Shloka 25

Matsya Purana — Purūravas Witnesses the Sports of Apsarases and Gandharvas; Attains the Grace...

Devanagari script

काचित् सत्वरिता दूत्या भूषणानां विपर्ययम् कुर्वाणा नैव बुबुधे मन्मथाविष्टचेतना //

Transliteration

kācit satvaritā dūtyā bhūṣaṇānāṃ viparyayam kurvāṇā naiva bubudhe manmathāviṣṭacetanā //

Translation

One woman, hurried along by her role as a go-between, absentmindedly put her ornaments on the wrong way round; her mind, seized by Manmatha, the god of love, did not notice it at all.

Word by Word

• kācit: a certain (woman)

• satvaritā: hastened, in great hurry

• dūtyā: by the duty/office of a messenger (go-between)

• bhūṣaṇānām: of ornaments, jewelry

• viparyayam: reversal, disorder, wrong arrangement

• kurvāṇā: doing, making

• na eva: not at all

• bubudhe: she perceived/realized

• manmatha-āviṣṭa-cetanā: whose mind was possessed/overpowered by Manmatha (Cupid)

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) or the ongoing narrative voice of the Purāṇa (contextual storyteller)

Entities Mentioned

• Manmatha

Tags

• Kama
• Duti
• Narrative
• Human psychology
• Ethics

FAQs

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

Nothing directly—this verse is a human-behavior vignette showing how desire (kāma) can overpower awareness, not a cosmological statement about pralaya.

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

It warns that passion and haste can cloud judgment; for householders it implies self-control and mindfulness, and for rulers it suggests guarding decisions from the distortions of desire and impulsive action.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is taught here; the “ornaments in disorder” functions as a narrative sign of mental agitation under Kāma.