Shloka 187

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

Devanagari script

अनन्तस्याप्रमेयस्य सौभाग्यस्यास्य भूधर नैवाङ्को लक्षणाकारः शरीरे संविधीयते //

Transliteration

anantasyāprameyasya saubhāgyasyāsya bhūdhara naivāṅko lakṣaṇākāraḥ śarīre saṃvidhīyate //

Translation

O Bhūdhara, for this auspicious One—who is infinite and immeasurable—no bodily mark, sign, or definable form can truly be fixed upon the body.

Word by Word

• अनन्तस्य: of the infinite

• अप्रमेयस्य: of the immeasurable/unknowable by measure

• सौभाग्यस्य: of the auspiciousness/fortunate glory

• अस्य: of this (one/deity)

• भूधर: O Bhūdhara (lit. ‘mountain-bearer’, an address to the listener)

• नैव: not indeed/never

• अङ्कः: mark/brand/emblem

• लक्षण-आकारः: the form constituted by defining characteristics (iconographic features)

• शरीरे: in/on the body

• संविधीयते: is arranged/laid down/prescribed/fixed.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) instructing Vaivasvata Manu (context: doctrinal limits of iconographic definition)

Entities Mentioned

• Ananta (the Infinite)
• Aprameya (the Immeasurable)

Tags

• Iconography
• Pratima Lakshana
• Theology
• Transcendence
• Vastu Shastra

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it emphasizes the transcendence of the Supreme (Ananta, Aprameya) beyond measurable forms—an idea often invoked when describing cosmic cycles like pralaya, where all forms dissolve yet the Infinite remains.

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

It guides devotion and governance toward humility: a king or householder should uphold ritual and dharma while remembering that the ultimate divine reality cannot be fully captured by outward signs, preventing superstition and encouraging ethical, steady worship.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

In pratima-lakṣaṇa and temple practice, it cautions that no single physical ‘mark’ can exhaust the deity’s nature; iconographic prescriptions are aids for worship, not literal limits on the immeasurable divine.