Shloka 15

Matsya Purana — Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā’s Quarrel

Devanagari script

नाहुषिः प्रेक्षमाणो हि स निपाने गतोदके ददर्श कन्यां तां तत्र दीप्तामग्निशिखाम् इव //

Transliteration

nāhuṣiḥ prekṣamāṇo hi sa nipāne gatodake dadarśa kanyāṃ tāṃ tatra dīptāmagniśikhām iva //

Translation

As Nahusha (Yayāti) looked about, having gone down into the water at the watering-place, he saw that maiden there—radiant like a blazing tongue of fire.

Word by Word

• नाहुषिः (nāhuṣiḥ): Nahusha

• प्रेक्षमाणः (prekṣamāṇaḥ): looking, observing

• हि (hi): indeed

• स (sa): he

• निपाने (nipāne): at the watering-place, water-reservoir/ghāṭa

• गत-उदके (gata-udake): having gone into the water / gone down to the water

• ददर्श (dadarśa): saw

• कन्याम् (kanyām): a maiden

• ताम् (tām): her/that

• तत्र (tatra): there

• दीप्ताम् (dīptām): shining, radiant

• अग्नि-शिखाम् (agni-śikhām): flame, tongue of fire

• इव (iva): like, as if.

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta recounting to sages)

Entities Mentioned

• Nahusha
• kanyā (the maiden)

Tags

• Dynasties
• Ancient Indian genealogy
• Royal legends
• Encounter motif
• Puranic narrative

FAQs

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

Nothing directly: the verse is narrative, describing Nahusha’s sight of a radiant maiden at a watering-place, not cosmology or pralaya.

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

Indirectly, it frames a royal-legend setting where perception, desire, and conduct can become moral turning-points—common in Matsya Purana’s dynastic stories that later illustrate restraint and dharma.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Only a setting is given—“nipāna,” a watering-place/ghāṭa—useful as cultural context, but no explicit Vastu Shastra or ritual procedure is taught in this verse.