Shloka 1

Matsya Purana — Yayāti and the Kings’ Dialogue on Heavenly Worlds

Devanagari script

*वसुमानुवाच पृच्छाम्यहं वसुमानौषदश्विर् यद्यस्ति लोको दिवि मह्यं नरेन्द्र यद्यन्तरिक्षे प्रथितो महात्मन् क्षेत्रज्ञं त्वां तस्य धर्मस्य मन्ये //

Transliteration

*vasumānuvāca pṛcchāmyahaṃ vasumānauṣadaśvir yadyasti loko divi mahyaṃ narendra yadyantarikṣe prathito mahātman kṣetrajñaṃ tvāṃ tasya dharmasya manye //

Translation

Vasumān said: “I, Vasumān, ask you, O king, whether there exists for me a world in heaven, or whether my destiny is renowned in the mid-region (antarikṣa). O great-souled one, I regard you as kṣetrajña, the knower of the field, and therefore as one who knows the dharma that leads to that world.”

Word by Word

• वसुमान् (vasumān): Vasumān

• उवाच (uvāca): said

• पृच्छामि (pṛcchāmi): I ask

• अहम् (aham): I

• औषदश्विः/औषदश्विर् (auṣadaśviḥ/auṣadaśvir): (epithet/name, likely a patronymic or descriptive title of Vasumān

• यदि (yadi): whether/if

• अस्ति (asti): there is

• लोकः (lokaḥ): world/realm

• दिवि (divi): in heaven

• मह्यम् (mahyam): for me

• नरेन्द्र (narendra): O king/lord of men

• यदि (yadi): or whether

• अन्तरिक्षे (antarikṣe): in the mid-region/atmosphere

• प्रथितः (prathitaḥ): famed/established

• महात्मन् (mahātman): O great-souled one

• क्षेत्रज्ञम् (kṣetrajñam): knower of the field (self/wise knower)

• त्वाम् (tvām): you

• तस्य (tasya): of that

• धर्मस्य (dharmasya): of dharma/the righteous path

• मन्ये (manye): I consider/I think

Speaker

• Vasumān

Entities Mentioned

• Vasumān
• Narendra (the King addressed)
• Kṣetrajña (the knower of the field)

Tags

• Dharma
• Cosmology
• Lokas
• Karmaphala
• Rajadharma

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it reflects Puranic cosmology by distinguishing realms such as heaven (divi) and the mid-region (antarikṣa), implying a moral order where destinations are tied to dharma.

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

Vasumān approaches the king as a moral authority, implying a Rajadharma ideal: the ruler should be a guide in dharma and in understanding the karmic consequences that lead to higher or intermediate realms.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-architecture rule is stated in this verse; its ritual implication is indirect—right conduct (dharma) is presented as the decisive ‘procedure’ leading to auspicious post-death realms.