Shloka 8

Matsya Purana — Origin of Soma

Devanagari script

आशास्तं मुमुचुर्गर्भम् अशक्ता धारणे ततः समादायाथ तं गर्भम् एकीकृत्य चतुर्मुखः //

Transliteration

āśāstaṃ mumucurgarbham aśaktā dhāraṇe tataḥ samādāyātha taṃ garbham ekīkṛtya caturmukhaḥ //

Translation

Unable to sustain the embryo, they released that consecrated foetus; thereafter Caturmukha (four-faced Brahmā), taking up that embryo, unified it into a single whole.

Word by Word

• आशास्तम् (āśāstam): consecrated/charged by a benediction, ordained

• मुमुचुः (mumucuḥ): they released/let go

• गर्भम् (garbham): embryo/foetus, seed of creation

• अशक्ताः (aśaktāḥ): unable, powerless

• धारणे (dhāraṇe): in bearing/sustaining

• ततः (tataḥ): then/thereupon

• समादाय (samādāya): having taken up/collected

• अथ (atha): then

• तम् (tam): that

• एकीकृत्य (ekīkṛtya): having made one, having consolidated/unified

• चतुर्मुखः (caturmukhaḥ): the four-faced one, Brahmā

Speaker

• Likely Sūta (narrator) recounting the cosmogenic/genealogical episode within Matsya Purāṇa’s early chapters

Entities Mentioned

• Brahma (Caturmukha)
• Garbha (embryo/seed of creation)

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmogony
• Brahma
• Genealogy
• Puranic narrative

FAQs

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

It emphasizes creation through a “garbha” (cosmic seed/embryo): when others cannot sustain it, Brahmā gathers and consolidates it, reflecting an ordered reconstitution of life after instability (a common Purāṇic creation motif often paired with pralaya–recreation cycles).

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

By analogy, it highlights dhāraṇa (sustaining responsibility): when a burden cannot be borne, a competent authority must stabilize and integrate what is scattered—an ethical model for rulers/householders to preserve order, lineage, and social continuity.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

While not explicitly about Vāstu, the key idea is ekīkaraṇa (consolidation into a unified form), a principle echoed in ritual and icon/structure formation: scattered elements are ritually “made one” into a stable, consecrated whole.