Shloka 15

Matsya Purana — The Kauśika Descendants: Śrāddha

Devanagari script

जातिस्मराः सप्त जाता मृगाः कालञ्जरे गिरौ नीलकण्ठस्य पुरतः पितृभावानुभाविताः //

Transliteration

jātismarāḥ sapta jātā mṛgāḥ kālañjare girau nīlakaṇṭhasya purataḥ pitṛbhāvānubhāvitāḥ //

Translation

On Mount Kālañjara, seven deer were born as jātismaras, remembering their former births; and, in the presence of Nīlakaṇṭha, they were stirred and transformed by the felt power of a father’s affection.

Word by Word

• jātismarāḥ: those who remember previous births

• sapta: seven

• jātāḥ: born/arisen

• mṛgāḥ: deer

• kālañjare: on/at Kālañjara (a sacred mountain)

• girau: on the mountain

• nīlakaṇṭhasya: of Nīlakaṇṭha (the Blue-throated Lord, i.e., Śiva)

• purataḥ: in front of/in the presence of

• pitṛ-bhāva: paternal feeling/fatherly affection

• anubhāvitāḥ: made to experience, affected, powerfully impressed/animated

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic account in the Matsya Purāṇa’s flow; presented within the broader Manu–Matsya narrative frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Kālañjara
• Nīlakaṇṭha (Śiva)
• Jātismara beings
• Seven deer

Tags

• Sacred geography
• Jātismara
• Śiva
• Karma and rebirth
• Purāṇic wonders

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss Pralaya directly; it highlights karmic continuity through rebirth and the extraordinary phenomenon of jātismara memory, implying an ordered moral universe rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

By emphasizing pitṛbhāva (fatherly affection) as a spiritually potent force, it supports the Purāṇic ethic that householders and rulers should cultivate protective, compassionate guardianship—nurturing dependents in a dharmic, responsibility-centered way.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-building rule is stated; the ritual takeaway is the sanctity of place (Kālañjara) and darśana—being “in the presence” of Nīlakaṇṭha—where devotion and emotional dispositions are depicted as spiritually transformative.