Shloka 51

Matsya Purana — Description of Atri’s Hermitage: Sacred Grove Planning

Devanagari script

कपिञ्जलान्कलविङ्कांस् तथा कुङ्कुमचूडकान् भृङ्गराजान् सीरपादान् भूलिङ्गान् डिण्डिमान् नवान् //

Transliteration

kapiñjalānkalaviṅkāṃs tathā kuṅkumacūḍakān bhṛṅgarājān sīrapādān bhūliṅgān ḍiṇḍimān navān //

Translation

“One should include/recognize” the kapiñjala birds, the kalaviṅka birds, and also the kuṅkuma‑crested birds; likewise the bhṛṅgarājas, the sīrapādas, the bhūliṅgas, and the ḍiṇḍima birds, said to be ever-new.

Word by Word

• कपिञ्जलान् (kapiñjalān): francolins/partridges (a class of game-birds)

• कलविङ्कान् (kalaviṅkān): kalaviṅka birds (cuckoo-like/song-birds, traditional poetic bird-name)

• तथा (tathā): and also

• कुङ्कुमचूडकान् (kuṅkumacūḍakān): ‘saffron/vermillion-crested’ birds (red-crested birds)

• भृङ्गराजान् (bhṛṅgarājān): bhṛṅgarāja birds (often identified with myna/kingfisher-type in traditional lists

• सीरपादान् (sīrapādān): ‘plough-footed’ birds (a traditional species-name

• भूलिङ्गान् (bhūliṅgān): bhūliṅga birds (a traditional bird-name

• डिण्डिमान् (ḍiṇḍimān): ḍiṇḍima birds (a traditional species-name in Purāṇic enumerations)

• नवान् (navān): new/fresh

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu (sectional dialogue attribution typical to Matsya Purana)

Tags

• Vastu Shastra
• Ritual Lists
• Auspicious Omens
• Purāṇic Zoology
• Matsya Purana

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya; it is an enumerative list of bird-names used in a ritual/auspicious cataloguing context rather than a cosmological passage.

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

Such lists typically function as practical guidance: knowing auspicious/inauspicious creatures and proper inclusions in rites helps a king or householder conduct ceremonies, offerings, and observances in a textually sanctioned way.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The verse itself is a technical enumeration of bird-types—material often embedded in ritual manuals or auspicious-sign sections that accompany Vastu/ritual frameworks, indicating what creatures are to be recognized, depicted, or considered in ceremonial settings.