Shloka 8

Matsya Purana — The Glory of Prayaga: Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

षष्टिर्धनुःसहस्राणि यानि रक्षन्ति जाह्नवीम् यमुनां रक्षति सदा सविता सप्तवाहनः //

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭirdhanuḥsahasrāṇi yāni rakṣanti jāhnavīm yamunāṃ rakṣati sadā savitā saptavāhanaḥ //

Translation

Sixty thousand celestial archers guard the river Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā); and the Sun-god, the seven-horsed Savitṛ, ever protects the Yamunā.

Word by Word

• ṣaṣṭiḥ: sixty

• dhanuḥ-sahasrāṇi: thousands of bowmen/archers (lit. ‘bow-thousands’)

• yāni: which

• rakṣanti: protect/guard

• jāhnavīm: Jāhnavī (the Gaṅgā)

• yamunām: the Yamunā

• rakṣati: protects

• sadā: always

• savitā: Savitṛ (the Sun)

• saptavāhanaḥ: having seven steeds/whose vehicle is drawn by seven horses

Speaker

• Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) recounting the Matsya Purana’s tirtha and river-mahātmya material

Entities Mentioned

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Yamunā
• Savitṛ (Sūrya)
• Saptavāhana (seven-horsed Sun)

Tags

• Tirtha
• Sacred Rivers
• River Guardians
• Sūrya
• Protective Deities

FAQs

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

This verse is not describing Pralaya; it presents sacred-geography theology, portraying major rivers as divinely guarded and thus enduring objects of reverence across cosmic cycles.

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

By depicting Gaṅgā and Yamunā as protected by divine forces, the text supports the dharmic duty to honor, keep pure, and ritually approach tirthas—encouraging householders (and rulers) to protect waterways and uphold river-centered rites such as स्नान (bathing) and दान (charity) at sacred banks.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it reinforces the sanctity of river-banks as tirthas—appropriate for स्नान, पितृतर्पण (offerings to ancestors), and सूर्योपासना (Sun worship) especially connected with Yamunā under Savitṛ; architecturally, it indirectly legitimizes building ghāṭas and shrines near these protected rivers as high-merit sacred sites.