Shloka 8
Matsya Purana — Cosmic Architecture of Sun–Moon and the ‘Houses of the Gods’
तेजोभिश्चाप्यते कश्चित् कश्चिदेवाप्यनिन्धनः काष्ठेन्धनस्तु निर्मथ्यः सो ऽद्भिः शाम्यति पावकः //
tejobhiścāpyate kaścit kaścidevāpyanindhanaḥ kāṣṭhendhanastu nirmathyaḥ so 'dbhiḥ śāmyati pāvakaḥ //
One fire is kindled by brilliance (tejas), and another indeed is fuel-less. But the fire whose fuel is wood is produced by churning (friction), and that fire is quenched by water.
FAQs
It distinguishes ordinary, fuel-based fire (made by friction and quenched by water) from subtler, fuel-less fire—hinting that elemental processes can be transcended by higher tejas, a theme often used to explain how gross elements behave differently in dissolution contexts.
It implicitly guides household and ritual discipline: manage the external fire (wood-fueled, controllable by water) responsibly, while cultivating the inner, fuel-less ‘fire’ of austerity and clarity (tejas) that is not dependent on external fuel.
Ritually, it maps categories of fire used in yajña and discipline—friction-born fire (araṇi/nirmathana) and its extinguishing by water—useful for understanding temple/household fire procedures and purity protocols in Puranic practice.