HomeMatsya PuranaAdh. 21Shloka 2
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Shloka 2

Matsya Purana — The Tale of Brahmadatta: Past-life Memory

*सूत उवाच तस्मिन्नेव पुरे जातास् ते च चक्राह्वयास्तदा वृद्धद्विजस्य दायादा विप्रा जातिस्मराः पुरा //

*sūta uvāca tasminneva pure jātās te ca cakrāhvayāstadā vṛddhadvijasya dāyādā viprā jātismarāḥ purā //

Sūta said: In that very city, at that time, there were born those Brahmins known as the Cakrāhvayas—heirs of the aged Brahmin—who from former times were jātismara, remembering their past births.

sūtaSūta (the narrator)
sūta:
uvācasaid
uvāca:
tasmin evain that very
tasmin eva:
purecity
pure:
jātāḥwere born
jātāḥ:
tethey
te:
caand
ca:
cakrāhvayāḥcalled Cakrāhvayas
cakrāhvayāḥ:
tadāthen/at that time
tadā:
vṛddha-dvijasyaof the aged Brahmin
vṛddha-dvijasya:
dāyādāḥheirs/descendants
dāyādāḥ:
viprāḥBrahmins
viprāḥ:
jātismarāḥthose who remember former births
jātismarāḥ:
purāformerly/in ancient times
purā:
Suta (Sūta Uvāca)
SutaCakrāhvaya (lineage/group)Vṛddha-dvija (an aged Brahmin)
DynastiesGenealogyBrahmanasJatismaraPuranic narrative

FAQs

This verse does not describe Pralaya directly; it records a genealogical detail—Brahmins born in a particular city—highlighting continuity of lineages rather than cosmic dissolution.

Indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic ideal of preserving lineage, inheritance (dāyāda), and social-ritual continuity—concerns central to householders and to kings who protect learned Brahmins and maintain civic order.

No explicit Vāstu or temple-building rule appears here; the only ritual-cultural marker is the identification of a Brahmin lineage (viprāḥ) and their extraordinary trait of jātismaratva (memory of past births), which can imply heightened ritual authority.