Matsya Purana — Measures of Time: Caturyuga Computation, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

न्यग्रोधौ तु स्मृतौ बाहू व्यामो न्यग्रोध उच्यते व्यामेन सूच्छ्रयो यस्य अत ऊर्ध्वं तु देहिनः समुच्छ्रयः परीणाहो न्यग्रोधपरिमण्डलः //

Transliteration

nyagrodhau tu smṛtau bāhū vyāmo nyagrodha ucyate vyāmena sūcchrayo yasya ata ūrdhvaṃ tu dehinaḥ samucchrayaḥ parīṇāho nyagrodhaparimaṇḍalaḥ //

Translation

ഇരു ഭുജങ്ങളെയും ‘ന്യഗ്രോധ’ അളവെന്നു സ്മരിക്കുന്നു; നീട്ടിയ ഭുജങ്ങളുടെ വ്യാപ്തിയെ ‘വ്യാമ’ എന്നു പറയുന്നു. പാദം മുതൽ മുകളിലേക്കുള്ള ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ഉയരം ആ വ്യാമത്തിന് തുല്യമെങ്കിൽ, ആ ദേഹിയുടെ ഉയരവും പരിസരവും ഉള്ള സമ്യക് അനുപാതം ‘ന്യഗ്രോധ-പരിമണ്ഡലം’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• nyagrodhau: the ‘nyagrodha’ measure/standard

• tu: indeed

• smṛtau: is taught/remembered (in tradition)

• bāhū: the two arms

• vyāmaḥ: arm-span (distance between fingertips with arms outstretched)

• nyagrodhaḥ: ‘nyagrodha’ (banyan-like, a proportional type)

• ucyate: is called

• vyāmena: by/with the vyāma

• su-ucchrayaḥ (sūcchrayaḥ): good/upright height, proper elevation

• yasya: of whom/whose

• ataḥ ūrdhvam: from below upward (i.e., from the feet upward)

• dehinaḥ: of the embodied being (person/image)

• samucchrayaḥ: total height/full stature

• parīṇāhaḥ: girth/circumference

• nyagrodha-parimaṇḍalaḥ: the nyagrodha-type proportional symmetry/compact well-rounded proportion

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (instructing Vaivasvata Manu on iconographic/measurement canons)

Entities Mentioned

• Nyagrodha (proportional canon)
• Vyāma (arm-span measure)

Tags

• Vastu Shastra
• Pratima Lakshana
• Iconography
• Measurements
• Temple Architecture

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it belongs to the technical canons of measurement, defining proportional standards (vyāma/nyagrodha) used for bodies and images.

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

It supports dharmic patronage: kings and householders who commission temples or images must follow correct proportions, since proper measurement is treated as part of right ritual practice and auspicious construction.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

It defines a key iconographic rule: when a figure’s height equals its arm-span (vyāma), it is classified as ‘nyagrodha-parimaṇḍala’, a desirable, well-rounded proportional type used in planning mūrti dimensions.