Shloka 31

Matsya Purana — Dhruva as Cosmic Pivot: Motions of Sun–Moon–Planets

Devanagari script

तेन चाभ्राणि जायन्ते स्थानमभ्रमयं स्मृतम् तेजोभिः सर्वलोकेभ्य आदत्ते रश्मिभिर्जलम् //

Transliteration

tena cābhrāṇi jāyante sthānamabhramayaṃ smṛtam tejobhiḥ sarvalokebhya ādatte raśmibhirjalam //

Translation

From that process clouds come into being; that region is remembered as the ‘cloud-realm’. With its fiery radiance, it draws up water by its rays from all the worlds.

Word by Word

• tena: by that/thereby

• ca: and

• abhrāṇi: clouds

• jāyante: are produced/come into being

• sthānam: region/place

• abhramayam: consisting of clouds, cloud-filled (the cloud-region)

• smṛtam: is remembered/declared

• tejobhiḥ: by heat/fiery energy, by radiance

• sarva-lokebhyaḥ: from all worlds/regions

• ādatte: takes up/draws up

• raśmibhiḥ: by rays

• jalam: water

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu (contextual attribution typical to the Matsya Purana’s teaching dialogue)

Entities Mentioned

• Abhra (clouds)
• Raśmi (sun-rays/solar rays)
• Tejas (heat, radiance)

Tags

• Cosmology
• Meteorology
• Rain cycle
• Puranic science
• Creation processes

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; it explains a sustaining cosmic mechanism—the sun’s heat drawing up waters and the arising of clouds—showing how the world is maintained through cyclical natural processes.

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

By grounding rainfall in an ordered cosmic cycle, the verse supports the Purāṇic ethic that rulers and householders should protect water sources, plan agriculture around seasonal rains, and perform rain-invoking rites with humility rather than treating rainfall as random.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Architecturally, it implies the primacy of water-management (tanks, wells, drainage) as rainfall depends on a cosmic cycle; ritually, it aligns with solar and rain-related observances where the sun’s rays (raśmi) and heat (tejas) are invoked as causal forces behind rain.