Shloka 11

Matsya Purana — Pṛthu

Devanagari script

विष्णोर्वरेण सर्वस्य प्रभुत्वम् अगमत् पुनः निःस्वाध्यायवषट्कारं निर्धर्मं वीक्ष्य भूतलम् //

Transliteration

viṣṇorvareṇa sarvasya prabhutvam agamat punaḥ niḥsvādhyāyavaṣaṭkāraṃ nirdharmaṃ vīkṣya bhūtalam //

Translation

By the boon and grace of Viṣṇu, sovereignty over all returned once again; for He beheld the earth bereft of Vedic study and of the vaṣaṭ sacrificial rites, and fallen into adharma.

Word by Word

• विष्णोः (viṣṇoḥ): of Viṣṇu

• वरेण (vareṇa): by a boon/grace

• सर्वस्य (sarvasya): of all/over all

• प्रभुत्वम् (prabhutvam): lordship, sovereignty

• अगमत् (agamat): attained/returned

• पुनः (punaḥ): again

• निःस्वाध्याय (niḥsvādhyāya): without self-recitation/Vedic study

• वषट्कारम् (vaṣaṭkāram): the vaṣaṭ-exclamation/oblatory rite in yajña

• निर्धर्मम् (nirdharmam): without dharma, lawless

• वीक्ष्य (vīkṣya): having seen/observing

• भूतलम् (bhūtalam): the earth, terrestrial world

Speaker

• Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) describing Viṣṇu’s intervention (within the Matsya–Manu narrative frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Vishnu
• Bhutala (Earth)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Dharma
• Vedic Rites
• Yajna
• Svadhyaya

FAQs

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

It signals a pre-pralaya moral-ritual collapse: the earth is described as lacking svādhyāya (Vedic recitation) and vaṣaṭ-based sacrificial rites, prompting Viṣṇu’s restorative intervention to re-establish order.

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

It implies that social stability depends on dharma upheld through svādhyāya (study/recitation) and yajña (ritual duty). For rulers, it underscores protecting dharma; for householders, maintaining daily Vedic discipline and sacrificial obligations.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it emphasizes the vaṣaṭkāra as a hallmark of properly performed yajñas; the verse frames the absence of such rites as a symptom of adharma—an essential context for later Matsya Purana ritual and temple-service norms.