Shloka 44

Matsya Purana — The Cave-Sanctuary: Jewel-Lake

Devanagari script

अनास्तृतगुहाशायी कालं नयति पार्थिवः त्यक्ताहारक्रियश्चैव केवलं तोयतो नृपः न तस्य ग्लानिमायाति शरीरं च तदद्भुतम् //

Transliteration

anāstṛtaguhāśāyī kālaṃ nayati pārthivaḥ tyaktāhārakriyaścaiva kevalaṃ toyato nṛpaḥ na tasya glānimāyāti śarīraṃ ca tadadbhutam //

Translation

The king passed his time lying in a cave without any bedding. Having abandoned food and all ordinary acts, he lived on water alone; no weariness came upon him, and his body became wondrously enduring.

Word by Word

• अनास्तृत (anāstṛta): unspread, without a laid-out bed/covering

• गुहा (guhā): cave

• शायी (śāyī): lying, sleeping

• कालम् (kālam): time

• नयति (nayati): passes, spends

• पार्थिवः (pārthivaḥ): the king

• त्यक्त (tyakta): having abandoned

• आहार (āhāra): food

• क्रियः/क्रिया (kriyaḥ/kriyā): actions, customary activities/rites

• च एव (caiva): and indeed

• केवलम् (kevalam): only

• तोयतः (toyataḥ): from water, by means of water

• नृपः (nṛpaḥ): ruler/king

• न (na): not

• तस्य (tasya): to him/of him

• ग्लानिम् (glānim): weariness, exhaustion

• आयाति (āyāti): comes

• शरीरम् (śarīram): body

• च (ca): and

• तत् (tat): that

• अद्भुतम् (adbhutam): marvelous, extraordinary.

Speaker

• Likely Sūta (narrator) relaying the Matsya Purana’s account within a discourse on royal discipline and austerity; exact speaker is not explicit in this single verse.

Tags

• Rajadharma
• Tapas
• Upavasa
• Self-control
• Austerity

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya; it focuses on tapas—how austerity can make the body steady and free from fatigue, highlighting inner mastery rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

It presents an ideal of royal self-restraint: a king can undertake disciplined austerity—reducing comforts, limiting intake to water, and giving up ordinary indulgences—to strengthen resolve and rule with detachment and steadiness.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

There is no direct Vastu or temple-building rule here; the only implied practice is ascetic living in a cave without bedding, reflecting simplicity and renunciation rather than architectural prescription.