Shloka 5

Matsya Purana — Description of Pralaya: Drying

Devanagari script

वायुश्च बलवान्भूत्वा विधुन्वानो ऽखिलं जगत् प्राणापानसमानाद्यान् वायून् आकर्षते हरिः //

Transliteration

vāyuśca balavānbhūtvā vidhunvāno 'khilaṃ jagat prāṇāpānasamānādyān vāyūn ākarṣate hariḥ //

Translation

Then Vāyu, becoming exceedingly powerful and shaking the entire world, draws back (withdraws) the winds within beings—such as prāṇa, apāna, and samāna—through Hari (Viṣṇu) as the governing power.

Word by Word

• वायुश्च: and Vāyu (the Wind principle)

• बलवान्: powerful, mighty

• भूत्वा: having become

• विधुन्वानः: shaking, violently agitating

• अखिलं: entire

• जगत्: world, cosmos

• प्राण: the upward-moving vital breath

• अपान: the downward-moving vital breath

• समान: the equalizing vital breath (digestive/central)

• आद्यान्: and the rest/others beginning with these

• वायून्: winds, vital airs

• आकर्षते: draws back, pulls in, withdraws

• हरिः: Hari, Viṣṇu (the supreme regulator).

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the Pralaya process under Hari’s sovereignty

Entities Mentioned

• Vayu
• Hari (Vishnu)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Cosmology
• Pancha-Prana
• Vishnu
• Dissolution

FAQs

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

It depicts dissolution as a withdrawal of life-supporting forces: Vāyu becomes overwhelming and, under Hari’s supreme governance, the internal vital airs (prāṇa, apāna, samāna, etc.) are drawn back, signaling the collapse of embodied and cosmic order.

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

Indirectly, it frames all power—political and personal—as dependent on regulated prāṇa and cosmic order under Hari; thus a king or householder should uphold dharma, self-restraint, and right governance, recognizing that life and strength are not autonomous possessions.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or temple rule is stated; ritually, it supports the idea that prāṇa (vital wind) is central to life and is ultimately withdrawn—an underpinning concept for prāṇa-related rites (prāṇāyāma, prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā) discussed elsewhere in Purāṇic and Āgamic practice.