Shloka 41

Matsya Purana — The Attendant Hosts of the Sun and Moon: Monthly Gaṇas

Devanagari script

हरिर् हरिद्भिर् ह्रियते तुरंगमैः पिबत्यथापो हरिभिः सहस्रधा पुनः प्रमुञ्चत्यथ ताश्च यो हरिः स मुह्यमानो हरिभिस्तुरंगमैः //

Transliteration

harir haridbhir hriyate turaṃgamaiḥ pibatyathāpo haribhiḥ sahasradhā punaḥ pramuñcatyatha tāśca yo hariḥ sa muhyamāno haribhisturaṃgamaiḥ //

Translation

Hari is carried by tawny horses; then, by those same tawny ones, he drinks up the waters in a thousand streams, and again releases them. That Hari—bewildered amid those tawny horses—thus appears in this ceaseless taking and letting-go.

Word by Word

• हरिः (hariḥ): Hari/Vishnu

• हरिद्भिः (haridbhiḥ): by tawny ones, by yellowish beings (also read as ‘by tawny horses’)

• ह्रियते (hriyate): is carried away, is borne along

• तुरंगमैः (turaṃgamaiḥ): by horses

• पिबति (pibati): drinks, absorbs

• अथ (atha): then

• आपः (āpaḥ): waters

• सहस्रधा (sahasradhā): in a thousand ways/streams

• पुनः (punaḥ): again

• प्रमुञ्चति (pramuñcati): releases, lets forth

• ताः (tāḥ): those (waters)

• च (ca): and

• यः (yaḥ): who

• मुह्यमानः (muhyamānaḥ): becoming bewildered, whirled/confused

• हरिभिः (haribhiḥ): by the tawny ones

• तुरंगमैः (turaṃgamaiḥ): by horses

Speaker

• Likely Lord Matsya (Vishnu) speaking to Vaivasvata Manu, using pralaya imagery and paradoxical simile

Entities Mentioned

• Hari (Vishnu)
• Pralaya (the waters)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Matsya-Avatara
• Cosmic Waters
• Purana Simile
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It presents pralaya as a cyclical divine action: the waters are absorbed and released again, implying dissolution and re-manifestation under Hari’s governance.

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

Indirectly, it teaches steadiness amid upheaval: just as cosmic order moves through taking and releasing, a ruler or householder should act without confusion during crises, maintaining dharma through cycles of loss and restoration.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vastu/ritual rule appears; the verse is primarily cosmological and symbolic, useful in ritual reading as a meditation on Vishnu’s control over the waters and cosmic cycles.