Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth, Shloka 130

Devanagari script

अहो धन्यो ऽसि शैलेन्द्र यस्य ते कन्दरं हरः अध्यास्ते लोकनाथो ऽपि समाधानपरायणः //

Transliteration

aho dhanyo 'si śailendra yasya te kandaraṃ haraḥ adhyāste lokanātho 'pi samādhānaparāyaṇaḥ //

Translation

آہ اے شیلےندر! تو مبارک ہے، کیونکہ تیری غار میں خود ہر (شیو) جو لوک ناتھ ہے، وہ بھی سمادھی میں یکسو ہو کر قیام کرتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• aho: ah!/indeed

• dhanyaḥ asi: you are blessed/fortunate

• śailendra: O king of mountains

• yasya: of whom/whose

• te: your

• kandaram: cavern, rocky grotto

• haraḥ: Hara (Śiva, the remover)

• adhyāste: sits/dwells/abides

• lokanāthaḥ api: even the Lord of the world(s)

• samādhāna-parāyaṇaḥ: intent upon samādhi, wholly devoted to contemplative absorption

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice, likely Sūta conveying the account)

Entities Mentioned

• Hara (Shiva)
• Śailendra (King of Mountains)

Tags

• Shaiva
• Tirtha-Mahatmya
• Sacred Geography
• Meditation
• Kandarā (Cave)

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it highlights Śiva as Lokanātha abiding in samādhi, a motif often associated with cosmic steadiness rather than narrative dissolution.

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

By praising samādhi in the supreme Lord, the verse implicitly upholds inner discipline: rulers and householders are encouraged to cultivate steadiness, restraint, and devotion, even while living in the world.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The sanctity is attached to a natural cave (kandara) as Śiva’s abode, supporting the Purāṇic idea that caves and mountains can function as powerful tīrthas and loci for worship and meditation-focused shrines.