Matsya Purana — Design and Splendour of Tripura: Maya’s Threefold Moving Fortress, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

कृतवांस्त्रिपुरं दैत्यस् त्रिनेत्रः पुष्पकं यथा येन येन मयो याति प्रकुर्वाणः पुरं पुरात् //

Transliteration

kṛtavāṃstripuraṃ daityas trinetraḥ puṣpakaṃ yathā yena yena mayo yāti prakurvāṇaḥ puraṃ purāt //

Translation

Wie der Dreiäugige (Śiva) die Tripura des Daitya vernichtete und wie Rāvaṇas Puṣpaka sich nach Belieben bewegte, so ging auch Māyā, der Baumeister, wohin er wollte—unablässig Stadt um Stadt erschaffend.

Word by Word

• kṛtavān: (he) made/caused

• tripuram: Tripura (the three cities/fortresses)

• daityaḥ: the Daitya (demon)

• trinetraḥ: the three-eyed one (Śiva)

• puṣpakam: Puṣpaka (the aerial car)

• yathā: just as

• yena yena: wherever, in whatever direction

• māyaḥ (mayo): Māyā (name of the Asura-architect

• yāti: goes, moves

• prakurvāṇaḥ: constructing, fashioning

• puram purāt: city after city (lit. ‘a city from a city’—repeatedly).

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) recounting the account within the Matsya Purana’s architectural/town-planning context

Entities Mentioned

• Śiva (Trinetra)
• Tripura
• Daitya
• Puṣpaka
• Māyā (Asura-architect)

Tags

• Vastu Shastra
• Pura-nirmana
• Mythic architecture
• Tripura
• Aerial vimana

FAQs

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

This verse is not about cosmic dissolution; it uses famous mythic images (Tripura and Puṣpaka) to emphasize extraordinary mobility and repeated construction—city-making through skill (māyā) rather than pralaya.

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

By highlighting planned, repeatable city-construction, it supports the king’s duty to found, expand, and maintain well-built settlements—an applied dharma of governance tied to prosperity, defense, and orderly habitation.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Architecturally, it underscores the ideal of systematic ‘pura-nirmāṇa’—the capacity to design and replicate urban forms (puraṃ purāt). The references to Tripura and Puṣpaka signal advanced, even ‘marvel-like’ engineering motifs used in Purāṇic Vastu discourse.