Shloka 32

Matsya Purana — Nārāyaṇa as Haṃsa in the Cosmic Ocean: Vedic Yajña-Puruṣa and Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vi...

Devanagari script

तथैवैकार्णवजले नीहारेणावृताम्बरे अव्यग्रः क्रीडते लोके सर्वभूतविवर्जिते //

Transliteration

tathaivaikārṇavajale nīhāreṇāvṛtāmbare avyagraḥ krīḍate loke sarvabhūtavivarjite //

Translation

So too, when all is a single ocean of waters and the sky is veiled in mist, he remains untroubled, sporting in that world which is devoid of all beings.

Word by Word

• तथा एव (tathā eva): just so, likewise

• एकार्णव-जले (ekārṇava-jale): in the waters of the single ocean (primeval flood)

• नीहारेण (nīhāreṇa): by mist/fog

• आवृत-अम्बरे (āvṛta-ambare): with the atmosphere/sky covered

• अव्यग्रः (avyagraḥ): unagitated, undistracted, at ease

• क्रीडते (krīḍate): plays, sports, freely moves

• लोके (loke): in the world/state of existence

• सर्व-भूत-विवर्जिते (sarva-bhūta-vivarjite): bereft of all creatures/beings.

Speaker

• Suta (narrating the Matsya Purana’s Pralaya description; doctrinally referring to the Supreme/Narayana as the one who sports at dissolution)

Entities Mentioned

• Narayana (implied Supreme Lord)
• Pralaya (implied One-Ocean state)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Cosmology
• Narayana
• One Ocean (Ekarnava)
• Puranic dissolution

FAQs

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

It depicts pralaya as an “ekārṇava” (single cosmic ocean) with the sky obscured by mist, where all beings are absent—yet the Supreme remains calm and untouched, freely ‘sporting’ beyond dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it teaches steadiness: even when conditions collapse or become uncertain, the ideal ruler/householder should cultivate avyagra (unshaken composure) and act without panic—mirroring the divine equanimity described here.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vastu or ritual rule is stated; however, the verse supplies the cosmological backdrop (pralaya/ekārṇava) often invoked in temple theology—affirming that sacred order and the Supreme principle endure even when the manifest world dissolves.