Shloka 84

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

Devanagari script

वैश्वरूपं प्रधानस्य परिणाहो ऽस्य यः स्मृतः तेषां शक्यं न संख्यातुं याथातथ्येन केनचित् गतागतं मनुष्येण ज्योतिषां मांसचक्षुषा //

Transliteration

vaiśvarūpaṃ pradhānasya pariṇāho 'sya yaḥ smṛtaḥ teṣāṃ śakyaṃ na saṃkhyātuṃ yāthātathyena kenacit gatāgataṃ manuṣyeṇa jyotiṣāṃ māṃsacakṣuṣā //

Translation

The vast, all-universal form and the expanse of Pradhāna (primordial Nature) as it is described—no one can truly enumerate those realms or luminaries with complete accuracy, for a human of limited coming-and-going experience cannot measure the lights of the heavens with merely fleshly eyes.

Word by Word

• vaiśvarūpam: universal form

• pradhānasya: of Pradhāna (primordial matter/nature)

• pariṇāhaḥ: extent, expanse, magnitude

• asya: of this

• yaḥ: which

• smṛtaḥ: is remembered/declared (in tradition)

• teṣām: of those (heavenly lights/realms)

• śakyam: possible

• na: not

• saṃkhyātum: to count/enumerate

• yāthātathyena: as it truly is, accurately

• kenacit: by anyone

• gatāgatam: going and returning, moving to and fro (limited, transient)

• manuṣyeṇa: by a human being

• jyotiṣām: of the luminaries/lights (stars, planets, radiant worlds)

• māṃsa-cakṣuṣā: with the flesh-eye, physical vision.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) addressing Vaivasvata Manu

Entities Mentioned

• Pradhāna
• Jyotiṣ (celestial luminaries)

Tags

• Cosmology
• Pradhana
• Pralaya
• Epistemology
• Matsya-Avatara discourse

FAQs

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

It frames Pradhāna—the primordial basis from which creation unfolds and into which it resolves—as cosmically vast and not fully quantifiable by ordinary human means, reinforcing the Purāṇic sense of immeasurable cosmic scale behind creation and dissolution.

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

It indirectly teaches humility and epistemic restraint: rulers and householders should act by dharma and trustworthy śāstra rather than claiming total certainty about cosmic matters that exceed sensory proof.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; the takeaway is methodological—ritual and śāstric prescriptions rely on authoritative transmission because the cosmos (e.g., celestial measures) cannot be exhaustively verified by unaided physical sight.