Shloka 10

Matsya Purana — Agastya’s Origin

Devanagari script

तावूचतुस्ततः शक्रम् उभौ शम्बरसूदनम् अधर्म एष देवेन्द्र सागरस्य विनाशनम् //

Transliteration

tāvūcatustataḥ śakram ubhau śambarasūdanam adharma eṣa devendra sāgarasya vināśanam //

Translation

Then both of them spoke to Śakra (Indra), the slayer of Śambara: “O lord of the gods, this is adharma—an act that brings about the destruction of the ocean.”

Word by Word

• तौ (tāv): the two (of them)

• ऊचतुः (ūcatuḥ): said/spoke

• ततः (tataḥ): then/thereupon

• शक्रम् (śakram): to Śakra/Indra

• उभौ (ubhau): both

• शम्बरसूदनम् (śambarasūdanam): slayer of Śambara (epithet of Indra)

• अधर्मः (adharmaḥ): unrighteousness/violation of cosmic-moral order

• एष (eṣa): this

• देवेन्द्र (devendra): O Indra, lord of the gods

• सागरस्य (sāgarasya): of the ocean

• विनाशनम् (vināśanam): destruction/ruin

• (अधर्म एष ... विनाशनम्): “this adharma is (the) destruction of the ocean” (i.e., it leads to the ocean’s ruin)

Speaker

• Two interlocutors addressing Indra (Śakra); likely sages/divine beings in the narrative warning Indra about an unrighteous act affecting the ocean

Entities Mentioned

• Indra (Śakra)
• Śambara

Tags

• Dharma
• Adharma
• Devas
• Cosmic order
• Ocean (Sāgara)

FAQs

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

It frames large-scale natural ruin—here, the “destruction of the ocean”—as a consequence of adharma, implying that cosmic stability (and by extension dissolution motifs) is tied to moral-cosmic order.

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

It reinforces the Purāṇic ethic that leaders and householders must avoid adharma because wrongdoing is not merely personal—it can destabilize the wider world (society and nature), making righteous restraint and protection of resources a duty.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated; the takeaway is principle-level: actions contrary to dharma are portrayed as capable of damaging sacred/natural domains like the ocean, which later Vāstu/ritual sections often treat as requiring purity and protection.