Shloka 138

Matsya Purana — Yadu Lineage

Devanagari script

दुन्दुभ्यायैकपादाय अजाय बुद्धिदाय च आरण्याय गृहस्थाय यतये ब्रह्मचारिणे //

Transliteration

dundubhyāyaikapādāya ajāya buddhidāya ca āraṇyāya gṛhasthāya yataye brahmacāriṇe //

Translation

Salutations to Dundubhi; to Ekapāda, the One‑footed; to Aja, the Unborn, and the Giver of understanding; to the forest‑dweller (Vānaprastha), to the householder, to the renunciant (Yati), and to the celibate student (Brahmacārin).

Word by Word

• dundubhyāya: to Dundubhi (a divine epithet)

• ekapādāya: to Ekapāda, the one-footed form

• ajāya: to Aja, the unborn

• buddhidāya: to the giver of intellect/insight

• ca: and

• āraṇyāya: to the forest-dweller (one who lives in the wilderness)

• gṛhasthāya: to the householder

• yataye: to the ascetic/renunciant

• brahmacāriṇe: to the brahmacārin, the celibate Vedic student.

Speaker

• Suta (narration) presenting a stotra-style enumeration within the Matsya Purana’s dialogue framework

Entities Mentioned

• Ekapada
• Aja
• Buddhida
• Ashramas (Brahmacarya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Yati/Sannyasa)

Tags

• Dharma
• Ashrama
• Stotra
• Rudra-Shiva epithets
• Ritual invocation

FAQs

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

This verse is not a Pralaya narration; it functions as a devotional/ritual invocation highlighting the deity as transcending and inhabiting all stages of life (āśramas), rather than describing cosmic dissolution.

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

By naming the deity as “Gṛhastha” (householder) alongside ascetic forms, the verse sacralizes the householder path—implying that righteous governance and household duties can be performed as worship, aligned with dharma rather than opposed to renunciation.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it supports nāma-japa and stotra recitation: invoking specific epithets (Ekapāda, Aja, Buddhida) is used in worship to align the practitioner’s life-stage and intention with the deity’s corresponding form; no direct Vāstu/temple-measurement rule is stated in this line.