Shloka 2

Matsya Purana — The Legend of Acchodā: Pitṛloka

Devanagari script

अग्निष्वात्ता इति ख्याता यज्वानो यत्र संस्थिताः अच्छोदा नाम तेषां तु मानसी कन्यका नदी //

Transliteration

agniṣvāttā iti khyātā yajvāno yatra saṃsthitāḥ acchodā nāma teṣāṃ tu mānasī kanyakā nadī //

Translation

There dwell the sacrificial sages renowned as the Agniṣvāttas; and for them there is a river named Acchodā—born of the mind, a maiden-like, pure stream.

Word by Word

• अग्निष्वात्ताः: Agniṣvāttas (a class of Pitṛs/ancestral deities)

• इति: thus

• ख्याताः: renowned, well-known

• यज्वानः: sacrificers, ritual performers

• यत्र: where

• संस्थिताः: are situated, dwell

• अच्छोदा: Acchodā (name of a river)

• नाम: named

• तेषाम्: of them, for them

• तु: indeed, and

• मानसी: mental-born, mind-origin (mānasa)

• कन्यका: maiden, virgin-like/pure

• नदी: river

Speaker

• Suta (narratorial voice within the Purana; reporting sacred geography)

Entities Mentioned

• Agniṣvāttas
• Acchodā river

Tags

• Sacred Geography
• Pitrs
• Tirtha
• Cosmography
• Purity

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; it highlights Puranic cosmography by locating a divine community (Agniṣvāttas) and a mind-born sacred river, emphasizing the subtle, non-physical origins of certain tirthas.

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

By foregrounding yajña-performing beings and a sacred river, it supports the Matsya Purana’s broader ethic that householders and rulers sustain order through sacrifice, ancestral reverence (pitṛ-tarpaṇa), and tirtha-related rites.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The ritual takeaway is the prominence of yajña and pitṛ-related sanctity: such rivers function as tirthas suitable for offerings to ancestors and purification rites, even though no explicit Vastu/temple-building rule is stated in this verse.