Shloka 14

Matsya Purana — The Observance of Ananta-Tritiya

Devanagari script

गौर्यै नमस्तथा नासाम् उत्पलायै च लोचने तुष्ट्यै ललाटमलकान् कात्यायन्यै शिरस्तथा //

Transliteration

gauryai namastathā nāsām utpalāyai ca locane tuṣṭyai lalāṭamalakān kātyāyanyai śirastathā //

Translation

Salutations to Gaurī as the nose; to Utpalā as the two eyes. Salutations to Tuṣṭi as the forehead and the eyebrows; and to Kātyāyanī as the head.

Word by Word

• gauryai: to Gaurī (the fair, auspicious Goddess)

• namaḥ: salutation

• tathā: likewise/and

• nāsām: the nose

• utpalāyai: to Utpalā (lotus-like form/name of the Goddess)

• ca: and

• locane: the two eyes

• tuṣṭyai: to Tuṣṭi (contentment, a देवी-form)

• lalāṭa: forehead

• malakān: eyebrows/forehead-lines (brows)

• kātyāyanyai: to Kātyāyanī (a form of Durgā)

• śiraḥ: head

• tathā: likewise/also

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic stuti/nyāsa sequence (devotional-ritual instruction style)

Entities Mentioned

• Gaurī
• Utpalā
• Tuṣṭi
• Kātyāyanī
• Devī (as the presiding power of bodily limbs)

Tags

• Devi Stuti
• Nyasa
• Ritual
• Iconography
• Mantra

FAQs

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

This verse is not about pralaya; it is a ritual-nyāsa style praise that identifies the Goddess as presiding over specific bodily parts, emphasizing immanence rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

For a householder (and by extension a king), it models disciplined daily worship: honoring Devī through ordered salutations (nyāsa-like mapping) cultivates purity, self-restraint, and auspiciousness—key virtues repeatedly endorsed in Purāṇic dharma.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it reflects nyāsa/anga-devatā concept—placing or recognizing divine powers in limbs during worship. This supports iconography and consecration logic: the deity is invoked as present in specific ‘members,’ paralleling how temple images are ritually ‘animated’ through limb-by-limb invocation.