Shloka 16

Matsya Purana — Dialogue of Aṣṭaka and Yayāti: Exhaustion of Merit

Devanagari script

घ्राणेन गन्धं जिह्वयाथो रसं च त्वचा स्पर्शं मनसा देवभावम् इत्यष्टकेहोपचितं हि विद्धि महात्मनः प्राणभृतः शरीरे //

Transliteration

ghrāṇena gandhaṃ jihvayātho rasaṃ ca tvacā sparśaṃ manasā devabhāvam ityaṣṭakehopacitaṃ hi viddhi mahātmanaḥ prāṇabhṛtaḥ śarīre //

Translation

Know, O great-souled one, that within the body of the living being—the bearer of prāṇa—there is an eightfold accumulation: smell through the nose, taste through the tongue, touch through the skin, and the divine disposition (higher awareness) through the mind.

Word by Word

• ghrāṇena: by the nose/through smelling

• gandham: smell, fragrance

• jihvayā: by the tongue

• atho: and then/also

• rasam: taste, sapor

• tvacā: by the skin

• sparśam: touch, tactile sensation

• manasā: by the mind

• devabhāvam: divine state/disposition, higher awareness

• iti: thus

• aṣṭakena: by/into an eightfold set

• upacitam: accumulated, constituted

• hi: indeed

• viddhi: know, understand

• mahātmanaḥ: O great-souled one

• prāṇabhṛtaḥ: of the prāṇa-bearing (living being)

• śarīre: in the body

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu

Entities Mentioned

• Matsya
• Manu
• Prāṇa
• Manas

Tags

• Sarga
• Indriyas
• Prāṇa
• Mind
• Embodiment

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it frames embodied life as a structured, knowable system of faculties (senses and mind); such analysis supports Purāṇic cosmology where bodies arise from elemental and functional principles and dissolve back into them during pralaya.

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

By identifying how perception and mind operate, the verse underlines self-mastery: a king or householder should govern the senses (smell, taste, touch) and refine the mind toward devabhāva (higher, sattvic disposition) to act with dharma rather than impulse.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or temple-rule instruction appears here; ritually, it supports the idea that purification and worship must address the senses and mind—external offerings engage smell/taste/touch, while mantra and contemplation elevate the mind toward devabhāva.