Matsya Purana — Description of Atri’s Hermitage: Sacred Grove Planning, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

ऋक्षांस्तरक्षूंश्च बहून् गोलाङ्गूलान् सवानरान् शशलोमान् सकादम्बान् मार्जारान् वायुवेगिनः //

Transliteration

ṛkṣāṃstarakṣūṃśca bahūn golāṅgūlān savānarān śaśalomān sakādambān mārjārān vāyuveginaḥ //

Translation

« (Il produisit) de nombreux ours et hyènes ; des êtres à longue queue avec les singes ; des animaux au pelage de lièvre avec des volées d’oiseaux d’eau (kādamba) ; et des chats, rapides comme le vent. »

Word by Word

• ṛkṣān: bears

• tarakṣūn: hyenas (or jackal-like carnivores)

• ca: and

• bahūn: many

• golāṅgūlān: long-tailed animals/creatures with rounded (or prominent) tails

• savānarān: together with monkeys

• śaśa-lomān: having hare-like fur / hare-furred animals

• sa-kādambān: together with kādamba birds (waterfowl/flocks of birds)

• mārjārān: cats

• vāyu-veginaḥ: wind-swift / moving with the speed of the wind

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) reporting the Purāṇic account (descriptive narration within the Matsya Purana)

Entities Mentioned

• ṛkṣa (bear)
• tarakṣu (hyena)
• vānarāḥ (monkeys)
• kādamba (waterfowl/birds)
• mārjāra (cat)

Tags

• Sarga
• Creation
• Fauna
• Puranic cosmology
• Natural history

FAQs

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

It supports the Sarga-style theme: the text enumerates created beings (animal kinds and their traits like speed), indicating ordered manifestation rather than dissolution (Pralaya).

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

Indirectly, it grounds dharma in awareness of living beings: kings protect forests and wildlife, and householders practice non-cruelty and responsible coexistence with animals described as part of the created order.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; the verse functions as a cosmological/natural-history listing rather than temple architecture guidance.