Shloka 15
Matsya Purana — Ritual Bathing
वाय्वाधारा जलाधारास् तथैवाकाशगामिनः निराधाराश्च ये जीवा ये तु धर्मरतास्तथा //
vāyvādhārā jalādhārās tathaivākāśagāminaḥ nirādhārāśca ye jīvā ye tu dharmaratāstathā //
Some beings are sustained by air, some are sustained by water, and others move through the sky; and there are also beings that are without any support—so too are those living beings who are devoted to dharma.
FAQs
It frames living beings in cosmic categories (air-supported, water-supported, sky-moving, and ‘supportless’), a typical Purāṇic way of describing existence across worlds—useful in Pralaya contexts where ordinary supports (earthly bases) may be withdrawn, yet dharma remains a sustaining principle.
By implying that dharma is a being’s true ‘support’ (ādhāra), it reinforces the Matsya Purana’s ethical thrust: kings and householders should uphold dharma as the stabilizing basis of life, especially amid uncertainty and social disruption.
No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; the key takeaway is conceptual—‘support’ (ādhāra) as a governing principle—which later Vāstu discussions echo when they stress proper foundations and sustaining order, both materially (structures) and morally (dharma).