Shloka 37

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

Devanagari script

अरिघ्नममरादीनां चक्रं गृह्य गदाधरः अर्कं नागादिवोद्यन्तम् उद्यम्योत्तमतेजसा //

Transliteration

arighnamamarādīnāṃ cakraṃ gṛhya gadādharaḥ arkaṃ nāgādivodyantam udyamyottamatejasā //

Translation

The Bearer of the mace, taking up the discus—the foe-slaying weapon of the immortals—raised it aloft with supreme splendor, blazing like the sun as it rose above the mountains.

Word by Word

• arighnam: destroyer of enemies

• amarādīnām: of the immortals (gods) and the like

• cakram: the discus (Sudarśana)

• gṛhya: having taken/holding

• gadādharaḥ: the mace-bearer (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)

• arkam: the sun (sunlike radiance)

• nāga-ādi-vat: like a mountain and the like (i.e., above/over mountains)

• udyantam: rising/ascending

• udyamya: having lifted/raised

• uttama-tejasā: with highest brilliance/majestic radiance

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the deity in an iconographic/epic register within the Matsya Purana’s discourse

Entities Mentioned

• Gadādhara (Vishnu)
• Cakra (Sudarshana)
• Amaras (Devas)
• Arka (Sun)

Tags

• Iconography
• Vishnu
• Divine Weapons
• Pratima Lakshana
• Radiance

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it emphasizes divine iconography—Vishnu’s discus as a cosmic, enemy-destroying power, expressed through sunlike radiance rather than dissolution imagery.

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

By portraying the cakra as ‘enemy-slaying’ and divinely sanctioned, the verse supports the Purāṇic ideal that rulers protect dharma with disciplined power—strength guided by sacred order, not personal wrath.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The verse functions as a pratīka (iconographic cue): in temple images/ritual visualization, Vishnu (Gadādhara) should be shown holding/raising the cakra, described with sunlike brilliance—useful for pratima design and dhyāna (meditative) installation rites.