Shloka 16

Matsya Purana — The Dialogue of Kacha and Devayani: Dharma

Devanagari script

*देवयान्युवाच दैत्यैर्हतस्त्वं यद्भर्तृबुद्ध्या त्वं रक्षितो मया यदि मां धर्मकामार्थं प्रत्याख्यास्यसि धर्मतः //

Transliteration

*devayānyuvāca daityairhatastvaṃ yadbhartṛbuddhyā tvaṃ rakṣito mayā yadi māṃ dharmakāmārthaṃ pratyākhyāsyasi dharmataḥ //

Translation

Devayānī said: “You would have been slain by the Dāityas, but I protected you, taking you to be my husband. If now, in the name of dharma, you reject me—who sought dharma, love, and rightful prosperity—then you act against righteousness.”

Word by Word

• devayānī uvāca: Devayānī said

• daityaiḥ: by the Dāityas (demons)

• hataḥ: slain/killed

• tvam: you

• yat: since/because

• bhartṛ-buddhyā: with the intention/thought of (you as) a husband

• rakṣitaḥ: protected

• mayā: by me

• yadi: if

• mām: me

• dharma-kāma-artham: for dharma, desire/love, and artha (rightful welfare/prosperity)

• pratyākhyāsyasi: you will reject/repudiate

• dharmataḥ: on grounds of dharma/according to dharma (claiming righteousness).

Speaker

• Devayānī

Entities Mentioned

• Devayānī
• Dāityas

Tags

• Genealogy
• Yayati
• Marriage Dharma
• Ethics
• Dharma-Kama-Artha

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya or cosmology; it focuses on interpersonal dharma—gratitude, protection, and the ethics of marital commitment within a royal-genealogical narrative.

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

It frames householder-dharma as fidelity and moral accountability: rejecting someone after receiving protection and aid is portrayed as adharma, even if one tries to justify it as “according to dharma.”

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vastu Shastra, temple-architecture, or ritual procedure is mentioned in this verse; its significance is ethical and social, centered on dharma-kāma-artha and marital obligation.