Shloka 21
Matsya Purana — Pṛthu
पात्रे मायाम् अभूद् वत्सः प्राह्लादिस् तु विरोचनः दोग्धा द्विमूर्धा तत्रासीन् माया येन प्रवर्तिता //
pātre māyām abhūd vatsaḥ prāhlādis tu virocanaḥ dogdhā dvimūrdhā tatrāsīn māyā yena pravartitā //
In the vessel, Māyā became the calf; and Virocana, son of Prahlāda, was counted as the milker. There, the two-headed one sat as the cowherd—by whom this Māyā was set in motion.
FAQs
It frames Māyā as an operative cosmic principle—“set in motion” by an agent—suggesting that manifest experience arises through Māyā’s activation rather than being ultimate reality itself; it is not a direct flood/Pralaya verse, but a metaphysical building-block often used to explain cosmic appearance and reappearance.
Indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic ethic that rulers and householders should govern with discernment (viveka), recognizing Māyā’s power to mislead; this underpins dharma-based decision-making rather than rule driven by deception, pride, or mere display.
No explicit Vāstu or temple rule is stated; however, the “vessel/recipient (pātra)” imagery is often echoed in ritual language where the qualified receptacle (pātra) is essential—an idea later mirrored in Matsya Purana ritual/installation contexts (proper vessel, proper officiant, proper procedure).