Shloka 84

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

Devanagari script

यक्षराक्षसगन्धर्वैर् नित्यं सेवितकंदरः हेमगर्भो महाशैलस् तथा हेमसखो गिरिः //

Transliteration

yakṣarākṣasagandharvair nityaṃ sevitakaṃdaraḥ hemagarbho mahāśailas tathā hemasakho giriḥ //

Translation

Its caves are constantly frequented by Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Gandharvas. There is also the great mountain called Hemagarbha (“Golden-womb”), and likewise the peak named Hemasakha (“Companion of Gold”).

Word by Word

• यक्ष (yakṣa): nature-spirit/guardian being

• राक्षस (rākṣasa): demon/ogre-like being

• गन्धर्व (gandharva): celestial minstrel

• नित्यं (nityaṃ): always/constantly

• सेवित (sevita): frequented/attended

• कंदर (kandara): cave/grotto

• हेमगर्भ (hemagarbha): ‘golden-womb’ (name of a mountain)

• महाशैल (mahāśaila): great mountain

• तथा (tathā): also/likewise

• हेमसख (hemasakha): ‘companion of gold’ (name of a mountain/peak)

• गिरि (giriḥ): mountain

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) reporting the Matsya Purana’s description in a continuous topographical catalogue (speaker not explicitly marked in this single verse)

Entities Mentioned

• Yakshas
• Rakshasas
• Gandharvas
• Hemagarbha (mountain)
• Hemasakha (mountain)

Tags

• Sacred Geography
• Mountains
• Yakshas
• Gandharvas
• Puranic Cosmography

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya; it belongs to a geographic catalogue, emphasizing how certain mountains and their caves are portrayed as perpetually inhabited by semi-divine and supernatural beings.

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

Indirectly, such passages frame the sacred landscape a king may protect and a householder may honor through pilgrimage and reverence—acknowledging that remote mountains are imagined as domains of powerful beings and thus approached with restraint and ritual respect.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vastu or temple-building rule is stated; the ritual takeaway is that caves and mountains are treated as charged sacred spaces (abodes of Yakshas/Gandharvas), supporting pilgrimage culture and the sanctification of natural sites in Puranic practice.