Shloka 33

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

Devanagari script

स मुनिर्विस्मयाविष्टः कौतूहलसमन्वितः बालमादित्यसंकाशं नाशक्नोदभिवीक्षितुम् //

Transliteration

sa munirvismayāviṣṭaḥ kautūhalasamanvitaḥ bālamādityasaṃkāśaṃ nāśaknodabhivīkṣitum //

Translation

That sage, overwhelmed with amazement and filled with curiosity, could not bear to look directly at the child, who shone with the splendor of the sun.

Word by Word

• स (sa): he

• मुनिः (muniḥ): the sage

• विस्मय-आविष्टः (vismayāviṣṭaḥ): seized/overcome by wonder

• कौतूहल-समन्वितः (kautūhalasamanvitaḥ): endowed with curiosity

• बालम् (bālam): the child

• आदित्य-संकाशम् (āditya-saṃkāśam): having the appearance/brightness of the sun

• न अशक्नोत् (na aśaknot): was not able

• अभिवीक्षितुम् (abhivīkṣitum): to look at directly / to behold face-to-face.

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic narration, likely Sūta conveying the scene of a sage beholding a divine child)

Entities Mentioned

• Muni (sage)
• Divine child (bāla)
• Āditya (Sun)

Tags

• Divine radiance
• Darśana
• Matsya Purana narrative
• Wonder
• Theophany

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya directly; it highlights a theophany—divine radiance so intense that a sage cannot gaze upon it—often used in the Matsya Purana to signal the presence of a transcendent, world-ordering power behind cosmic events like creation and dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it models humility and reverence: even a learned sage is overwhelmed before divinity. In the Matsya Purana’s ethical frame, kings and householders are urged to cultivate devotion, restraint of the senses, and respectful conduct in sacred encounters (darśana), rather than pride in status or learning.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or temple-building rule appears here; ritually, the key idea is darśana—approaching the divine presence—where intense “tejas” (radiance) signifies sanctity, supporting later ritual/temple contexts in the Matsya Purana that treat brilliance as a marker of consecrated power.