Shloka 32

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

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

ययाति बोले—हे ब्राह्मण, जो पुरुष समर्थ और कर्तव्यवान होकर भी ऋतु में याचना करने वाली पत्नी को संग नहीं देता, उसे ‘भ्रूणहन्ता’ कहा गया है—ऐसा वेदवादियों का कथन है।

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.