set up later lessons about restraint, conduct in the forest, and the consequences of desire or impulsive action.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vastu, temple-building, or ritual procedure is stated in this verse; it functions purely as scene-setting within an episodic narrative.