Shloka 45

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

Devanagari script

कल्पादौ सम्प्रयुक्ताश्च वहन्त्याभूतसंप्लवम् आवृतो वालखिल्यैश्च भ्रमते रात्र्यहानि तु //

Transliteration

kalpādau samprayuktāśca vahantyābhūtasaṃplavam āvṛto vālakhilyaiśca bhramate rātryahāni tu //

Translation

At the beginning of the kalpa, once yoked to their appointed task, they bear (the world onward) until the pralaya, the deluge that reaches even to the elements. Encompassed by the Vālakhilya sages, it continues to move through nights and days.

Word by Word

• कल्पादौ (kalpādau): at the beginning of a kalpa/aeon

• सम्प्रयुक्ताः (samprayuktāḥ): harnessed, set in motion, duly employed

• च (ca): and

• वहन्ति (vahanti): they carry, bear along, convey

• आभूतसंप्लवम् (ābhūta-saṃplavam): the inundation/deluge extending up to the elements (mahābhūtas), cosmic pralaya

• आवृतः (āvṛtaḥ): surrounded, encompassed

• वालखिल्यैः (vālakhilyaiḥ): by the Vālakhilya sages (a class of subtle ascetics)

• च (ca): and

• भ्रमते (bhramate): moves, revolves, wanders (in its course)

• रात्र्यहानि (rātry-ahāni): nights and days

• तु (tu): indeed, moreover.

Speaker

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

Entities Mentioned

• Vālakhilyas
• Kalpa
• Pralaya (Ābhūta-saṃplava)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Cosmic Time
• Kalpa
• Sages
• Matsya-Avatara

FAQs

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

It frames pralaya as an Ābhūta-saṃplava—an all-engulfing deluge reaching the level of the elements—and places it within cyclic time: activity proceeds from the start of a kalpa until that cosmic dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it teaches that worldly order runs under a larger cosmic schedule (kalpa, day and night). For a king or householder, this supports the Purāṇic ethic of acting steadily and responsibly within time’s cycles, without clinging to permanence.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or temple rule appears in this verse; its ritual takeaway is cosmological—ritual life is aligned to sacred time (days/nights, kalpa cycles) and acknowledges pralaya as the horizon of worldly forms.