Shloka 24

Matsya Purana — Cosmography of Jambūdvīpa: Varṣas

Devanagari script

तस्माद्द्वादशभागेन हेमकूटो ऽपि हीयते हिमवान्विंशभागेन तस्मादेव प्रहीयते अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि हेमकूटो महागिरिः //

Transliteration

tasmāddvādaśabhāgena hemakūṭo 'pi hīyate himavānviṃśabhāgena tasmādeva prahīyate aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi hemakūṭo mahāgiriḥ //

Translation

Therefore, Hemakūṭa too is diminished by one-twelfth according to that measure; and Himavān, by that very standard, is diminished by one-twentieth. Hemakūṭa—the great mountain—has an extent of eighty-eight thousand.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore/from that

• dvādaśa-bhāgena: by a twelfth part (1/12)

• hemakūṭaḥ: Hemakūṭa (name of a mountain range)

• api: also/even

• hīyate: is diminished/is reduced

• himavān: Himavān (the Himalaya)

• viṃśa-bhāgena: by a twentieth part (1/20)

• tasmād eva: from that very (measure/standard)

• prahīyate: is further reduced/is diminished

• aṣṭāśīti-sahasrāṇi: eighty-eight thousand

• mahā-giriḥ: great mountain

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in discourse to Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Hemakūṭa
• Himavān (Himalaya)

Tags

• Bhuvanakosha
• Sacred Geography
• Jambudvipa
• Puranic Cosmology
• Mountain Measurements

FAQs

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

This verse is not a Pralaya passage; it belongs to cosmographical description, giving proportional rules for how mountain extents are reduced relative to a prior standard.

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

Directly it does not prescribe dharma; indirectly, such cosmographic knowledge frames pilgrimage, boundary concepts, and the Purāṇic worldview a righteous king is expected to uphold and patronize.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated explicitly; the technical significance is numerical proportion (fractions like 1/12 and 1/20), a style of measurement also echoed in Purāṇic planning and sacred mapping traditions.