Matsya Purana — Dynastic Genealogies: Paurava–Anu Lines, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

उत्पन्नाः शूद्रयोना तु भवच्छन्दे सुरोत्तम अन्धं वृद्धं च मां ज्ञात्वा सुदेष्णा महिषी तव प्राहिणोद् अवमानान्मे शूद्रां धात्रेयिकां नृप //

Transliteration

utpannāḥ śūdrayonā tu bhavacchande surottama andhaṃ vṛddhaṃ ca māṃ jñātvā sudeṣṇā mahiṣī tava prāhiṇod avamānānme śūdrāṃ dhātreyikāṃ nṛpa //

Translation

โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่เทพ ด้วยความประสงค์ของท่านเอง ข้าพเจ้าเกิดในครรภ์ศูทร ครั้นพระมเหสีสุเทษณาทราบว่าข้าพเจ้าเป็นคนตาบอดและชรา ก็ด้วยความดูหมิ่นจึงส่งแม่นมชาวศูทรมาให้ข้าพเจ้า โอ้พระราชา

Word by Word

• utpannāḥ: born/produced

• śūdra-yonā: from a Śūdra womb

• tu: indeed/but

• bhavat-chande: by your desire/at your pleasure

• sura-uttama: O best of the gods

• andham: blind

• vṛddham: aged/old

• ca: and

• mām: me

• jñātvā: having known/realizing

• sudeṣṇā: Sudeṣṇā (proper name)

• mahiṣī: chief queen

• tava: your

• prāhiṇot: sent/dispatched

• avamānāt: out of disrespect/contempt

• me: to me/for me

• śūdrām: a Śūdra woman

• dhātreyikām: wet-nurse/nurse (female attendant)

• nṛpa: O king.

Speaker

• A lamenting court figure addressing a superior (likely within a king-and-counselor narrative frame in Adhyaya 48)

Entities Mentioned

• Sudeṣṇā
• mahīṣī (queen)
• nṛpa (king)
• surottama (best of the gods)

Tags

• Court narrative
• Humiliation
• Old age and blindness
• Royal household
• Social status

FAQs

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

Nothing directly—this verse is a courtly, ethical narrative about status, contempt, and treatment of the vulnerable, not a pralaya teaching.

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

It implies a ruler’s duty to prevent humiliation and neglect within the royal household—especially toward the aged, infirm, or dependent—since contemptuous treatment becomes a moral failing and a cause of social disorder.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

None is stated; the verse contains no Vāstu, temple-building, or ritual procedure terminology.