Matsya Purana — Brahmā’s Four Faces, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सरस्वत्य् अथ गायत्री ब्रह्माणी च परन्तप ततः स्वदेहसंभूताम् आत्मजाम् इत्य् अकल्पयत् //

Transliteration

sarasvaty atha gāyatrī brahmāṇī ca parantapa tataḥ svadehasaṃbhūtām ātmajām ity akalpayat //

Translation

پھر، اے دشمنوں کو جلانے والے! اس نے سرسوتی، گایتری اور برہمانی کو ظاہر کیا؛ اس کے بعد اسے اپنے ہی جسم سے پیدا ہوئی بیٹی—آتمجا—قرار دیا۔

Word by Word

• सरस्वती (sarasvatī): Sarasvatī, goddess of speech/learning

• अथ (atha): then

• गायत्री (gāyatrī): Gāyatrī, Vedic metre/mantra-deity

• ब्रह्माणी (brahmāṇī): Brahmāṇī, the feminine power of Brahmā

• च (ca): and

• परन्तप (parantapa): O scorcher of enemies (address to the listener, likely Manu)

• ततः (tataḥ): thereafter

• स्व-देह-सम्भूताम् (svadeha-saṃbhūtām): born from one’s own body

• आत्मजाम् (ātmajām): daughter/offspring

• इति (iti): thus

• अकल्पयत् (akalpayat): he arranged/ordained/appointed (as).

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) conveying the cosmogonic account to the listening sages; framed within Matsya Purana’s dialogue tradition

Entities Mentioned

• Sarasvatī
• Gāyatrī
• Brahmāṇī
• Brahmā (implied as the one who ordains/creates)

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmogony
• Shakti
• Vedic Mantra
• Puranic Genealogy

FAQs

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

It belongs to creation (sarga), describing Brahmā’s manifestation/appointment of divine feminine principles—Sarasvatī (speech/knowledge), Gāyatrī (Vedic metre/mantra), and Brahmāṇī (Brahmā’s shakti)—rather than dissolution (pralaya).

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

By grounding dharma in speech, learning, and Vedic recitation: Sarasvatī and Gāyatrī signify disciplined knowledge and mantra-practice, which support a king’s righteous governance and a householder’s daily rites (svādhyāya, japa, and truthful speech).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it highlights Gāyatrī as the core Vedic metre/mantra-deity central to japa and sandhyā practices; architecturally (vāstu), there is no direct building rule here, but it underpins temple/ritual culture by sanctifying mantra and sacred speech as foundations of worship.