Shloka 83

Matsya Purana — Division of Bhārata-varṣa

Devanagari script

सर्वे नागा निषेवन्ते शेषवासुकितक्षकाः महामेरौ त्रयस्त्रिंशत् क्रीडन्ते यज्ञियाः शुभाः //

Transliteration

sarve nāgā niṣevante śeṣavāsukitakṣakāḥ mahāmerau trayastriṃśat krīḍante yajñiyāḥ śubhāḥ //

Translation

All the Nāgas—Śeṣa, Vāsuki, and Takṣaka—dwell in attendance there; and upon great Meru the thirty-three auspicious, sacrifice-honoured gods sport and rejoice.

Word by Word

• sarve: all

• nāgāḥ: Nāga-serpents (serpent deities)

• niṣevante: reside/dwell, attend upon

• śeṣa-vāsuki-takṣakāḥ: Śeṣa, Vāsuki, and Takṣaka (chief Nāgas)

• mahāmerau: on/in great Meru

• trayastriṃśat: the thirty-three (gods)

• krīḍante: play, sport, rejoice

• yajñiyāḥ: worthy of sacrifice/sacrificially honoured

• śubhāḥ: auspicious, beneficent

Speaker

• Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) describing the cosmic geography in the Matsya Purana’s discourse

Entities Mentioned

• Nāgas
• Śeṣa
• Vāsuki
• Takṣaka
• Mahāmeru
• Trayastriṃśat Devas

Tags

• Cosmography
• Meru
• Nāgas
• Devas
• Yajña

FAQs

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

This verse is cosmographic rather than pralaya-focused: it depicts the stable divine order around Mahāmeru, where Nāgas reside and the thirty-three gods rejoice—an image of the maintained cosmos (sthiti), not dissolution.

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

By calling the gods “yajñiyāḥ” (worthy of sacrifice), it reinforces the householder-kingly duty of sustaining dharma through yajña, offerings, and reverence to the divine order that upholds the world.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, “yajñiyāḥ” signals that these deities are proper recipients of sacrificial worship; in Vāstu/temple context, Meru functions as an archetypal cosmic axis, inspiring the symbolic “axis mundi” orientation used in Purāṇic sacred architecture.