Shloka 11

Matsya Purana — Cosmography of Śākadvīpa and Successive Dvīpas: Mountains

Devanagari script

नारदो नाम चैवोक्तो दुर्गशैलो महाचितः तत्राचलौ समुत्पन्नौ पूर्वं नारदपर्वतौ //

Transliteration

nārado nāma caivokto durgaśailo mahācitaḥ tatrācalau samutpannau pūrvaṃ nāradaparvatau //

Translation

O great-minded one, it is said that there was a mountain named Nārada and another called Durgaśaila. In that very place, two peaks first arose, formerly known as the twin Nārada mountains.

Word by Word

• नारदः (nāradaḥ): Nārada (name)

• नाम (nāma): by name / as a name

• च (ca): and

• एव (eva): indeed

• उक्तः (uktaḥ): is said / was called

• दुर्गशैलः (durgaśailaḥ): Durgaśaila (the ‘fortress-like’ mountain)

• महाचितः (mahācitaḥ): O great-minded one (vocative)

• तत्र (tatra): there

• अचलौ (acalau): two mountains / two immovable ones

• समुत्पन्नौ (samutpannau): arose / came into being

• पूर्वम् (pūrvam): formerly / at first

• नारदपर्वतौ (nāradaparvatau): the two Nārada mountains (dual).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) speaking to Vaivasvata Manu (contextual attribution within Matsya Purana’s dialogue frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Narada
• Durgaśaila
• Nāradaparvatau (twin Nārada mountains)

Tags

• Tirtha
• Sacred geography
• Mountain origins
• Puranic etymology
• Matsya Purana

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; instead, it preserves a sacred-geography tradition about how specific mountains (Nārada and Durgaśaila) were named and how twin peaks were said to have arisen at a particular site.

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

Indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic duty of rulers and householders to honor tīrthas and sacred landscapes—maintaining pilgrimage routes, protecting holy sites, and sponsoring worship connected to renowned mountains and their legends.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The verse is primarily toponymic (naming) and geographic; ritually, such named mountains often function as tīrthas where vows, worship, and donations are prescribed in surrounding passages, and architecturally they can be focal points for hill-temples and shrine placement in Puranic tradition.