Shloka 10

Matsya Purana — Ritual Procedure and Merit of Donating the Ratnācala

Devanagari script

यावत्कल्पशतं साग्रं वसेच्चेह नराधिप रूपारोग्यगुणोपेतः सप्तद्वीपाधिपो भवेत् //

Transliteration

yāvatkalpaśataṃ sāgraṃ vasecceha narādhipa rūpārogyaguṇopetaḥ saptadvīpādhipo bhavet //

Translation

O king, he who dwells here for a full hundred kalpas (and more) becomes endowed with beauty, health, and excellence of character, and attains sovereignty over the seven continents (saptadvīpas).

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as

• kalpa-śatam: a hundred kalpas

• sāgram: with an additional measure, ‘and more’

• vase(t): may dwell/lives

• iha/ceha: here (in this place/condition being described)

• nara-adhipa: O ruler of men, O king

• rūpa: beauty, comeliness

• ārogya: health, freedom from disease

• guṇa-upetaḥ: endowed with virtues/excellences

• sapta-dvīpa: the seven continents/island-continents of the Purāṇic world

• adhipaḥ: lord, sovereign

• bhavet: becomes

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) addressing Vaivasvata Manu (as narādhipa, ‘king’)

Entities Mentioned

• Saptadvīpa

Tags

• Rājadharma
• Dāna-phala
• Puṇya
• Phalaśruti
• Purāṇic cosmology

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it uses Purāṇic cosmic time (kalpa) to express the immense duration of merit’s reward—long residence and exalted sovereignty.

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

It frames righteous conduct (commonly in this chapter’s context: dharma and meritorious acts such as dāna) as producing ideal royal qualities—health, beauty, virtue—and culminating in universal-style kingship over the saptadvīpas.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or iconographic rule appears in this line; it functions as a phalaśruti (result-statement), typical of ritual/dāna sections, promising cosmic-scale rewards for the prescribed observance.