Matsya Purana — Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dialogue: Yayāti’s Transgression, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

धर्मज्ञ इति विख्यात एष राजा भृगूद्वह अतिक्रान्तश्च मर्यादां काव्यैतत्कथयामि ते //

Transliteration

dharmajña iti vikhyāta eṣa rājā bhṛgūdvaha atikrāntaśca maryādāṃ kāvyaitatkathayāmi te //

Translation

ഹേ ഭൃഗുശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! ഈ രാജാവ് ‘ധർമ്മജ്ഞൻ’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധനായിരുന്നുവെങ്കിലും മര്യാദ അതിക്രമിച്ചു. കാവ്യപരമ്പര പ്രകാരം ഈ വൃത്താന്തം ഞാൻ നിന്നോട് പറയുന്നു।

Word by Word

• धर्मज्ञ (dharmajña): knower of dharma, one skilled in righteousness

• इति (iti): thus

• विख्यात (vikhyāta): renowned, celebrated

• एष (eṣa): this

• राजा (rājā): king

• भृगूद्वह (bhṛgūdvaha): O best of the Bhṛgu lineage (address to a Bhṛgu-descended sage)

• अतिक्रान्तः (atikrāntaḥ): having transgressed, having overstepped

• च (ca): and

• मर्यादाम् (maryādām): boundary, limit, propriety/ethical constraint

• काव्य (kāvya): pertaining to Kāvya/Śukra (the Bhṛgu-line preceptor), traditional account from his lineage

• एतत् (etat): this

• कथयामि (kathayāmi): I narrate, I tell

• ते (te): to you.

Speaker

• Sūta/Narrator (within the Purāṇic narration addressing a Bhṛgu-line sage)

Entities Mentioned

• Bhṛgu (lineage reference)
• Kāvya/Śukra (lineage reference)
• the King (unnamed in this verse)

Tags

• Rajadharma
• Dharma
• Kings
• Transgression
• Genealogy

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya or cosmology; it introduces a moral-historical narrative about a king’s reputation for dharma and his later transgression of proper bounds (maryādā).

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

It highlights a key Rajadharma principle: even a ruler famed for righteousness can fall by crossing maryādā—ethical, legal, or social limits—implying that sustained self-restraint and adherence to dharma are central royal duties.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu, temple-building, iconography, or ritual procedure is mentioned in this verse; the focus is on kingship ethics and the authority of a traditional lineage account (Kāvya/Śukra).