Shloka 71

Matsya Purana — Characteristics of Dvāpara and Kali Yugas

Devanagari script

अनावृष्टिहतास्ते वै वार्त्तामुत्सृज्य दुःखिताः आश्रयन्ति स्म प्रत्यन्तान् हित्वा जनपदान्स्वकान् //

Transliteration

anāvṛṣṭihatāste vai vārttāmutsṛjya duḥkhitāḥ āśrayanti sma pratyantān hitvā janapadānsvakān //

Translation

Struck by drought, they—distressed—abandoned their agrarian means of livelihood and took refuge in the frontier regions, leaving behind their own home provinces.

Word by Word

• an-āvṛṣṭi: absence of rain, drought

• hatāḥ: struck, afflicted

• te: they

• vai: indeed

• vārttām: agriculture and allied livelihood (farming, herding, trade)

• utsṛjya: abandoning, giving up

• duḥkhitāḥ: sorrowful, distressed

• āśrayanti sma: used to take refuge/resort to

• pratyantān: borderlands, frontier regions

• hitvā: having left/abandoned

• janapadān: countries, provinces, settled territories

• svakān: their own

Speaker

• Primary Purāṇic narrator (Sūta tradition), within the Matsya Purana’s didactic narrative flow

Tags

• Anāvṛṣṭi
• Famine
• Migration
• Janapada
• Pratyanta
• Rajadharma

FAQs

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

It does not describe cosmic Pralaya; it depicts a worldly calamity—drought—showing how environmental collapse disrupts society and forces displacement.

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

By highlighting famine-driven flight from janapadas, it implies a king’s rajadharma to secure rainfall/irrigation, maintain grain stores, relieve distress, and prevent depopulation and frontier instability; for householders, it reflects the fragility of vārttā and the need for prudent reserves and community support.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu/ritual rule is stated; indirectly, it underscores why stable settlements (janapadas) require water management—tanks, wells, canals—often emphasized elsewhere in Purāṇic civic and temple-endowment contexts.