Shloka 31

Matsya Purana — The Pushkara Manifestation

Devanagari script

तस्मै कन्या द्वादशान्या दक्षस्ताः प्रददौ तदा नक्षत्राणि च सोमाय तदा वै दत्तवानृषिः //

Transliteration

tasmai kanyā dvādaśānyā dakṣastāḥ pradadau tadā nakṣatrāṇi ca somāya tadā vai dattavānṛṣiḥ //

Translation

Then Dakṣa gave him those twelve maidens as wives; and at that very time the sage also bestowed the Nakṣatras (lunar mansions) upon Soma (the Moon).

Word by Word

• तस्मै (tasmai): to him

• कन्या (kanyāḥ): maidens/daughters

• द्वादश (dvādaśa): twelve

• अन्या (anyāḥ): additional/other

• दक्षः (dakṣaḥ): Daksha

• ताः (tāḥ): those

• प्रददौ (pradadau): gave (in marriage)

• तदा (tadā): then/at that time

• नक्षत्राणि (nakṣatrāṇi): the lunar mansions/asterisms

• च (ca): and

• सोमाय (somāya): to Soma, the Moon

• वै (vai): indeed

• दत्तवान् (dattavān): bestowed/gave

• ऋषिः (ṛṣiḥ): the sage

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) continuing the Matsya Purana’s genealogical account

Entities Mentioned

• Daksha
• Soma (Chandra)
• Nakshatras

Tags

• Genealogy
• Nakshatra
• Chandra
• Cosmic order
• Puranic lore

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya; it establishes cosmic administration by linking Soma (the Moon) with the Nakṣatras, a key framework for time-reckoning in Purāṇic cosmology.

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

Indirectly, it models dharmic social order: marriage alliances and orderly bestowals (dāna/saṁbandha) are portrayed as stabilizing forces—an ideal echoed in the Matsya Purana’s broader ethics for householders and rulers.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or temple rule appears here, but the Nakṣatra–Soma linkage underpins ritual timing (muhūrta, nakṣatra-selection) used in consecrations and ceremonies described elsewhere in the Matsya Purana.