Matsya Purana — Yayāti in Amarāvatī-like Splendor: Devayānī Installed, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

किं प्राप्तं किंच कर्तव्यं कथं कृत्वा सुखं भवेत् देवयानी प्रसूतासौ वृथाहं प्राप्तयौवना //

Transliteration

kiṃ prāptaṃ kiṃca kartavyaṃ kathaṃ kṛtvā sukhaṃ bhavet devayānī prasūtāsau vṛthāhaṃ prāptayauvanā //

Translation

ഞാൻ എന്തു നേടി, ഇനി എന്തു ചെയ്യണം? ഏതു കർമം ചെയ്താൽ സുഖം ലഭിക്കും? ദേവയാനി സന്താനവതിയായി; ഞാൻ എന്നാൽ വ്യർത്ഥമായി യൗവനം പ്രാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• kim: what?

• prāptam: obtained, gained

• kim ca: and what

• kartavyam: to be done, one’s duty/what should be done

• katham: how

• kṛtvā: having done/by doing

• sukham: happiness

• bhavet: would arise, would come to be

• devayānī: Devayānī (name)

• prasūtā: having given birth

• asau: she/that one

• vṛthā: in vain, fruitlessly

• aham: I

• prāpta-yauvanā: having attained youth/young womanhood

Speaker

• Uncertain (context suggests a woman in Devayānī’s circle—likely Śarmiṣṭhā or a rival/attendant—lamenting her own fruitless youth while Devayānī has become a mother).

Entities Mentioned

• Devayānī

Tags

• Yayati
• Devayani
• Genealogy
• Dharma
• Royal narrative

FAQs

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

Nothing directly—this verse belongs to a human, ethical-psychological narrative (ākhyāna) focused on duty, desire, and the pursuit of happiness rather than cosmic pralaya.

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

It frames a classic dharma-question: “What is to be done for true happiness?” In Matsya Purana’s narrative ethics, sukha is not merely youth or sensual opportunity; it is tied to right action (kartavya) and the socially consequential outcomes of life (e.g., marriage, progeny, duty).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

None is explicit here; the verse is a personal lament within a royal-genealogical storyline, not a Vastu Shastra or ritual-procedure passage.