Shloka 39

Matsya Purana — Vishnu’s Names Across Yugas and the Gods’ Refuge During the Tārakāmaya War

Devanagari script

ग्रहचन्द्रार्करचिते मन्दराक्षवरावृते अनन्तरश्मिभिर्युक्ते विस्तीर्णे मेरुगह्वरे //

Transliteration

grahacandrārkaracite mandarākṣavarāvṛte anantaraśmibhiryukte vistīrṇe merugahvare //

Translation

In the vast hollow of Mount Meru—fashioned with the lights of the planets, the Moon, and the Sun—encircled by the noble Mandara and Akṣa mountains, and filled with unbroken rays of radiance.

Word by Word

• ग्रह (graha): planet

• चन्द्र (candra): Moon

• अर्क (arka): Sun

• रचिते (racite): fashioned/constructed

• मन्दर (mandara): Mandara (mountain)

• अक्ष (akṣa): Akṣa (mountain)

• वर (vara): excellent/noble

• आवृते (āvṛte): surrounded/encircled

• अनन्तर (anantara): uninterrupted/without interval

• रश्मि (raśmi): ray, beam of light

• युक्ते (yukte): endowed with/filled with

• विस्तीर्णे (vistīrṇe): vast, expansive

• मेरु (meru): Mount Meru

• गह्वरे (gahvare): hollow, cavern, basin-like interior/valley

Speaker

• Suta Goswami (narrating the Matsya Purana’s cosmography)

Entities Mentioned

• Mount Meru
• Grahas (planets)
• Chandra (Moon)
• Arka (Sun)
• Mandara (mountain)
• Aksha (mountain)

Tags

• Cosmography
• Meru
• Sacred Geography
• Puranic Astronomy
• Luminous Realms

FAQs

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

This verse is descriptive rather than pralaya-focused: it presents a created cosmic landscape—Meru’s vast basin—pervaded by continuous radiance from the Sun, Moon, and planets, emphasizing ordered cosmography rather than dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it supports dharmic life by grounding ritual timekeeping and auspicious orientation in a cosmic order (Sun, Moon, grahas). Kings and householders rely on such cosmological framing for calendrical rites, consecrations, and state/household ceremonies.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Meru imagery is a template for sacred design: temples and altars are often conceived as a ‘Meru’ axis, aligned with solar-lunar rhythms and directional order—useful for Matsya Purana Vastu Shastra tips on orientation, axis-mundi symbolism, and luminous sanctum planning.