Matsya Purana — Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā’s Quarrel, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

नाहुषिः प्रेक्षमाणो हि स निपाने गतोदके ददर्श कन्यां तां तत्र दीप्तामग्निशिखाम् इव //

Transliteration

nāhuṣiḥ prekṣamāṇo hi sa nipāne gatodake dadarśa kanyāṃ tāṃ tatra dīptāmagniśikhām iva //

Translation

نہوشی یَیاتی نے ادھر اُدھر دیکھتے ہوئے پانی پینے کی جگہ پر پانی میں اتر کر وہاں اس کنیا کو دیکھا—جو آگ کی شعلہ زبانی کی طرح روشن تھی۔

Word by Word

• नाहुषिः (nāhuṣiḥ): Nahusha

• प्रेक्षमाणः (prekṣamāṇaḥ): looking, observing

• हि (hi): indeed

• स (sa): he

• निपाने (nipāne): at the watering-place, water-reservoir/ghāṭa

• गत-उदके (gata-udake): having gone into the water / gone down to the water

• ददर्श (dadarśa): saw

• कन्याम् (kanyām): a maiden

• ताम् (tām): her/that

• तत्र (tatra): there

• दीप्ताम् (dīptām): shining, radiant

• अग्नि-शिखाम् (agni-śikhām): flame, tongue of fire

• इव (iva): like, as if.

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta recounting to sages)

Entities Mentioned

• Nahusha
• kanyā (the maiden)

Tags

• Dynasties
• Ancient Indian genealogy
• Royal legends
• Encounter motif
• Puranic narrative

FAQs

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

Nothing directly: the verse is narrative, describing Nahusha’s sight of a radiant maiden at a watering-place, not cosmology or pralaya.

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

Indirectly, it frames a royal-legend setting where perception, desire, and conduct can become moral turning-points—common in Matsya Purana’s dynastic stories that later illustrate restraint and dharma.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Only a setting is given—“nipāna,” a watering-place/ghāṭa—useful as cultural context, but no explicit Vastu Shastra or ritual procedure is taught in this verse.