Shloka 21

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

Devanagari script

सुखमायुश्च रूपं च त्रिषु द्वीपेषु सर्वशः अधमोत्तमौ न तेष्वास्तां तुल्यास्ते वीर्यरूपतः //

Transliteration

sukhamāyuśca rūpaṃ ca triṣu dvīpeṣu sarvaśaḥ adhamottamau na teṣvāstāṃ tulyāste vīryarūpataḥ //

Translation

In those three islands, happiness, lifespan, and beauty are found everywhere. Among them there is no distinction of lowest and highest; they are all alike in vigor and in form.

Word by Word

• सुखम्: happiness

• आयुः: lifespan, longevity

• च: and

• रूपम्: beauty, form

• त्रिषु: in the three

• द्वीपेषु: islands/continents

• सर्वशः: everywhere, universally

• अधम-उत्तमौ: the lowest and the highest (social/qualitative extremes)

• न: not

• तेषु: among them/in them

• आस्ताम्: exist/are present

• तुल्याः: equal, alike

• ते: they

• वीर्य-रूपतः: in terms of vigor and appearance

Speaker

• Suta (Purana narrator) recounting the cosmographic description (as taught in the Matsya Purana’s discourse tradition)

Entities Mentioned

• Dvipas (three islands/continents)

Tags

• Cosmography
• Dvipas
• Human conditions
• Equality
• Bhugola

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it belongs to cosmographic description, stating that in certain Dvipas life is uniformly happy, long-lived, and beautiful without extremes of superiority or inferiority.

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

Indirectly, it presents an ideal social condition—no “lowest” or “highest”—which a king aims to approximate through just governance and dharmic order so that prosperity, health, and well-being become widespread.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vastu or ritual rule is stated; the verse functions as a descriptive benchmark of an ideal realm, often used in Purana literature to contrast with human society and motivate dharmic living.