Shloka 13

Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth

Devanagari script

सम्भूतास्ते त्वत्त एवादिसर्गे भूयस्तां तां वासनां ते ऽभ्युपेयुः त्वत्संकल्पेनान्तमायाप्तिगूढः कालो मेयो ध्वस्तसंख्याविकल्पः //

Transliteration

sambhūtāste tvatta evādisarge bhūyastāṃ tāṃ vāsanāṃ te 'bhyupeyuḥ tvatsaṃkalpenāntamāyāptigūḍhaḥ kālo meyo dhvastasaṃkhyāvikalpaḥ //

Translation

They arise from You alone at the first creation, and again they enter into those very latent impressions (vāsanās). By Your mere resolve, Time—whose true measure is hidden within the attainment of the final mystery (the supreme Māyā)—becomes the standard; yet all reckonings and numerical alternatives are shattered before it.

Word by Word

• सम्भूताः: arisen/produced

• ते: they (beings)

• त्वत्तः: from You

• एव: alone/indeed

• आदिसर्गे: at the primordial creation

• भूयः: again

• ताम् ताम्: those very (respective)

• वासनाम्: latent impressions/tendencies

• ते: they

• अभ्युपेयुः: enter into/attain again

• त्वत्संकल्पेन: by Your will/resolve

• अन्तमायाप्ति: attainment of the ultimate mystery/Māyā’s final limit (i.e., the supreme principle beyond ordinary grasp)

• गूढः: hidden/veiled

• कालः: Time

• मेयः: measurable/that which is the measure/standard of measure

• ध्वस्त: destroyed/shattered

• संख्या: number/reckoning

• विकल्पः: conceptual alternatives/mental constructions

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu (contextual attribution within the cosmology discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Matsya (Vishnu)
• Kāla (Time)
• Māyā

Tags

• Creation
• Pralaya
• Kāla
• Māyā
• Vāsanā

FAQs

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

It presents creation as emerging from the Supreme and dissolution as a return into vāsanās (latent impressions), while Time (kāla) ultimately overwhelms ordinary calculations and conceptual categories.

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

By stressing that all worldly measures and plans are subordinate to kāla under divine will, it supports the Matsya Purana’s ethical stance: act according to dharma and duty without absolute attachment to outcomes or temporal power.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; indirectly, it frames all measurements and enumerations as provisional before cosmic Time—an important caution when treating ritual/architectural “measures” as ultimately subordinate to divine order.