Shloka 11

Matsya Purana — Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā’s Quarrel

Devanagari script

अनायुधा सायुधायाः किं त्वं कुप्यसि भिक्षुकि लप्स्यसे प्रतियोद्धारं न च त्वां गणयाम्यहम् //

Transliteration

anāyudhā sāyudhāyāḥ kiṃ tvaṃ kupyasi bhikṣuki lapsyase pratiyoddhāraṃ na ca tvāṃ gaṇayāmyaham //

Translation

Unarmed, why do you rage at one who is armed, O beggar-woman? You will find an opponent to fight—yet I do not count you as worthy of regard.

Word by Word

• anāyudhā: unarmed

• sāyudhāyāḥ: toward/against one who is armed

• kim: why

• tvam: you

• kupyasi: become angry/rage

• bhikṣuki: O female mendicant/beggar-woman

• lapsyase: you will obtain/meet

• pratiyoddhāram: a counter-fighter/opponent

• na: not

• ca: and

• tvām: you

• gaṇayāmi: I count/consider

• aham: I

Speaker

• A hostile/boastful interlocutor in the narrative (speaker not explicitly identifiable from the single verse alone)

Tags

• Conflict
• Dialogue
• Dharma
• Martial ethics
• Insult/derision

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya or cosmology; it is a confrontational line emphasizing anger, power-imbalance (armed vs. unarmed), and contempt in speech.

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

It indirectly touches dharma by highlighting the impropriety of provoking conflict across unequal conditions (armed vs. unarmed) and the moral danger of prideful, dismissive speech—qualities a ruler or householder is urged to restrain.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No vastu, temple-architecture, or ritual procedure is mentioned in this shloka; it is purely narrative and rhetorical, centered on challenge and anger.