Shloka 69

Matsya Purana — Narasimha’s Victory over Hiraṇyakaśipu and the Catalogue of Apocalyptic Omens

Devanagari script

उदयश्च महाशैल उच्छ्रितः शतयोजनम् सुवर्णवेदिकः श्रीमान् मेघपङ्क्तिनिषेवितः //

Transliteration

udayaśca mahāśaila ucchritaḥ śatayojanam suvarṇavedikaḥ śrīmān meghapaṅktiniṣevitaḥ //

Translation

And (there is) the great mountain Udaya, rising to a height of a hundred yojanas—splendid, with golden terraces/altars, and attended by ranks of clouds.

Word by Word

• udayaḥ: Udaya (name of a great mountain)

• ca: and

• mahāśailaḥ: great mountain

• ucchritaḥ: raised, towering

• śata-yojanam: (to the measure of) a hundred yojanas

• suvarṇa-vedikaḥ: having golden vedikās (terraces/altars/platforms)

• śrīmān: splendid, illustrious, endowed with beauty

• megha-paṅkti-niṣevitaḥ: frequented/served by rows (paṅkti) of clouds (megha)

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the Matsya Purana’s cosmographic account, in the flow of discourse to the assembled sages)

Entities Mentioned

• Udaya (Mahāśaila)
• Megha (clouds)
• Yojana (measure)

Tags

• Sacred geography
• Cosmography
• Mountains
• Puranic measurements
• Bhuvana-kosha

FAQs

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

This verse is not describing pralaya; it belongs to the cosmographic mapping of the world, portraying a divine mountain (Udaya) with symbolic grandeur and precise Puranic measurement.

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

Indirectly, it supports the Matsya Purana’s broader dharmic worldview by presenting a structured cosmos; kings and householders are expected to align ritual life and governance with this ordered sacred geography (e.g., pilgrimage, ritual orientation, and reverence for tīrthas and mountains).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The phrase suvarṇa-vedikā (“golden platforms/altars/terraces”) echoes Vedic-Puranic ritual vocabulary (vedikā as a raised sacred platform) and also resonates with temple/altar imagery—suggesting sanctified, elevated spaces associated with divine presence.