Shloka 12

Matsya Purana — The Rohiṇī–Candraśayana Vow

Devanagari script

नमः समस्ताध्वरवन्दिताय कर्णद्वयं दैत्यनिषूदनाय ललाटमिन्दोरुदधिप्रियाय केशाः सुषुम्नाधिपतेः प्रपूज्याः //

Transliteration

namaḥ samastādhvaravanditāya karṇadvayaṃ daityaniṣūdanāya lalāṭamindorudadhipriyāya keśāḥ suṣumnādhipateḥ prapūjyāḥ //

Translation

Homage to Him who is praised in all sacrifices. His pair of ears is that of the Slayer of the daityas; His forehead is like the moon, beloved of the ocean; and His hair is to be especially worshipped as that of the Lord of Suṣumnā.

Word by Word

• namaḥ: homage

• samasta: all

• adhvara: sacrificial rites, yajñas

• vanditāya: to the One who is praised

• karṇa-dvayam: the pair of ears

• daitya-niṣūdanāya: to the destroyer of Daityas (demons)

• lalāṭam: forehead

• indoḥ: of the moon / moonlike

• udadhi-priyāya: beloved of the ocean (or: dear to the sea)

• keśāḥ: hair

• suṣumnā: Suṣumnā (central nāḍī / subtle channel)

• adhipateḥ: of the lord/master

• prapūjyāḥ: worthy of special worship / to be duly worshipped

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) conveying a traditional stuti used in ritual/iconographic context (within Matsya Purana’s descriptive flow)

Entities Mentioned

• Vishnu
• Daityas
• Suṣumnā
• Moon (Indu)
• Ocean (Udadhi)

Tags

• Iconography
• Stuti
• Ritual
• Vishnu
• Pratima Lakshana

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya directly; it functions as a devotional-iconographic praise (stuti) identifying divine attributes (demon-slaying power, moonlike radiance, ocean association) that are invoked in worship.

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

For a householder (and by extension a king as chief patron of dharma), it supports nitya-karma and pūjā: honoring the deity through prescribed praises and contemplation of divine limbs, reinforcing devotion, protection from evil (daitya-niṣūdana), and ritual discipline.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it reflects aṅga-stuti (praising the deity’s bodily features) used during pūjā and possibly pratimā-pratiṣṭhā contexts; iconographically it cues meditational visualization of specific features (ears, forehead, hair) consistent with Pratima-Lakṣaṇa style descriptions.