Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth, Shloka 180

Devanagari script

आस्ते ब्रह्मा तदिच्छातः सम्भूतो भुवनप्रभुः विष्णुर्युगे युगे जातो नानाजातिर्महातनुः //

Transliteration

āste brahmā tadicchātaḥ sambhūto bhuvanaprabhuḥ viṣṇuryuge yuge jāto nānājātirmahātanuḥ //

Translation

Par Sa volonté, Brahmā vient à l’existence—Seigneur des mondes—et demeure afin d’accomplir l’œuvre de la création. Et Viṣṇu, à la forme immense, naît à chaque âge, assumant de multiples naissances (avatāra).

Word by Word

• आस्ते (āste): abides, remains, presides

• ब्रह्मा (brahmā): Brahmā

• तदिच्छातः (tadicchātaḥ): by His will/volition

• सम्भूतः (sambhūtaḥ): arisen, come into being

• भुवनप्रभुः (bhuvanaprabhuḥ): lord of the worlds

• विष्णुः (viṣṇuḥ): Vishnu

• युगे युगे (yuge yuge): in each age, age after age

• जातः (jātaḥ): is born, manifests

• नानाजातिः (nānājātiḥ): of many births/forms/kinds

• महातनुः (mahātanuḥ): of great body/form, vast in manifestation

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) speaking to Vaivasvata Manu (contextual attribution typical of Matsya Purana discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Brahma
• Vishnu

Tags

• Creation
• Yugas
• Avatara
• Cosmology
• Pralaya

FAQs

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

It emphasizes cyclical cosmology: Brahmā arises by divine will to conduct creation, and across repeating ages (yugas) Viṣṇu manifests repeatedly—implying recurring creation after periods of dissolution.

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

By framing time as yuga-based and divinely ordered, it supports the Matsya Purana’s ethic that rulers and householders should align conduct with dharma appropriate to their age, trusting that divine guidance appears repeatedly to restore order.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; the takeaway is theological: temple worship and rites often honor Viṣṇu’s recurring manifestations (avatāras) across yugas, a basis for avatāra iconography in later Vāstu/Pratimā-lakṣaṇa sections.