Matsya Purana — Description of Atri’s Hermitage: Sacred Grove Planning, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ऐरावती सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा यस्माद्देशाद्विनिर्गता मेघश्यामं च तं देशं द्रुमखण्डैरनेकशः //

Transliteration

airāvatī saricchreṣṭhā yasmāddeśādvinirgatā meghaśyāmaṃ ca taṃ deśaṃ drumakhaṇḍairanekaśaḥ //

Translation

جس خطّے سے افضل دریا اَیراوتی نکلتی ہے، اُس دیس کو بادلوں جیسا سیاہ فام کہا گیا ہے، اور وہ بہت سے مقامات پر درختوں کے جھنڈوں اور باغات سے ڈھکا ہوا ہے۔

Word by Word

• ऐरावती (airāvatī): the river Airāvatī

• सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा (saricchreṣṭhā): best/excellent among rivers

• यस्मात् (yasmāt): from which

• देशात् (deśāt): from the country/region

• विनिर्गता (vinirgatā): has flowed out/issued forth

• मेघश्यामम् (meghaśyāmam): dark like a rain-cloud

• च (ca): and

• तम् (tam): that

• देशम् (deśam): land/region

• द्रुमखण्डैः (drumakhaṇḍaiḥ): with clusters/groves of trees

• अनेकशः (anekaśaḥ): in many ways/at many places/abundantly

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) reporting the Purāṇic description (contextual sacred-geography narration)

Entities Mentioned

• Airavati (river)

Tags

• Tirtha
• Sacred Geography
• Rivers
• Landscape
• Desha-varnana

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it functions as sacred-geography, describing a river’s origin-region and the natural features (cloud-dark terrain, abundant groves).

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

Indirectly, it supports Purāṇic ideals of righteous settlement: prosperous regions are marked by water sources and forests, guiding kings in protecting rivers/woodlands and householders in choosing fertile, well-watered lands.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu rule is stated, but the verse highlights auspicious site indicators—near a renowned river, with healthy tree-groves—often treated in Vāstu and tīrtha contexts as favorable for habitation and sacred activity.