Shloka 16

Matsya Purana — The Array of the Gods: Description of the Vaiṣṇava Host and the Lokapālas

Devanagari script

यक्षराक्षससैन्येन गुह्यकानां गणैरपि युक्तश्च शङ्खपद्माभ्यां निधीनामधिपः प्रभुः //

Transliteration

yakṣarākṣasasainyena guhyakānāṃ gaṇairapi yuktaśca śaṅkhapadmābhyāṃ nidhīnāmadhipaḥ prabhuḥ //

Translation

The Lord—sovereign over the treasures (Nidhis)—is attended by an army of Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, and also by hosts of Guhyakas; and he is accompanied by Śaṅkha and Padma (the two chief Nidhis).

Word by Word

• yakṣa: Yaksha (a nature-guardian spirit)

• rākṣasa: Rakshasa (a fierce being)

• sainyena: with an army/host

• guhyakānām: of the Guhyakas (Kubera’s attendants)

• gaṇaiḥ: with groups/companies

• api: also

• yuktaḥ: joined/attended/accompanied

• ca: and

• śaṅkha-padmābhyām: by Shankha and Padma (two Nidhis)

• nidhīnām: of treasures/treasure-deities

• adhipaḥ: lord/overlord

• prabhuḥ: mighty lord/sovereign

Speaker

• Sūta (narratorial voice transmitting the Purāṇic account)

Entities Mentioned

• Yakṣas
• Rākṣasas
• Guhyakas
• Śaṅkha (Nidhi)
• Padma (Nidhi)
• Nidhis (treasures)

Tags

• Iconography
• Kubera
• Nidhis
• Yakshas
• Puranic cosmology

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it focuses on the cosmic/social ordering of divine beings—especially the wealth-treasures (Nidhis) and their lord—by describing his attendants and retinue.

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

By portraying the “lord of treasures” as properly attended and ordered, the verse implicitly supports Purāṇic ethics of wealth: prosperity should be governed, protected, and administered through disciplined guardianship—an ideal mirrored in a king’s treasury management and a householder’s regulated acquisition and safeguarding of resources.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The verse supplies iconographic context for wealth-deity worship: in temple imagery or ritual visualization, Kubera/the treasure-lord is shown with Yakṣa-Guhyaka attendants and with Śaṅkha and Padma Nidhis, guiding how such figures may be represented in shrine programs and related wealth-invoking rites.