Shloka 33

Matsya Purana — Cosmic Architecture of Sun–Moon and the ‘Houses of the Gods’

Devanagari script

क्षेत्राण्येतानि वै सूर्यम् आपतन्ति गभस्तिभिः क्षेत्राणि तेषामादत्ते सूर्यो नक्षत्रता ततः //

Transliteration

kṣetrāṇyetāni vai sūryam āpatanti gabhastibhiḥ kṣetrāṇi teṣāmādatte sūryo nakṣatratā tataḥ //

Translation

These (celestial) “fields” indeed reach the Sun by means of his rays; the Sun, taking up those fields, thereby brings about their status as nakṣatras—luminous star-forms.

Word by Word

• क्षेत्राणि (kṣetrāṇi): fields/regions/spheres (here: celestial loci)

• एतानि (etāni): these

• वै (vai): indeed

• सूर्यम् (sūryam): the Sun

• आपतन्ति (āpatanti): fall upon/reach/arrive at

• गभस्तिभिः (gabhastibhiḥ): by (his) rays/beam-like hands

• तेषाम् (teṣām): of them/of those

• आदत्ते (ādatte): takes up/assumes/appropriates

• सूर्यः (sūryaḥ): the Sun

• नक्षत्रता (nakṣatratā): the state/condition of being a nakṣatra (asterism/star)

• ततः (tataḥ): from that/thereupon.

Speaker

• Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) recounting doctrinal cosmology within the Matsya Purāṇa’s exposition

Entities Mentioned

• Sūrya
• Gabhasti (solar rays)
• Nakṣatra

Tags

• Cosmology
• Jyotisha
• Sun
• Nakshatras
• Puranic astronomy

FAQs

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

It is not a pralaya-verse; it presents a cosmological mechanism: the Sun’s rays interact with celestial ‘fields/regions’ and this relation accounts for their nakṣatra-status (their recognizable astral form).

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

Indirectly, it supports dharmic time-reckoning: nakṣatras are foundational for choosing auspicious timings (muhūrta) for royal consecrations, campaigns, marriages, and household saṃskāras—linking governance and domestic rites to cosmic order.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, nakṣatra-knowledge guides temple consecration dates, image installation (pratiṣṭhā), and major yajñas; the verse supplies the Purāṇic rationale that nakṣatras derive their operative identity through the Sun’s rays, reinforcing solar–astral timing in ritual planning.