Shloka 6

Matsya Purana — The Greatness of Prayaga and the Supremacy of Cow-Donation

Devanagari script

गीतवाद्यविनिर्घोषैः प्रसुप्तः प्रतिबुध्यते यावन्न स्मरते जन्म तावत्स्वर्गे महीयते //

Transliteration

gītavādyavinirghoṣaiḥ prasuptaḥ pratibudhyate yāvanna smarate janma tāvatsvarge mahīyate //

Translation

Awakened from sleep by the resounding music of songs and instruments, he remains honored in heaven so long as he does not remember his former birth on earth.

Word by Word

• gīta: song

• vādya: musical instrument

• vinirghoṣaiḥ: with loud reverberations/sounds

• prasuptaḥ: having slept, asleep

• pratibudhyate: awakens, is roused

• yāvat: as long as

• na: not

• smarate: remembers

• janma: birth, former embodiment

• tāvat: for that long

• svarge: in heaven

• mahīyate: is honored, is exalted, is greatly esteemed

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the Matsya Purana’s teaching on heavenly experience, in the discourse tradition)

Tags

• Svarga
• Karma-phala
• Afterlife
• Merit (Puṇya)
• Memory and Rebirth

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it describes the post-death experience in Svarga, emphasizing that heavenly honor/enjoyment continues while earthly identity and birth-memory remain unaroused.

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

It supports the Matsya Purana’s broader karma framework: righteous conduct, charity, and dharmic duties yield puṇya whose results are experienced in Svarga—yet those results are temporary and tied to the mind’s shifting states and eventual return to rebirth.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-architecture rule appears here; the only “ritual-cultural” motif is celestial music (gīta-vādya) as a marker of heavenly enjoyment and honor.