Matsya Purana — Yayāti in Amarāvatī-like Splendor: Devayānī Installed, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

*शौनक उवाच अथ निष्क्रम्य राजासौ तस्मिन्काले यदृच्छया अशोकवनिकाभ्याशे शर्मिष्ठां प्राप्य विस्मितः //

Transliteration

*śaunaka uvāca atha niṣkramya rājāsau tasminkāle yadṛcchayā aśokavanikābhyāśe śarmiṣṭhāṃ prāpya vismitaḥ //

Translation

ശൗനകൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അപ്പോൾ ആ രാജാവ് ആ സമയത്ത് പുറത്തേക്ക് പോയി, യാദൃച്ഛികമായി അശോകവനികയുടെ സമീപത്ത് ശർമിഷ്ഠയെ കണ്ടുമുട്ടി; അവൻ അത്ഭുതപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• शौनक उवाच: Śaunaka said

• अथ: then

• निष्क्रम्य: having gone out/after departing

• राजा असौ: that king

• तस्मिन् काले: at that time

• यदृच्छया: by chance/accidentally

• अशोक-वनिका-अभ्याशे: near the Aśoka-grove

• शर्मिष्ठाम्: Śarmiṣṭhā (name of the woman)

• प्राप्य: having reached/finding

• विस्मितः: astonished/amazed

Speaker

• Śaunaka

Entities Mentioned

• Śaunaka
• the King (Yayāti, in the Śarmiṣṭhā episode)
• Aśoka grove (Aśokavanikā)
• Śarmiṣṭhā

Tags

• Dynasties
• Royal narrative
• Genealogy
• Courtly episode
• Puranic storytelling

FAQs

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

Nothing directly—this verse is part of a royal-episode narrative (genealogical storytelling), not a Pralaya or cosmology passage.

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

Indirectly, it sets up a royal encounter that typically leads to questions of conduct, desire, and responsibility in kingship—common ethical tensions in Purāṇic dynasty narratives.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual rule is taught here; the “Aśoka grove” functions as a narrative setting rather than a technical architectural prescription.