Matsya Purana — Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dialogue: Yayāti’s Transgression, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

*ययातिरुवाच ऋतुं यो याच्यमानाया न ददाति पुमान्वृतः भ्रूणहेत्युच्यते ब्रह्मन् स चेह ब्रह्मवादिभिः //

Transliteration

*yayātiruvāca ṛtuṃ yo yācyamānāyā na dadāti pumānvṛtaḥ bhrūṇahetyucyate brahman sa ceha brahmavādibhiḥ //

Translation

Yayāti dit : «Ô brahmane, l’homme qui—bien qu’apte et tenu par le devoir—ne donne pas à son épouse l’accès durant sa saison féconde lorsqu’elle le demande, est déclaré “tueur d’embryon” ; ainsi l’enseignent ici ceux qui exposent le Veda.»

Word by Word

• yayātiḥ uvāca: Yayāti said

• ṛtum: the season/fertile period (ṛtu)

• yaḥ: who

• yācyamānāyāḥ: of her who is requesting (the wife)

• na dadāti: does not give/does not grant

• pumān: a man

• vṛtaḥ: fit/able and bound by duty (also: obliged/authorized)

• bhrūṇa-hā: embryo-slayer (one guilty of destroying progeny)

• iti ucyate: is said/called

• brahman: O Brahmin

• saḥ: he

• ca: and/indeed

• iha: here (in this teaching/tradition)

• brahma-vādibhiḥ: by the teachers who speak on Brahman/Veda (Vedic expounders).

Speaker

• King Yayati

Entities Mentioned

• Yayati
• Brahman (addressed Brahmin / Vedic authority)
• Brahmavadins (Vedic expounders)

Tags

• Rajadharma
• Grihastha-dharma
• Stridharma
• Progeny
• Sin (papa)

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it focuses on dharma within household life, specifically the moral duty connected to begetting progeny.

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

It frames a householder’s conjugal responsibility as a dharmic obligation: refusing one’s wife during her fertile period—despite being capable and bound by duty—is treated as a grave sin akin to harming progeny, which a king and householder must avoid.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-architecture rule is stated here; the only technical point is the ritual-ethical concept of ṛtu (fertile season) as a dharma-relevant time in household life.