Matsya Purana — War of Devas and Dānavas: Yama and Kubera Defeated; Kālanemi’s Māyā and the A..., Shloka 39

Devanagari script

तमालोक्य यमः श्रान्तं निहतां च स्ववाहिनीम् आजगाम समुद्यम्य दण्डं महिषवाहनः //

Transliteration

tamālokya yamaḥ śrāntaṃ nihatāṃ ca svavāhinīm ājagāma samudyamya daṇḍaṃ mahiṣavāhanaḥ //

Translation

Als er dies sah — sein eigenes Heer erschöpft und erschlagen — rückte Yama, der Büffelreiter, heran und hob den Strafstab (daṇḍa) empor.

Word by Word

• tam: that (sight/that event)

• ālokya: having seen

• yamaḥ: Yama (Lord of Death / Judge of the departed)

• śrāntam: exhausted, wearied

• nihatām: slain, destroyed

• ca: and

• sva-vāhinīm: his own army/retinue (host)

• ājagāma: came forward, approached

• samudyamya: lifting up, raising, brandishing

• daṇḍam: the staff/rod (symbol of chastisement and justice)

• mahiṣa-vāhanaḥ: he whose vehicle is a buffalo (epithet of Yama).

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta)

Entities Mentioned

• Yama
• Daṇḍa (rod of punishment)
• Mahisha (buffalo mount)

Tags

• Yama
• Naraka
• Dharma
• Daṇḍa-nīti
• Afterlife

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it focuses on Yama’s judicial function in the post-death realm, emphasizing karmic order rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

By highlighting Yama raising the daṇḍa (rod of punishment), the verse mirrors the dharmic principle that authority must uphold order through disciplined justice—an ideal echoed in royal daṇḍa-nīti and the householder’s duty to restrain wrongdoing.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-architecture rule is stated here; the key takeaway is symbolic—daṇḍa represents lawful restraint and moral governance rather than a ritual or building prescription.