Shloka 53

Matsya Purana — Brahmā–Gāyatrī as a Divine Pair and the Early Genealogies of Creation

Devanagari script

अश्वऋक्षमुखाः केचित् केचित् सिंहाननास्तथा श्वसूकरमुखाः केचित् केचिदुष्ट्रमुखास् तथा //

Transliteration

aśvaṛkṣamukhāḥ kecit kecit siṃhānanāstathā śvasūkaramukhāḥ kecit keciduṣṭramukhās tathā //

Translation

Some had the faces of horses and bears; some had lion-faces. Some bore the faces of dogs and boars, and some likewise had camel-faces.

Word by Word

• केचित् (kecit): some

• अश्व (aśva): horse

• ऋक्ष (ṛkṣa): bear

• मुखाः (mukhāḥ): faces/mouthed (having faces)

• सिंह (siṃha): lion

• आनन (ānana): face/visage

• तथा (tathā): and/likewise

• श्व (śva): dog

• सूकर (sūkara): boar

• उष्ट्र (uṣṭra): camel

• अश्वऋक्षमुखाः (aśva-ṛkṣa-mukhāḥ): those with horse-and-bear faces

• सिंहाननाः (siṃha-ānanāḥ): lion-faced

• श्वसूकरमुखाः (śva-sūkara-mukhāḥ): dog-and-boar-faced

• उष्ट्रमुखाः (uṣṭra-mukhāḥ): camel-faced

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) recounting the Purana’s cosmological account (creation/variegated beings)

Entities Mentioned

• Composite beings (animal-faced beings)

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmology
• Mythic Zoology
• Puranic Anthropology
• Forms of Beings

FAQs

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

It reflects creation’s diversity (sarga) by listing hybrid, animal-faced forms; it does not directly describe pralaya, but underscores the Purana’s idea that beings can manifest in many extraordinary configurations across cosmic cycles.

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

Indirectly, it supports a dharmic worldview where society must accommodate varied beings and conditions; kingship and household ethics in the Matsya Purana are framed as maintaining order (dharma) amid a complex, multi-formed creation.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vastu or ritual procedure is stated in this verse; its relevance is contextual—later Matsya Purana sections apply cosmological classifications to iconography and sacred-space planning, but this line itself is purely descriptive of forms.