Shloka 184

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

Devanagari script

महादेवो ऽचलः स्थाणुर् न जातो जनको ऽजरः भविष्यति पतिः सो ऽस्या जगन्नाथो निरामयः //

Transliteration

mahādevo 'calaḥ sthāṇur na jāto janako 'jaraḥ bhaviṣyati patiḥ so 'syā jagannātho nirāmayaḥ //

Translation

Mahādeva is unmoving, the steadfast One—unborn, yet the Father; unaging. He shall be the Lord and protector of this world; the Master of the universe, free from all affliction.

Word by Word

• महादेवः (mahādevaḥ): Mahadeva, the Great God (Shiva)

• अचलः (acalaḥ): unmoving, immovable

• स्थाणुः (sthāṇuḥ): the fixed/steady one, the immutable

• न जातः (na jātaḥ): not born, unborn

• जनकः (janakaḥ): father, progenitor

• अजरः (ajaraḥ): unaging, undecaying

• भविष्यति (bhaviṣyati): will be, shall become/shall remain

• पतिः (patiḥ): lord, master, protector

• सः (saḥ): he

• अस्याः (asyāḥ): of this (feminine genitive—commonly ‘of this earth/world’)

• जगन्नाथः (jagannāthaḥ): Lord of the world/universe

• निरामयः (nirāmayaḥ): free from illness/affliction, flawless

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) or the Purana’s reciter describing Mahadeva in a stuti context (exact interlocutor not explicit in the single verse)

Entities Mentioned

• Mahadeva
• Jagannatha
• Sthanu

Tags

• Shiva
• Stuti
• Theology
• Nirguna
• Eternal Lordship

FAQs

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

It presents Mahadeva as the unborn, unchanging principle—an eternal lord who remains unaffected, implying a reality that stands beyond cycles of creation and dissolution.

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

By portraying the ideal ‘pati’ (protector-lord) as steady, unaging in resolve, and free from affliction, it sets a model for rulers/householders: stability, guardianship, and disciplined freedom from harmful passions.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vastu or temple-rule is stated, but the verse functions as a stuti suitable for ritual recitation (japa/praise) before worship, grounding rites in the concept of the deity as immutable (sthāṇu) and all-protecting (pati/jagannātha).