Shloka 19

Matsya Purana — Rites for Consecrating and Celebrating Trees

Devanagari script

भूतान्भव्यांश्च मनुजांस् तारयेद्द्रुमसंमितान् परमां सिद्धिमाप्नोति पुनरावृत्तिदुर्लभाम् //

Transliteration

bhūtānbhavyāṃśca manujāṃs tārayeddrumasaṃmitān paramāṃ siddhimāpnoti punarāvṛttidurlabhām //

Translation

Whoever helps ferry across to safety and higher good human beings—those of the past and those yet to come—numbering as many as trees, attains the supreme spiritual perfection, one that is hard to regain once the cycle of return begins again.

Word by Word

• bhūtān: those who have been (past beings/people)

• bhavyān: those who will be (future beings/people)

• ca: and

• manujān: human beings

• tārayet: should cause to cross over/save/deliver

• druma-saṁmitān: measured by (i.e., as numerous as) trees

• paramām: supreme/highest

• siddhim: accomplishment/perfection (spiritual attainment)

• āpnoti: attains

• punar-āvṛtti: repeated return (rebirth/recurrence)

• durlabhām: difficult to obtain/rare

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (as Vishnu) addressing Vaivasvata Manu

Entities Mentioned

• Manu
• Matsya (implied speaker)
• punarāvṛtti (rebirth/return)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Moksha
• Punya
• Dharma
• Deliverance

FAQs

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

It frames Pralaya-era teaching as a liberation doctrine: the highest fruit is not merely survival through dissolution, but attaining a state beyond punarāvṛtti (return/rebirth) through compassionate deliverance of others.

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

It elevates social protection into a soteriological duty: a ruler or householder who ‘causes many to cross over’—by protection, charity, guidance, or rescue—earns supreme merit culminating in rare spiritual perfection.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vastu/temple rule appears; the operative ritual idea is “tāraṇa” (deliverance), a merit-bearing act often linked in Purāṇic ethics with dāna, protection, and guidance rather than construction.