Shloka 15

Matsya Purana — Description of Gomedaka and Puṣkara Dvīpas; the Lokāloka Boundary; Ocean Tide...

Devanagari script

परिमण्डलसहस्राणि विस्तीर्णः सप्तविंशतिः ऊर्ध्वं स वै चतुर्विंशद्योजनानां महाबलः //

Transliteration

parimaṇḍalasahasrāṇi vistīrṇaḥ saptaviṃśatiḥ ūrdhvaṃ sa vai caturviṃśadyojanānāṃ mahābalaḥ //

Translation

It extends across thousands of circular measures; its breadth is twenty-seven yojanas, and upward it rises to twenty-four yojanas—mighty in its vast proportions.

Word by Word

• परिमण्डल (parimaṇḍala): circular measure/encircling dimension

• सहस्राणि (sahasrāṇi): thousands

• विस्तीर्णः (vistīrṇaḥ): spread out/extended

• सप्तविंशतिः (saptaviṃśatiḥ): twenty-seven

• ऊर्ध्वम् (ūrdhvam): upward/in height

• सः (saḥ): it/that (structure or domain described)

• वै (vai): indeed

• चतुर्विंशत् (caturviṃśat): twenty-four

• योजनानाम् (yojanānām): of yojanas (a long-distance unit)

• महाबलः (mahābalaḥ): very mighty/immensely powerful (i.e., vast, formidable)

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in discourse to Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Matsya
• Manu

Tags

• Vastu Shastra
• Measurements
• Temple Architecture
• Proportions
• Sacred Geometry

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it belongs to a technical Vastu/pramāṇa context, emphasizing vast spatial dimensions (breadth and height) rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

By prescribing large-scale, orderly proportions, it supports the king’s duty to commission properly measured public/ritual structures and the householder’s duty to follow śāstric standards in sacred construction and patronage.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

It gives canonical proportions in yojanas—breadth (27) and height (24)—indicating a standardized, scripture-backed scale used to define the grandeur and correctness of a major sacred or cosmographic structure.