Shloka 102

Matsya Purana — Solar–Lunar Motions

Devanagari script

एवमावर्तमानास्ते वर्तन्त्याभूतसंप्लवम् अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि ऋषीणां गृहमेधिनाम् //

Transliteration

evamāvartamānāste vartantyābhūtasaṃplavam aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi ṛṣīṇāṃ gṛhamedhinām //

Translation

Thus, continuing in this cycle, they endure until the coming of the great inundation (pralaya): eighty-eight thousand (lineages) of seer-householders—ṛṣis living the gṛhastha life.

Word by Word

• evam: thus

• āvartamānāḥ: repeatedly turning/continuing in recurrence (in cyclical succession)

• te: they

• vartanti: continue, subsist, endure

• ā-bhūta-saṃplavam: until the occurrence of the (cosmic) deluge/inundation

• aṣṭāśīti-sahasrāṇi: eighty-eight thousand

• ṛṣīṇām: of the rishis/seers

• gṛhamedhinām: of householders (those maintaining the sacred fires and domestic rites).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) speaking to Vaivasvata Manu (contextual attribution within the Matsya–Manu dialogue)

Entities Mentioned

• Rishis
• Grihamedhins (householder seers)
• Pralaya (Saṃplava)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Manvantara
• Rishi-lineages
• Grihastha-dharma
• Cosmic cycles

FAQs

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

It frames pralaya as an inevitable cosmic event (“until the deluge”), implying that even long-standing rishi-householder successions persist only up to the saṃplava, after which dissolution interrupts worldly continuity.

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

By highlighting “ṛṣīṇāṃ gṛhamedhinām,” it elevates the householder mode as compatible with rishihood—suggesting that sustaining domestic ritual order (gṛhastha discipline) is a recognized pillar of dharma that endures across ages until pralaya.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or temple-building rule is stated; the ritual takeaway is the prominence of gṛhamedhins—householders who maintain sacred fires and rites—whose continuity is counted and acknowledged as part of cosmic order.